norsk på norsk 2018, del to.

Fikk jammen klemt inn fire flere norske 2018-bøker i januar. Og de fleste var veldig gode. I kronlogoisk lest rekkefølge.

Ku42818751k og hjarta av Heidi-Anett Haugen

Jeg valgte denne kun på grunn av tittelen. Og det er mye kuk i begynnelsen og temmelige heftige beskrivelser. Men så ender det i feministisk teori, kunstprosjekter og å finne seg sjæl, og det ble temmelig uinteressant.




Kapp Hjertestein av Espen Ytreberg

Bok to om Amundsen. Denne gangen er det en sakprosa, og ikke en roman. Visste du at Amundsen tok med seg to barn hjem fra Sibir? De var så heldige at de skulle få en norsk oppdragelse, men ble sendt tilbake tre år etterpå. Temmelig hjerterått! Jeg ble utrolig fascinert av historien, men det er dessverre veldig tynt kildemateriale boka er bygd på – særlig den delen om hvordan det gikk med jentene etterpå. Kanskje denne hadde fungert bedre som roman? Det blir litt for mye bildetolkning. Pluss for hvordan han trekker inn andre historier om urett begått mot urfolk – det er temmelig provoserende lesing.

Leksikon om lys og mørke av Simon Stranger

40618339L for les! Svigerfamilien til Simon er delvis jødisk. Tippoldefaren til barna hans ble drept på Falstad under krigen. Og så velger sønnen til tippoldefaren å flytte inn i huset hvor Rinnanbanden holdt til i Trondheim ikke mange år etter krigen er slutt. Dette er en utrolig sterk bok som knytter sammen historien til familien med Rinnans liv. Jeg liker skrivestilen; at dette virkelig er et leksikon med gode og onde ord. Jeg skjønner godt hvorfor denne er en av fjorårets beste og viktigste bøker. Igjen; l for les!

Havlandet: historia om hava som skapte Noreg av Per Anders Todal

40683738En personlig sakprosa om havene rundt Norge. Det er utrolig mye kunnskap fanget i boka; mye om fiske, men også om oppdagere, vitenskap og miljø. Og så er den full av nydelige bilder! Og den forsida! Dessuten så ga den meg en nesten uendelig havlengsel. Les hvis du noen gang har undret deg over hva som rører seg under bølgene.


(Oppdaterer hvis jeg leser flere norsk 2018 i løpet av året – har enda ikke klart å knekke koden om å skrive langt om nye norske bøker på norsk.)


the year before the storm.

1913 by Florian Illies (2012)
the Year Before the Storm







8. Drop City by T. Coraghessan Boyle (2003)




9. Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck (2014)






10. Wildalone by Krassi Zourkava (2015)




the Fox sisters.

Talking to the Dead by Barbara Weisberg (2004)
Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism

Kate was 14 and Maggie 11 in 1848, when they started hearing strange rapping in their bedroom. After a while, they realized they could communicate with the dead through the rapping. Through the communication they learnt that the spirit they were talking with had been murdered in the house they lived. Bewildered neighbours came to watch the seances. Rumour about the sisters’ abilities spread, and they are today known as the symbols of modern spiritualism.

The rapping evolved into playing of instruments, pulling of hair and slaps in the face and the spirits becoming visible. And one of the spirits that often visited them was Benjamin Franklin. Many famous people met the sisters throughout the years, even the Presidents’ wives. All through this, the girls were put to many tests, often scandalously only in their undergarments.  Their much older sister, Leah, was the one who arranged the seances and probably took most of the money as well. But it was the spirits that demanded that they should hold the meetings.

Although the girls were famous, their lives were sad. Both had broken hearts after love affairs gone wrong, and they both got addicted to alcohol and drugs. A few years before her death, Maggie confessed that it all had been a hoax and she travelled around showing how they made the raps.

It was an interesting read, and I learnt a lot about life in the late 1800s. But somehow I still felt like I couldn’t quite get under the skin of the Fox sister. I’m also glad that the book wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be, and I definitely believe that it was all hoax. I would never have read this book if it weren’t for Ingalill’s biography reading circle which was about alternative lifestyles this round. I chose the Fox sisters after listening to a radio programme about spiritualism, and I was curious about how it all started. And now I know.

the birth of a nation through a child’s eyes.

A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz (2002)

  Amos was 9 when Israel became a nation. And 12 when his mother committed suicide. In his memoir, he tells the story of his family and how they suddenly found themselves in the Holy Land. He also gives an insight about what it was like being a child in Jerusalem under the making of Israel. But most importantly, it’s about the joys and sorrows of a family.

 Beautifully written, it’s both tragic and funny at the same time. I have had a hard time coming up with something clever to say about it, and that usually means that the book is great.

What I liked best about the book, is that it doesn’t feel like a memoir at all. I think it’s because the story isn’t chronological, but jumps back and forth in time. I also learnt a lot from the book. The most eye-opening information, at least for me, was the British involvement when Israel was created. It also reminded me how much I need to read Jerusalem. Needless to say that I have definitely added more books by Amos Oz to my reading list. I’m also excited that Natalie Portman is making this book into a film. 

I read this as a part of Bjørg and Hedda‘s off-the-shelf challenge, this time the theme was Asia. And A Tale of Love and Darkness has been on my shelf since 2011, so about time.

Recipes for the heart and soul.

