Before I forget, I’ve finally discovered why I can read so quickly: it’s genetic!  My mom borrowed Pillars of the Earth, and she finished it in “four to five days” (she’s not positive).  It was crazy to watch her race through it.   And now, I thought I’d like to expand on a few of my six word reviews from yesterday and allow myself six sentences (so still way shorter than usual).
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin: This is the first in a Russian mystery series featuring Erast Fandorin; it’s set in imperial times, and the bureaucracy and mood is very much a part of this. Akunin’s style is very, very unusual; I wasn’t sure if it was the translation or what, so I found a copy of the Russian text online and read the first chapter. Basically, the translator went for a very literal approach. Russian grammar and English grammar function quite differently, so by bringing the Russian structures into English, the translator has given Akunin a unique voice. Take the opening: “On Monday the thirteenth of May in the year 1876, between the hours of two and three in the afternoon on a day that combined the freshness of spring with the warmth of summer, numerous individuals in Moscow’s Alexander Gardens unexpectedly found themselves eyewitnesses to the perpetration of an outrage that flagrantly transgressed the bounds of common decency.” If you enjoy that kind of writing (I love it), you’ll probably enjoy this book; the mystery is international (if a bit obvious) and Fandorin is a fun, if naive, detective.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt: It’s 1967, and Holling Hoodwood is starting seventh grade with a major disadvantage: he’s a Presbytarian in a class full of Catholics and Jews. This means that on Wednesday afternoons, when everyone else goes to religion classes, Holling and his teacher are on their own. At first, he’s convinced his teacher is out to get him; as the year progresses, however, his teacher helps him make sense of the world around him (both his personal life and the nation’s). Schmidt deftly brings to life the voice of a middle American seventh grader, and in the process brings to life the late sixties, a time of such turmoil. I’m not sure if I was feeling particularly sentimental, but I cried four times during the book (and I rarely cry…the last time was The Book Thief). Holling’s innocent-verging-on-experienced voice, as he recounts certain stories, just did me in: I think everyone would love this book.

Khufu’s Wisdom by Naguib Mahfouz: First off, I thought of a much better six word review: Ancient Egyptions struggle to thwart fate. Now that that’s off my chest, I felt Mahfouz deserved some air time; I received the Ancient Egyptian trilogy for Christmas after my mom listened to my ravings about the awesome Palace Walk. Khufu’s Wisdom is the first, and it’s almost short enough to be a novella; the tone is very different from Palace Walk-fable like instead of crisp and modern. The story begins with Pharaoh hearing a prophesy that a newly born commoner will be the next Pharaoh, instead of his son; Pharaoh immediately goes off to kill the baby and change his fate. But of course, the baby doesn’t really die; the rest of the novella follows his life. It was a beautifully written story, and I enjoyed hearing details about the day-to-day life on Ancient Egypt. Mahfouz is the master of creating characters as well-I fell in love with them all, and I think you will too.

The Translator by Daoud Hari: you know what? There have been so many great reviews throughout the blogosphere that I’m just going to link you to a few. But I will point out something that, as a Modern Languages major, annoyed me throughout the book. A translator is someone who works with written languages; an interpreter works with speech. Hari is the latter, and his constant reference to translating and translators had be cringeing. I don’t blame him (English isn’t his native language, and a lot of other languages don’t make the distinction), but I do blame his editor. I understand if they didn’t want to title the book The Interpreter, since that’d be like the Nicole Kidman movie, but you can’t ignore the definitions of words because it’s convenient. That being said, do go read these great reviews: Megan’s, Alisia’s, Wendy’s and Literary Feline’s (if you’ve reviewed it recently and you’re not here, please let me know! I didn’t exclude you on purpose-it’d just be too exhausting to hunt through my entire blogroll, lol).