Etgar Keret: Kneller's happy campers

Etgar Keretin pienoisromaani on eriskummallisimpia kaunokirjallisia teoksia mihin olen tarttunut: Kneller's happy campers (Chatto & Windus, 2009; englanniksi kääntänyt Miriam Shlesinger; ISBN 978-0-7011-8431-5).



Romaani kertoo itsemurhan tehneistä ihmisistä, jotka elävät jonkinlaista kuolemanjälkeistä elämää. Arkipäivän tapahtumat eivät juurikaan poikkea reaalimaailman touhuamisista, paitsi että kuoleman tuolla puolella tässä eletään. Päähenkilö Mordy saa tietää, että hänen entinen tyttöystävänsä on myös tappanut itsensä, ja lähtee etsimään tätä.

Kummallisuuksia riittää, jotenkin vinosti tässä kommentoidaan ihmiselämän rajallisuutta ja ihmisten outoja ajatuksia siitä mistä elämässä on kyse.

When Mordy, our hero, discovers that his girlfriend from his life before has also 'offed' herself, he sets out to find her, and so follows a strange adventure.

Julia Quinn: Ten things I love about You ja What happens in London

Julia Quinn on kirjoittanut kymmenittäin historiallisia viihderomaaneja, ja monet teoksista muodostavat kirjasarjoja. Romaanien Ten things I love about You ja What happens in London taustana on muissa romaaneissa esiintyneiden sivuhahmojen tarinat, kirjailija kun halusi kertoa miten heille kävi. Omaperäisyydestä ei näitä romaaneja voi kiitellä, mutta jonkinlaista myötämielistä huumoria tarinoihin on punottu.

Ten things I love about You (Piatkus, 2010; ISBN 978-0-7499-4194-9)

Sebastian Grey is in limbo. He is the heir presumptive to the Earl of Newbury, unless the current earl, a widower, can find a bride who will bear him a son. Newbury is in his sixties and somewhat portly, but as an earl he's considered quite a catch. Sebastian, on the other hand, is twenty-nine and extremely handsome, but in no hurry to find a wife.

Annabel Winslow, a country girl through and through, has received an offer to go to London for the season. The eldest of a family of eight, she knows that a good marriage might be the only thing that will save her family from ruin. After a few weeks in town, Annabel attracts the attention of the Earl of Newbury. The thought of submitting to him makes her skin crawl, but she is practical and determined to do her duty. Even when Sebastian Grey comes on the scene.

What happens in London (Piatkus, 2009; ISBN 978-0-7499-4189-5)

Olivia Bevelstroke, the only daughter of the Earl of Rudland, is beautiful and has a sizeable dowry. Yet at the age of twenty-one she is still unmarried, causing people to whisper behind her back, 'What is she waiting for? A prince?' But Olivia isn't cold or stuck up, and neither is she a hopeless romantic. She's just waiting for something - or someone.

Sir Harry Valentine, a war veteran, is now back in London working in secret for the War Office and keeping an eye on his wayward younger brother. Rumour has it that he killed his fiancee, which intrigues Olivia. She thinks her new next-door neighbour looks the part, and even if he isn't a murderer, he's certainly up to something. Then a real-live Russian prince comes to town, sparking intrigue. He has his eye on Olivia, but so does Harry, who's been ordered to spy on the prince - and thus by extension, Olivia. But will what he finds out about her bring her closer to his heart?

Stephanie Laurens: The lady's command, A buccaneer at heart ja The daredevil snared

Stephanie Laurensin kirjasarjassa The Adventurers Quartet on neljä osaa, jotka muodostavat jatkuvan tarinan, vaikka kukin romaani on erillinen romaani. Saman reseptin toistaminen neljä kertaa on aikamoisen puuduttavaa, vaikka mukana on eksotiikkaakin kuten vaeltamista Afrikan viidakkojen uumeniin. Jaksoin lukea sarjan kaksi ensimmäistä romaania, kolmas jäi kesken, enkä neljättä enää huolinut luettavaksi. Sinänsä helppolukuista viihdettä, mutta tehdastuotannon maku lyö läpi.

The lady's command (Harlequin MIRA, 2016; ISBN 978-1-848-45433-0)

How does marriage work? If convention is set aside and is no longer there to guide - what then? Stephanie Laurens' series, 'The Adventurers Quartet', offers a blend of Regency-era high seas adventure, a mystery shrouded in the heat of tropical jungles, and the passionate romances of four couples and their unexpected journeys into love.

