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Jac Geurts - "Zwijgende vlakten: een Spaanse wandeling

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  I have just finished reading "Zwijgende vlakten: een Spaanse wandeling" by Jac Geurts. For sixty days in 2016 the author walked alone across the Spanish plains and sierras from the Pyrenees in the north to Cádiz in the south. He didn't reach his destination though. He was forced to return home prematurely when a rare disease paralyzed his legs. In this travelogue the reader accompanies the writer on a journey full of adventures, descriptions of nature, encounters with all kinds of people, and musings on everything from religion to politics. Geurts's Spain is not the Spain most tourists see, this Spain is empty, wild, unruly, and above all silent. I love Spain and I enjoyed reading about a Spain I barely know. I especially liked Geurts's descriptions of the people he met and the conversations he had with them. The book is illustrated with watercolours by Piet Lap. It is unfortunate that these are printed in black and white, because in colour they are so much more
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Robert Galbraith - "Lethal White"

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  I have just finished reading "Lethal White" by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym of J.K. Rowling, who is most famous for her books about Harry Potter. This is the fourth in a series of crime novels featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. "Lethal White" was preceded by "The Cuckoo's Calling", "The Silkworm", and "Career of Evil".  A fifith novel, "Troubled Blood", was published in September 2020. The books were adapted for television and began airing on the BBC as a series in 2017, starring Tom Burke as Cormoran Strike and Holliday Grainger as Robin Ellacot. These films are well worth watching. There are two things I particularly like about this series of books. Firstly there is J.K. Rowling's writing style. It's so easy on the brain! The narrative flows like water in a river and carries you along to the end before you know it. Secondly there are the two main characters Cormoran and
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David Mitchell - "Utopia Avenue"

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I have just finished reading "Utopia Avenue" by David Mitchell. He is one of my favourite novelists. I have read and I own all eight of his novels. He is probably best-known for "Cloud Atlas", but the ones I like most are "Black Swan Green" and "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet". If you grew up in the swinging 1960s, like I did, and were into the fledgling popmusic of those years, like I was, you will enjoy "Utopia Avenue". It tells the story of the eponymous fictional band from its beginning in London in 1967 to its fateful ending in Los Angeles in 1968. I liked the many music, pop culture, film, and history references in the book, which took me back to my teenage years. There are also surprising cameos from well-known artists, like John Lennon, Diana Ross, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Allen Ginsberg, and others. "Utopia Avenue" paints a colourful picture of the music industry and life in the 1960s. The characters, especi
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Eva García Sáenz de Urturi - "De stilte van de witte stad"

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I have just finished reading Eva García Sáenz de Urturi's "El silencio de la ciudad blanca" ("De stilte van de witte stad") in a Dutch translation by Elvira Veenings. It is the first novel of the La Ciudad Blanca trilogy. I have travelled the length and breadth of Spain, but I have never been to Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital city of the Basque Country. I must remedy this omission in the future, because judging by this novel it is a beautiful and interesting place. The city forms the background for a story about a series of gruesome killings, which are investigated by a detective who is battling his own personal demons. "El silencio de la ciudad blanca" is a compelling and satisfying novel, which interestingly now and again throws light on the mythology and legends of the Basque country and the sights and sounds of its capital Vitoria-Gasteiz. It was adapted into a Netflix film which is well worth watching. post 31 Jan 2021
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Johan Huizinga - "Autumntide of the Middle Ages"

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  I have just finished reading Johan Huizinga's "Autumntide of the Middle Ages", in a new, wonderful English translation by Diane Webb of Huizinga's classic "Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen", which was first published in Haarlem, the Netherlands in 1919. It is a study of forms of life and thought of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in France and the Low countries. What a joy it was to handle this book: hard cover, printed on nice, thick paper with lots of white, and glorious, vivid illustrations! Its subject is not the easiest to comprehend; I had to stay really concentrated during my reading. This beautiful book was well worth my time though. post 24 Jan 2021
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