Just showing off some of my new purchases. Recipes and remedies for whatever the autumn has in store for me. How about a Bridget Jones’ Daiquiri and a slice of Really easy chocolate cake with chilli salt and tequila while trying to cure your fear of commitment by reading Blindness by José Saramago? Bring it on, I say!


Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang (2013)
The Concubine Who Launched Modern China
Empress Dowager Cixi, born in 1835, ruled China until her death in 1908. She was the one who modernised China, and fought wars against Japan and the great European powers. But as Cixi was just the Empress Dowager she had to rule behind the curtain and make sure that the Emperor was under her thumb.
Because she was just a concubine, and not married to the Emperor, she was not entitled to any power. But the Empress had not given birth to any sons, something which Cixi managed to do. When the Emperor died, her son, Tongzhi, was made the Emperor and Cixi, along with the Empress, were upgraded to Empress Dowagers. As Tongzhi was only 5, the Empress Dowgers were in charge. They also staged a coup which resulted in the removal of the Emperor’s advisors and the insertion of Cixi’s trusted men.

Her son became the ruler when he was married. Cixi stayed away from politics, but she didn’t agree with her son’s decisions. Tongzhi died in 1875, and because he had no sons, a boy was chosen and adopted by the Dowager Empresses to become the new Emperor. When Ci’an died in 1881, Cixi became the sole ruler until the boy, Guangxu, was old enough to rule himself.

In this period, Cixi had a lot of enemies. The most famous one was Wild Fox Kang who tried to murder Cixi several times. He didn’t succeed and Cixi found out about it. She believed that the Emperor himself was in on it, and successfully put him in house arrest so she again became the ruler, and this time she was in power until her death. This period was marked by the Boxer rebellion and the following war with the European powers. And after the war, China needed to reform in order to survive.

Although the book gives a detailed account of the life of Cixi, I never felt that I got to know her. I found her boring, and I also felt that Jung Chang spent a lot of time defending her. It also gives a detailed account of China at that time, and I definitely learnt a lot about Chinese history.  I became more fascinated by Wild Fox Kang, and I’m glad that Jung Chang wrote so much about him as well. The collection of pictures in the end was also very fascinating.

I’m going to read Wild Swans later this year, and Mao is also going to be read sooner or later, probably as a part of Ingalill’s superb biographies reading circle which this book was a part of.


Helter Skelter by Bugliosi & Gentry (1974)
the True Story of the Manson Murders
 Helter Skelter is a song by the Beatles. Charles Manson believed that the Beatles spoke to him through the White Album and that they ordered the Family to start a race war.

On the night to 9th August 1969, four members of the Family broke into the house rented by Roman Polanski and his wife, Sharon Tate, and killed 5 people. One of them was Sharon who was over 8 months pregnant. The killers wrote pig on the front door using blood. A day later, seven members of the family set out again to kill. This time the victims were the La Bianca family, and both victims were tied up and brutally murdered. The killers wrote the words healter skelter, rise, death to pigs with blood when leaving the house.

The investigation is a mess, and it took a long time before the police connected the two cases. The trial which followed, was the longest and most expensive, and resulted in the death penalty for Charles Manson and three of the girls.

The book is written by Vincent Bugliosi who was the prosecutor in the case, with the help of Curt Gentry. That means that this is a thorough account of the entire case, starting with the murders, and then to the trial. It also gives a detailed account of Manson’s life and the way he gathered the Family members. The afterwords, written 25 years after the trial, tells what happened to the members of the Family since then.

It is a long and really detailed book, with nearly 700 pages. As it is written by the prosecutor, I felt that a lot of it is not really necessary to get a clear picture of the murders and the trials. But then again I don’t feel that I need to ever read another book about Manson again. It is the most sold true crime book in history, read it if you’re curious about the cult and the murders.


Country Girl by Edna O’Brien (2012)
the Country Girls trilogy is based on her own experiences; a childhood in a strict religious home, crushing on the nuns in the convent she was educated in and running off with a married man. I read the trilogy last summer, and I’m glad I did before I read the memoir, and it is interesting to compare the fiction to the reality. I really enjoyed the reality; she does a marvellous job describing the scene when her family comes looking for her and the fight which followed. She eventually marries the man, Ernest Gébler, and they have two children together. But the marriage doesn’t last, and the battle between the couple, and especially over the custody of the children, is heartbreaking.
I bought the memoir when it was published last year, and I’ve been meaning to read it right away (as I always do, the problem is that I buy too many books). Ingalill’s biographies challenge gave me the push I needed to finally do so.     


the Second World War by Antony Beevor (2012)
The Second World War was a 6 year long and the most devastating in history. Antony Beevor’s book explains why and how the war started, and gives a detailed and chronological description of the events mixed with witness accounts. It is a great book which explains the unfathomable. From the rape of Nanking to the holocaust, not to mention the deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians. 
I can’t say I enjoyed reading it, the events are too terrible and real, but I definitely liked Beevor’s style. Although I think he focused too much on the details of some battles (like which division attacked which), he did a great job explaining the horrors of the war. The only thing I missed, was the mentioning of the war in Finnmark. I was surprised that it was completely left out, while other events in Norway was mentioned. But apart from that, I think all the other main events are in there, and I learnt a lot of new things. I really liked the story which opens the book, and I have used that as a starter when teaching the subject to the 14 year olds. 
A must-read for those who want to learn more about the Second World War!