Book Haul – March 2018

I bought a total of ten books in March. As I didn’t buy them all at once, it was only when I decided to write this post that I realised how many they were. I can’t truly remember the last time I bought so many books in just a month. The majority of them I’m going to read for my ‘EU still 28’ project, while others were at a discount and I don’t seem to be able to resist a bargain.

To know a little bit more about each of my choices, carry on reading!

 

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

I love the covers of the books by Daphne du Maurier from the Virago Modern Classics collection. Since I’m slightly afraid that they may vanish from the market before I have them all, once in a while, I buy one of them even if I don’t plan to read it soon. Jamaica Inn was recommended to me numerous times. It focuses on Mary Yellan, who, after the death of her mother, goes to her aunt Patience’s home.

 

Nada by Carmen Laforet

My choice to represent Spain at the ‘EU still 28’ reading project, Nada by Carmen Laforet, tells the story of Andrea who moves to Barcelona to start a new life at the time of the Francoist occupation.

 

The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirahk

The Man Who Spoke Snakish is an international bestseller which I had never heard of until I started searching for books by authors from Estonia. It seems to be about the arrival of outsiders into a forest full of ancient traditions, myths and legends.

 

For Two Thousand Years by Mihail Sebastian

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know that I tend to like books which take place around the time of the rise of Nazism and the Second World War. For Two Thousand Years is set some time before and focuses on how a Jewish student in Romania tries to understand a world where anti-Semitism is rife.

 

S.: A Novel about the Balkans by Slavenka Drakulic

I’m expecting S.: A Novel about the Balkans to be a rather harrowing read, since it deals with the rape and torture of civilian women during the Bosnian war. S. gives birth to an unwanted child while in exile and recalls the crimes she was victim of.

 

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

The latest book by Ian McEwan has been on my radar for quite a while. From the womb, an unborn child witnesses Trudy, who is betraying her husband, and Claude coming up with a plan to solve their predicament.

 

Seeing People Off by Jana Benová

I don’t know much about this short novel by the Slovakian author Jana Benová, but I believe it focuses on the relationship between Elza and Ian. It’s also supposed to be quite humorous and won the European Union Prize for Literature.

 

A Amiga Genial (My Brilliant Friend) by Elena Ferrante

My Brilliant Friend is such a well-liked book that I’m a bit nervous to finally read it. Set in a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples, it delves into the friendship between two quite different teenage girls, Lila and Elena.

 

Uma Vida à Sua Frente (The Life Before Us) by Romain Gary

Romain Gary was a complete unknown author to me until I saw him mentioned at Emma’s and Marina Sofia’s blogs. This particular book is narrated by 14-year-old Mohammed who lives with Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and survivor from Auschwitz.

 

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

This graphic novel by Emily Carroll comprises a series of spooky and macabre stories. The mix of bright and dark colours, which seems to be used throughout, caught my attention.

Have you read any of these books? Tell me in the comments!

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