Snow White Must Die - Nele Neuhaus

Translated from the German 'Schneewittchen muss sterben' by Steven T. Murray

Published in the UK by Pan Macmillan

Although the fourth book in the series (as I understand it) of crime novels by Nele Neuhaus, featuring Detective Superintendent Oliver von Bodenstein and Detective Inspector Pia Kirchhoff of the Division of Violent Crimes at the Regional Criminal Unit in Hofheim, this is in fact the first book in that series to be translated into English.

The story is set in the small village of Altenhain, near Frankfurt in Germany, and features an intriguing scenario. We meet Tobias Sartorius as he is released from prison, having served over ten years for the murder of his girlfriend Stefanie – the Snow White of the book’s title – and his friend Laura. His conviction, when he was just twenty-years-old, was brought about due to circumstantial evidence – the two girls’ bodies have never been found. Needless to say, when Tobias returns to his hometown, he doesn't meet with a very warm welcome, plus he finds his parents have separated, his father is a broken man, and Tobias can see little future for himself now.

His return causes a strong reaction and reminds many people in the village of a past that many of them would rather not think about, and brings things to the surface that they would have preferred to keep concealed. As tensions rise, and violent attacks are made on Tobias and his family, detectives Kirchhoff and von Bodenstein are called in to look into the events and keep watch over this unsettled village that has had its equilibrium severely rattled. The more the detectives, in particular Kirchhoff, learn about the place and the past, the more they start to realise that there is a lot about the murders eleven years ago of Snow White and Laura that is still unknown. But the villagers quickly close ranks and it’s clear they won’t give up their dark secrets without a fight, and things go from bad to worse when another young woman goes missing.

I really enjoyed escaping into this mystery story. I could sense the suspicion and intrigue brewing within the small village and I was gripped as the secrets were uncovered and the surprising and shocking revelations came out throughout the tale. There is an intriguing and varied cast of characters, including Amelie, a newcomer to the village from Berlin, and I grew to care about some of them and feel for the innocent victims of the wrongs that had been and were still being perpetrated. Nele Neuhaus conveys the sadness and pain still suffered by those affected by the deaths years ago. As I read, I began to question what had happened in the past, and I had my suspicions as to who was hiding something; I think there are clues along the way that can be picked up on, though I’d be surprised if anyone could figure it all out. For me this wasn’t one of those crime novels that I absolutely raced through very fast, it was a little slower, but I don’t mean that in a particularly negative way, only that there was more to think about and contemplate with the many characters and strands to the well-plotted tale, and it kept me engrossed and guessing throughout.

We have some short sections that delve into the background and home lives of both of the two lead detectives, too, with a headache for Kirchoff regarding her house, and with a serious shock for von Bodenstein with regards to his personal life.  In a way I wanted to stay with the main storyline, but the diversions were never too long and they add colour and insight into the way the pair behave professionally. In respect of the personal lives of the detectives, it’s a bit of a shame that we have the fourth book in the series translated first, but this is what seems to happen from time to time with translated fiction.

Nele Neuhaus initially self-published her novels, and now is traditionally published. I enjoy reading fiction in translation, and in particular that set in Germany. I’ve read several reviews of this novel and noted that many UK reviewers have commented on the US English of this translated version. I can see their point; at times I was a little unsure about some of the ways things had been rendered, but if it were a choice of a US English translation or none at all, I’ll still take this one. After reading and enjoying this one, I would definitely read more and I certainly hope others in the series will be translated; otherwise I might have to follow my husband’s suggestion and try reading another of the books in the original German. It’s nice to see this translated novel on the Richard and Judy Autumn 2013 book club list.

Reviews from other bloggers - Raven Crime Reads | Crime Fiction Lover | Kittling: Books

Someday we'll tell each other everything - Daniela Krien

Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch - German title 'Irgendwann werden wir uns alles erzählen.'

‘I think about my own secret and realise that there are things which can be said straightaway, others need time, and some cannot be told at all.’

I was keen to read this book as I love stories set in Germany, in particular those set in the recent past. It’s the story of a sixteen-year-old girl, Maria, becoming awakened to adult life and experiences. It is set in summer 1990 and the period just after, in the GDR, which will soon be the former East Germany; the Berlin Wall having fallen, and reunification of the country fast approaching. Maria has moved in with her boyfriend Johannes, and the rest of the Brendel family, living quietly in the countryside. Maria has dropped out of school and escapes into books; her thoughts return several times to the book she is reading as the story unfolds – The Brothers Karamazov – and she draws parallels from this tale and events in her own life. One day she meets Henner, an older, damaged man, and the two embark on a passionate, unpredictable love affair.

