The Father by Anton Svensson

A Swedish crime-thriller. Inspired by a true story. With another book on the way. How does it get better than this? Read the book. It does.

I'm going to quote the blurb a bit to tell the story.

"The Father is inspired by the extraordinary true story of three brothers who committed ten audacious bank robberies in Sweden over the course of just two years.

None had committed a crime before. All were under 24 years old. All of them would be changed forever as individuals and as a family."

The Father, Leo, Felix and Vincent are the main characters with detective John Broncks trying to thwart their evil plans - and there are many. Detective Broncks comes from a similar background, where domestic violence leads to devastation. 

And there's the catch, if you're into psychological thrillers, this gives so much insight not only into the "how" (which I think is largely fictional), but also the "why".

The other great thing about this book, is how the crimes were selected and edited and possibly dramatised for the fictional part. Truth is often stranger than fiction, but it's also longer and more boring to wade through, unless it's well told. This is.

At the end I discovered that Anton Svensson is a pseudonym for Anders Roslund (an investigative journalist) and Stefan Thunberg (a screenwriter). Stefan is also the fourth brother of the Military League - the name that the Swedish newspapers gave the criminal gang - i.e. another brother. Oh wow.

For those used to the violence and crime in this kind of book, you'll love it. But it is a dark and twisted tale, and it is portrayed in fairly graphic terms.

Loved it. Will be looking out for The Sons - part two of this story.

ISBN:9781681445403

You may also enjoy The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter or Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton. Or what about Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham?

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Give up? Never

Morning all. It's time to get out of the warmest of warm beds, get that cat off your cosy feet and put on the most insulated layers of clothes. We're going running. 

Why? Well because it's Monday. The best day of the week to exercise. The first, the new, the early. And if we don't start today, we may not do it this week.

Do we have to? You'd better believe it. We can't give up now. We've started this with great intentions and we're doing it today.

Just one more lie in? No - just one more run. Tomorrow will be easier if we go today. And so will today. You'll sort your life out as you go, and save the world, our planet and solve all your family problems. Running's like that - it makes you feel you can solve anything.

No more questions, except what we're listening to as we go.

And what is our song today? Well that's easy, I chose it first. It's Shawn Mendes, In My Blood.

For those of us who never give up. Because we just can't.

Help me, it's like the walls are caving in

Sometimes I feel like giving up

No medicine is strong enough

Someone help me

I'm crawling in my skin

Sometimes I feel like giving up

But I just can't

It isn't in my blood

Happy running, walking or whatever you're doing today.

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Ten of the Best #120

Ok, we're skipping the explanation this week, and just getting down to it. (If you need a crib sheet, here's why we do this every week.)

This article on Women in the Workplace kicks us off this  week. Chilling statistics, these.

Robyn Vorster wrote about the many nameless babies, whose shocking stories are finally being told. Well, some of them, anyway.

In other SA news, JZ stops asking us what he did wrong, and just tells us "I'm tired of being the nice guy." So are we, JZ.

Parenting tweets from the Huffington Post. Some funny stuff here.

Lionel Shriver (of We Need to Talk about Kevin fame) has stuck controversy gold again, it seems. She wrote an article on Penguin Random House and their new hiring and publishing criteria, and has attracted all sorts of criticism and support for it. Here's the article for you to decide.

I loved this blog post about The Crone by Anabel Vizcarra.

Here's an interesting take on listening to the radio, why it's timeless.

Not sure you'll all enjoy this, so keep scrolling,  but I did - a clever analysis on why Investec's "apology" to Tongaat is so very wrong.

The Economist reports on these people developing amphibious traits. Fascinating.

And the bonus post this week is James Corden's Carpool Karaoke with Shawn Mendes. I loved the singing, those harmonies.

Have an awesome weekend, people. See you next Saturday.

Last Week's Ten

Some More

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

I'm glad the cover has that picture on it, because I can't read this without thinking of the movie - even though I have only seen the trailer. If you've been living under a rock, and don't know what I'm talking about, here's the blurb.

"In contemporary Russia, state intelligence officer Dominika Egorova has been drafted to become a “Sparrow”—a spy trained in the art of seduction to elicit information from their marks. She’s been assigned to Nathaniel Nash, a CIA officer who handles the organization’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception, and inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America’s valuable mole in Moscow."

I picked this up with a sigh. Another spy novel. And a movie I don't particularly want to see. Yet this one pleasantly surprised me. I enjoyed the reading, even though it was a little long-winded in places. It didn't take me long, as I became entranced with the story, Dominika, Nate, Russia, the CIA. It was all good. I'll read the next one.
ISBN:9781501171574

4 stars

 

You may also enjoy An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris

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Friday Books - Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

It's usually great fun on a Friday to check out other book bloggers' shares and enjoy quotes from the books they were reading. 


At Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader, you share the first line, and  a few thoughts about the book.

Today I'm featuring Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews. Here's the beginning.

I know the movie was big, and you cant read the book without picturing Jennifer Lawrence, but really, this is too good to miss for that reason. Dominika, Nate and all the spies, and the spies on spies, the secrets, the lies.

(At Freda's Voice, you'll find the Friday56, where the excerpt comes from page 56 or 56% in your Kindle.)

Here's page 56.

This was a great spy novel, and I couldn't put it down. I'm going to enjoy sharing it with book club, now I'm done. I've just posted my review, if you want to check it out.