A buccaneer at heart (Harlequin MIRA, 2016; ISBN 978-1-848-45450-7)

After a decade of captaining diplomatic voyages for Frobisher Shipping, alongside covert missions for the Crown, Captain Robert Frobisher decides that establishing a home-with hearth and wife-should be his next challenge. But an unexpected mission intervenes. Although Robert sees himself as a conservative businessman-cum-diplomat and this mission is far from his usual sphere, it nevertheless falls within the scope of his abilities. As matters are urgent, he agrees to depart for West Africa forthwith. To Robert, his way forward is clear: Get to Freetown, determine the location of a slavers' camp, return to London with the information, and then proceed to find himself a wife. Already in Freetown, Miss Aileen Hopkins is set on finding her younger brother Will, a naval lieutenant who has mysteriously disappeared.

The daredevil snared (MIRA, 2016; ISBN 978-1-848-45519-1)

Captain Caleb Frobisher, hedonistic youngest son of a seafaring dynasty, wants to be taken seriously. Seizing the next leg of the covert mission his brothers are pursuing, he acts decisively and effectively in securing the mission's objectives. But responsibility has taken root, and he remains in the jungle to ensure the mission's ultimate goal.

She will risk everything

Katherine Fortescue fled a life of poverty and came to Freetown as a governess, only to be kidnapped and forced to oversee the child workforce at a mine. Guarded by well-armed, well-trained mercenaries, the captives have lost all hope of escape. Then Katherine meets a handsome man—a captain—and he brings the sweet promise of rescue.

Together they will face the future

The sadistic mercenary who runs the mine has other plans, but Caleb's true strength lies in extracting advantage from adversity, and through the clashes that follow, he becomes the leader he was always destined to be. The sort of man Katherine can trust—with her body, with her life. With her love.

Charlotte Betts: The chateau on the lake

Charlotte Betts kertoo Ranskan vallankumouksen vuosista, terrorista ja jatkuvasta epävarmuudesta: The chateau on the lake (Piatkus, 2015; ISBN 978-0-349-40449-3).



Romaanin ajankuva on yksityiskohtainen, mutta paikka paikoin tuntuu siltä että kirjoittaja pikemminkin pudottelee faktoja kuin eläytyy kuvaamaansa aikakauteen. Romaanin juoni on paikoitellen melkolailla kömpelö, eivätkä juonenkäänteet ole erityisen sujuvia tai uskottavia. Toisaalta paikoitellen tarinassa on arjen rosoisuutta, kertomisen iloa, ja romaanin lukeminen sai etsimään taustatietoa tapahtumista useampaankin otteeseen.

1792. As a teacher at her parents' Academy for Young Ladies in the heart of London, Madeleine Moreau has lived her life sheltered from the outside world. But on the night of a dazzling Masquerade, tragedy strikes and she is left alone in the world. Desperate to find the family she never knew, Madeleine impulsively travels to France in search of them. But with war around the corner, and fearing for Madeleine's safety, the enigmatic Comte Etienne d'Aubery offers her protection at his home, Chateau Mirabelle.

Chateau Mirabelle enchants Madeleine with its startling beauty, but it is a place of dark and haunting secrets. As the Revolution gathers momentum and the passions of the populace are enflamed, Madeleine must take control of her own destiny and unravel events of the past in order to secure a chance of future happiness.

Amy Schumer: The girl with the lower back tattoo

Amy Schumer on koomikko, käsikirjoittaja, näyttelijä ja tuottaja, ja hänen tuotantoaan on tarjolla iso annos tässä esseekokoelmassa: The girl with the lower back tattoo (HarperCollins, 2016; ISBN 978-0-00-817237-4).



Schumerin teksti on reipasotteista, paikoitellen ehkä shokkivaikutusta tavoittelevaa. Jos puoletkaan esseissä kerrotuista tapahtumista ovat tapahtuneet, melkoisen vaiherikasta on ollut tähänastinen elämä.

Kirja on jossain määrin sisäänlämpiävä, mutta paikoitellen kirjoituksissa on yleispätevää sisältöä, esimerkiksi kun Schumer kertoo miten vaikea introvertin on jatkuvasti seurustella ihmisten kanssa. Mukana on myös otteita päiväkirjasta, lukuisilla alaviitteillä täydennettyinä.

Olettaisin että kirjan kohdeyleisö ovat Schumerin fanit. Minulta teoksen lukeminen jäi kesken.

From award-winning comedian, writer, producer and actress Amy Schumer comes The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, a thoughtful, honest and hysterical collection of (very) personal essays.