It is a time of exploration and desire in Maria’s life, and the author captures this first passionate, at times violent, love, the need she feels for Henner, the impression he has made on her. ‘I can feel Henner’s hands – coarse, gentle, brutal, expectant – and I long for them…’ Maria is insightful enough to realise that this affair will impact deeply on her. ‘A life can be changed by a single moment.’ She is discovering her own identity day by day. ‘I’m not the same girl I once was. But who am I?’ She feels the strength of Henner’s desire for her, and it is a contrast to her relationship to Johannes now; though she thinks he loves her, his real passion has become his photography, and she things he ‘doesn’t see me any more, all he sees is pictures.’ She has a conscience; she acknowledges to herself that the lies she is telling and her actions in deceiving the Brendels are bad. She suspects that old Alfred knows everything and will expose her eventually. I felt a tension building in the story as the affair gathered momentum and I was compelled to find out what would happen. I was shocked that she had this affair and was still living all the while with her boyfriend and his family, yet I could believe it.

Just as events are tumultuous for Maria, so the country around her is unsettled and changing. The fascinating times and momentous changes in Germany then are not just a backdrop; Daniela Krien incorporates this nicely into her tale and into the characters’ lives, and it is all the more authentic bearing in mind that the author grew up in the East herself. Initially we learn via Maria that the fall of the Wall and the events surrounding it ‘went practically unnoticed here on the farm. They stared at the television pictures from Berlin as if they were from another country.’

As time moves on, there’s a moving reunion as a relative unseen for many years visits the Brendels from the West, and a couple of characters take a trip into the West too. Perhaps unsurprisingly, for the elder lady of the family, Frieda, the trip to the West is difficult and unsettling. For Maria and Johannes it is an adventure to head to Munich; only Maria’s second trip to the West. Her observations come thick and fast, impressing her, then leaving her feeling unsure about it all; ‘The sounds and smells of the West are different….I stare at people. It’s so different here, so self-confident, so assured, so hard to describe… I’m holding a tiny notebook. I’d planned to write down the things I saw that were new to me, things I’d sometimes longed for. And now I realise that everything is new to me, I’d have to write it all down: the smell of the shops, the cleanliness of the streets, the bright facades of the houses, women’s fashion, the excellent coffee, the beauty of of the women here…I don’t write down anything and suddenly my heart feels heavy.’ For Siegfried, Johannes’ hard working father, it is an enlightening, eye-opening experience to discover the different farming methods and structures in the West, and he returns to the East with his mind overflowing with ideas for improvement on his own farm.

The author has written an intimate first person narrative that drew me in to the story and held my interest. The style of writing, the spare prose, suits the tale, and the translation captures it all so well, and reads very smoothly indeed. I hope it will reach many more readers thanks to being available in English. I was intrigued to find out what Maria would do, and how things would develop. She can fall back on her unhappy mother only so much, and her absent father has caused much pain in her life. It seems unusual that she has moved to live away from her mother, but the way of life with the Brendels is happier and more structured and she grows fond of Johannes’ family, helping them and becoming more and more involved in the duties on the farm and in the shop, and also learning some of their secrets. Daniela Krien nicely portrays the happy domesticity and hard work on the farm, and there is a strong sense of place in the book..

Though not a long book, this was a very satisfying, thoughtful read, which made me pause and think from time to time. It didn’t need to be any longer, for me. I felt I got a sense of all the supporting characters, but all were just that; a well drawn supporting cast for a dramatic period in Maria’s life. I thought this was a super story and a remarkably promising debut novel, so much encapsulated into under two hundred pages that really captured the passion, excitement and discovery of love and desire in a girl on the cusp of womanhood, when emotions are heightened. Maria felt real; a dreamer, a helpful hard working girl, conflicted and flawed, lying and feeling guilty and torn, and all the more convincing for being so rounded. I would say this is definitely an author to watch. 

Published by MacLehose

Find out more here.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly sending me a copy of this novel to read and give an honest review.

This is another read for my 2013 Translation Challenge hosted by Curiosity Killed The Bookworm.