What are you reading this weekend?  Leave me a comment with what you're featuring and I'll check it out.

The Good People by Hannah Kent

Hannah Kent. A novel set in County Kerry, Ireland, 1825. Ok, you've got me for the next few days. I'll be reading while driving, cooking, cleaning, even eating and sleeping. (Audiobooks - before you all rush to tell me how dangerous that is!)

The fires on the hills smouldered orange as the women left, pockets charged with ashes to guard them from the night. Watching them fade into the grey fall of snow, Nance thought she could hear Maggie's voice. A whisper in the dark.

"Some folk are born different, Nance. They are born on the outside of things, with a skin a little thinner, eyes a little keener to what goes unnoticed by most. Their hearts swallow more blood than ordinary hearts; the river runs differently for them."

Nóra Leahy is at the centre of this folksy tale. She's overwhelmed by grief. She's lost her husband and daughter, and now must care for her grandson - four-year-old Micheál. He's suffering from a debilitating disease, fitting and foaming, but also unable to talk and losing his ability to control his limbs. She needs more than a little help. For that, there's Mary, a young girl she hired, barely old enough to be a big sister, never mind a carer. And then there's Nance - who has herbs to help everything, but everyone believes she's a witch, and dangerous. Can she help this little boy?

You get the gist. This is beautifully sad - the quotes above show some of Hannah Kent's magic. It's well-researched, finely crafted and as lyrical as the accents you can imagine in the dialogue.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

5 stars

ISBN: 9781743534908

You may also enjoy Burial Rites by the same author, or The Wonder by Emma Donoghue.

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The Introvert's Edge by Matthew Pollard

The Introvert's Edge. It was that unusual title that enticed me to pick up this book. There are more extroverts than introverts in our world, and to our introverted eyes, there don't seem to be many advantages or "edges" that we have over our peers.

"Introverts aren’t comfortable with traditional tactics like aggressively pushing a product or talking over a customer’s objections. That’s the beauty of The Introvert’s Edge: it doesn’t focus on the sale itself but on a sales system that helps introverts feel sincere instead of sales-y." says the blurb.

The book is true to this. It offers practical solutions to the 'the only way to sell is to pick up the phone and cold call people until you're done' dilemma. I think even extroverts would benefit from the stories. They're real, and get you thinking about your personality and how to use your strengths to do the job differently, well and in a way that is true to yourself. All good things, that should result in better outcomes, in my view. 

I especially enjoyed the story-telling aspect of the book, and found it most useful.

4 stars

ISBN:9780814438879

You may also enjoy The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney.

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Lyrebird by Cecelia Ahern

A lyrebird is most notable for its superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment, and the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in courtship display. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral-coloured tailfeathers and are among Australia's best-known native birds. Here's a picture.

Bo is a newly-famous TV producer. She's just won an award, so the pressure is on her to find the next earth-shattering, awe-inspiring story, and then to film it and make it big. Her boyfriend, Solomon is on her team, and when they stumble upon Laura, it feels too good to be true. They nickname her Lyrebird because she can mimic anything. And she does. With amazing accuracy and weirdness. You can guess the next stage in the story, can't you? And you're right. Yep, and about that, too.

This was a lovely lyrical tale. I enjoyed the characters, and for a beach-read, which it was, it was almost perfect. It's difficult to say exactly what I didn't appreciate fully, maybe it was the overall cheesiness, the predictability and the inability of the characters to inspire more than a "aah sweet" from me. 

This is my first Cecelia Ahern, and it sounds like it shouldn't be my last. I'd be happy to try her other books, based on this experience. Oh, and did I mention that I got a sale copy of this, which made it more satisfying...

3 stars

ISBN: 9780008171414

You may also enjoy The Wonder by Emma Donoghue or what about Faithful by Alice Hoffman?

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Getting started

Hey hey hey. It's Monday. And I'm not planning a run or a walk. There's gotta be something wrong with that, right?

Today's not a day I can fit it in. And although that's not like me at all, it doesn't mean I'm going to miss it completely today, or this week. I'm definitely doing tomorrow, maybe even this afternoon, if I can get it right.

You see, today's the first day of the rest of my life. And there isn't any hurry to get going with the exercise. Although it would be amazing to get it right to work out today, if it doesn't happen first thing, I'm not stressing. I know I want to, and I know I'll get there. It's all good.

I'm so keen to get fit this winter, and to be faster and better than I was before. So it's okay if I start with taking it easy, because I know it won't last. Easy, that is.

What are you doing today? Are you up and at it, as usual? Or is it and easy kind of day, just for today? Whatever you're doing, do it well. Enjoy it completely, and have an amazing Monday.

There's only one song we can choose for this moment. It's The Black Eyed Peas with Let's get it started.

Right? Come on, what're you waiting for?

Last week's motivation.

Some More.

Ten of the Best #119

Good morning lovely people. It's time. To catch upon the great stuff we missed on social media this week. I had fun putting these together - today's choices turn out to be rather local, but hey, who's complaining? I love my fellow SAns, and this stuff is good. So let's begin  with Lobola is no laughing matter. A new advert.

I know everyone is reading the Jeppe Boys address, and it's good, but we shared that last week, so here's Darrell Bristow-Bovey's When my school of strife became a school of life.