Tag: book blog

Last Testament In Bologna by Tom Benjamin

I originally started this book when it first came out in 2023 but other books (I guess The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore) sidetracked me and I noticed a new book in the series came out recently and it reminded me to revisit this one. It is a series I enjoy an English ex-pat (always ex-pats if they are British, yet Immigrants if they are foreign to us lol) working for the family investigative business in Italy.

This installment focuses on an old feud and the world of fast cars and Formula 1, there is quite a lot going on with several threads and it all comes together quite nicely in the end. I am curious where the series goes next, and how it tackles the patriarchs health and the ever changing family structure like new members and the father/daughter dynamics.

Listening to parts on the audiobook I did notice the narrators voice seemed to change dramatically towards the end of the book. I assume it is the same narrator but he didn’t half sound different.

Japan in 100 Words: From Anime to Zen by Ornella Civardi

A fun and enjoyable read explaining many elements of Japanese culture from A to Z. Lots of interesting popular concepts explained from folklore, pop culture and the arts of Japan. I think it is a book that would encourage further studies.

Being a collector of Fountain pens the section on Maki-e and Urushi interested me as an owner of Japanese pens made from those crafts.

The book is beautifully illustrated.

The Day of The Owl by Leonardo Sciascia

At long last I have read a book by Leonardo Sciascia. This book has long been on my TBR pile and lost amongst the shuffle.

I loved the book from start to finish and it is interesting to see the case built up and the tactics and thought process of the Captain. And how with the politics and influence of people associated with the Mafia a rock solid case melted away like a chocolate teacup. A frustrating and very real occurrence of the past and present.

I own many more books by Sciascia, and a recent biography too, and I am looking forward to getting into those too. This book has helped me break a reading slump.

Dandelions by Yasunari Kawabata

A book I started a year or two ago but returned to recently. I started it afresh and it was a difficult reason for me. Not due to the subjects of mental health and relationships but how the book is structured as a conversation between a mother and her daughters boyfriend.

I expected more from the novel and it seemed to be disjointed and all over the place with the conversations, and it just ended abruptly, it was unfinished at the authors death but I don’t think it should have been published.

As a character I didn’t like Kuno and how he asserted himself to Ineko and her Mother, saying the mother is wrong to commit her to treatment and how marriage is the only way to fix her. Rubbed me up the wrong way.

I think a lot to do with the issues were the death of Ineko’s father and that was the trigger of her ailment. I also think that if the novel was finished the end may be that they both (Ineko & Kuno) are afflicted with mental health issues with him seeing a white rat and white dandelion. Possibly even the mother with her seeing a Sprite.

All in all I am glad to have read it but I wouldn’t come back to it.