The President's Hat - Antoine Laurain

'This is no ordinary hat.'

Translated from the French by Gallic Books (Jane Aitken, Emily Boyce, Louise Rogers Lalaurie)

It is November 1986 and accountant Daniel Mercier is dining out alone at a brasserie in Paris whilst his wife and son are away. What was a very pleasant evening becomes even more special as he is stunned to notice that none other than President Francois Mitterand sits down at the table next to him. His evening is transformed as he listens to the conversation at the President's table, and then, when he leaves, Daniel realises that Mitterand has left his hat behind. Pondering for a moment, Daniel takes the hat with him, and after making this split-second decision and putting the hat on his head, his life is never quite the same. 

On the back of this new and quite unexpected acquisition, Daniel suddenly develops a newfound confidence at work, sharing his views and finding the courage to stand up for himself: 'With unprecedented confidence, he watched himself negotiate the complex layers of diplomacy with the ease of a dolphin leaping through the waves.' ....'It was as if the real Daniel Mercier had finally stepped out into the light of day.'

Daniel believes that the changes within himself, the decisions he is making and the confidence he now has is due to just one thing: 'The hat. It was the hat that was responsible for the events that had turned Daniel's existence on its head in the last few days. He was convinced of that. Since he had taken to wearing it, the hat had conferred on him a kind of immunity to the torments of everyday life just be being there. Better still, it sharpened his mind and spurred him to take vitally important decisions.' Can a hat really have these magical, transformative qualities? What has made things so different for Daniel since his possession of it? What is it about the hat that affects 'a profound change...a metamorphosis' on the wearer? And what will happen next to the hat? 

This is an absolutely delightful, warm-hearted and magical tale about life and fate. I loved reading it!  Antoine Laurain has created a very special, mystical and entertaining story here that reveals truths about human nature in a clever way that made me smile and ponder as I read. Love, families, relationships, careers - the hat has a hand in the destiny of so many facets of people's lives in the story.

I don't want to reveal too much about the path that the story takes, except to say that the hat will transform more lives than just Daniel's, and that the story links together well as it develops and then it all comes back together very satisfyingly at the end. We are taken back to the 1980s and there is a some comment on the times then in France which I found interesting, alongside the step back in time to a place when technology was much more basic than that which we have today. 

The translation, with three authors taking on the different main characters, worked really well too. It's a really nice edition, with a lovely design and feel to the covers.

All in all, a real treat of a book and a joy to read.

Published by Gallic Books

Thank you to the publisher for kindly sending a copy of this novel to read and review.

You can follow @gallicbooks on twitter and find out more about this novel on their website here and on the book's website here.

Fear - Stefan Zweig

Translated from the German by Anthea Bell

'...her fear was waiting, impatient to take her in its grasp...'

This novella of less than a hundred pages was written almost a century ago by Stefan Zweig yet the themes of love and affairs, the search for excitement and passion, the guilt and the fear of discovery of infidelities are eternal ones that are just as relevant today. As the narrative commences, we meet Irene Wagner as she leaves the home of her lover, a young pianist, to return to her easy, comfortable bourgeois life, home and family. However, as she endeavours to overcome the fear that hits her upon leaving his arms, she is horrified to encounter his former mistress, who proceeds to blackmail her.

Zweig makes such accurate observations about human behaviour and relationships, and in particular here, such striking insights into a woman’s thoughts and emotions. It’s a beautifully written, intelligent and deeply insightful study of a woman seeking something beyond her bourgeois married life, and this English translation is excellent and a pleasure to read. I'm so glad that Zweig's works are available to a wider audience now. 

Published by Pushkin Press

originally reviewed for newbooks magazine

Alex - Pierre Lemaitre

Alex is a crime thriller by French author Pierre Lemaitre, translated from the French into English by Frank Wynne, and published by Maclehose Press, an imprint of Quercus.

I had heard some exciting buzz about this novel before I read it, and I had also heard it is dark read with some disturbing episodes. Having now read it, I think the buzz is fully justified. It’s a novel that is difficult to review in terms of plot, because so much of the plot comes as a surprise or a shock, an unexpected twist here, an event that makes you reassess everything there. Nothing of this should be revealed to the prospective reader, if they are to fully enjoy this thrilling read. I will merely say that Alex is kidnapped and it seems like she can’t possible escape, but as we are told in the synopsis for the novel, this is actually just the start of things…

I liked the depiction of Camille Verhoeven, the detective leading the investigation, initially into the kidnapping but then further into the situation that develops; he had his own personal reasons for not wanting to pursue a kidnapping case, and yet wanting there to be justice and never giving up in his pursuit of the answers. I felt we got to know him, and the supporting cast working with him, including the contrasting pair Louis and Armand, but for me they never detracted from the main intrigue of the novel, namely Alex and her movements and actions.

I was a little apprehensive about reading this book as I was worried how scary it would be. Yes, there are some gruesome aspects but I’m glad in retrospect that I didn’t let this put me off. This is a clever thriller with a gripping narrative that kept me completely hooked throughout, and a lead character, in Alex, who held my attention and had me intrigued. This novel shocked, surprised and enthralled me; I found myself reassessing what I had read before in light of what I had just learnt. I would love to read more by this writer.

If you like a crime novel with an addictive narrative that keeps you guessing, that makes you question what you know and expect in terms of the crime genre, making you wonder about the limits of right and wrong, and of revenge, and if you can stomach dark themes, violence, abuse and some admittedly very upsetting episodes, then you should definitely give this a try because it has such a strong plot, great suspense, and a clever and surprising outcome. The conclusion made me stop and think and look back at the whole story again. The translation is very well done. Gripping stuff.

Published by Maclehose Press

reviewed as part of the amazon vine program


This novel counts towards my participation in the 2013 Translation Challenge hosted by Curiosity Killed the Bookworm

The Library of Unrequited Love - Sophie Divry

Translated from the French by Sian Reynolds

'To know your way round a library is to master the whole of culture, i.e. the whole world.'

I think this is a beautiful book inside and out. A lovely little hardback with a very attractively designed dust jacket, and inside a wonderful novella filled with remarkable, striking observations about books, libraries, love and life.

Sophie Divry's debut is written in the form of a monologue delivered by a librarian in the provinces who one morning discovers a reader in the library who has been locked in there all night. This reader is on the receiving end of the librarian's thoughts; subjected to hearing all about the things she loves, the things that anger and irritate her, and the person who has caught her eye. 

I read this book in just a couple of sittings, and many readers would probably finish it in just one. It's a charming and insightful little story featuring a passionate but anxious, troubled and lonely lady. The librarian feels invisible and is unhappy with the Geography section that she has been allocated, longing for her preferred section, History; indeed she divulges some of her views about this topic too. She shares her disapproval of the hierarchy of staff within the library, and her disgruntlement at readers who come to the library and simply make a mess. Whilst she complains about many things to her captive listener, she nevertheless has a strong affection for libraries and books and this shines through.

She has been hurt in love and tells us she avoids it now, with her job helping her cope with all that bothers her: 'the library works like an anaesthetic for my hang-ups.' She reveals that she has noticed a man, Martin, who has been coming to the library, and he is evidently in her thoughts a good deal - she movingly discloses how beautiful she finds him, but her past hurt holds her back, and she seeks safety and solace in books:

'So men, no, that's all over. Love, for me, is something I find in books. I read a lot, it's comforting. You're never alone if you live surrounded by books. They lift my spirit. The main thing is to be uplifted.'

The author has captured the magic and joy of books and reading and the pleasure found in a library and conveyed this so well through the librarian. Her voice held my attention throughout. I think most bookworms will find elements here that they agree with, or that make them smile or chuckle, or ponder - I certainly did. All in all this is a lovely little book with much that will resonate with keen readers.

I marked and noted so many little passages as I read this book that I must share a couple more of my favourites here at the end of this review - there are so many perceptive gems to be discovered in Sophie Divry's writing.

'You know, in my job, there's nothing more exciting, to make you feel more wanted, than to be able to size up the person in front of you, guess what they're after, find the book they need on the shelves and bring the two together. Book and reader, if they meet up at the right moment in a person's life, it can make sparks fly, set you alight, change your life.'

'I prefer the company of books. When I'm reading, I'm never alone, I have a conversation with the book. It can be very intimate. Perhaps you know this feeling yourself? The sense that you're having an intellectual exchange with the author, following his or her train of thought and you can accompany each other for weeks on end.'

Published by Maclehose Press

Thanks very much to the publisher for kindly sending me a copy of this book to read and review. 

This book is another read for me in the 2013 Translation Challenge