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Titel: Der Hundertjährige, der aus dem Fenster stieg und verschwand

Autor:: Jonas Jonasson

Erzähler: Otto Sander

Format: Abridged

Spieldauer: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 10-04-11

Herausgeber: Der Hörverlag

Kategorien: Fiction, Literary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Mit viel Charme begleitet Otto Sander den schlitzohrigen Allan auf seiner herrlich komischen Flucht durch Schweden und lässt augenzwinkernd die politischen Verwicklungen des 100-Jährigen Revue passieren.

Mitglieder Bewertungen:

Mein Lieblingsbuch des Jahres

Als Vergleich für amerikanische Leser: Jonas Jonasson schreibt ein bisschen wie ein swedischer Carl Hiaasen, also witzig, spannend, aktuell, aber mit viel Fantasie -- es darf auch ganz unwarscheinliches geschehen. Das Buch besteht eigentlich aus zwei Geschichten. Erstens das Abenteuer eines Hundertjährigen, der im Altersheim aus dem Fenster steigt und sich einfach auf in die Welt macht. Dazwischen erleben wir seinen Lebenslauf, und der wird immer unwarscheinlicher -- nach und nach hat Karlsson es persönlich mit vielen der wichtigsten Personen des 20. Jahrhunderts zu tun.

Obwohl das Buch auktorial geschrieben ist, kann man sich am Ende vorstellen das Karlsson die Geschichte gerade selbst erzählt hat und das vieles gelogen ist -- aber er ist doch bloss eine Figur? Diese Unsicherheit hat Jonasson sehr geschickt und humorvoll hingekriegt. Ausserdem ist das Buch einfach lustig, ich musste oft laut lachen.

Dazu muss ich noch dem Bertelsmann-Verlag anerkennen, das ich dieses Buch im Kindle-Format auch in den USA kaufen konnte. Die allerwenigsten deutschsprachigen Verlage haben das bisher geschafft.

Zeitgeschichte humoristisch verpackt

Selten habe ich mich beim Lesen eines Buches so gut amüsiert. Hier wird zum Einen eine unwahrscheinliche Kriminalgschichte sehr humorvoll, spannend und mit viel Nächstenliebe erzählt, zum Anderen, parallel dazu, die äußerst ereignisvolle Lebensgeschichte des Hundertjährigen, die uns (mit einem Augenzwinckern) von einem Brennpunkt der Weltgeschichte zum anderen führt. Der Leser trifft unter anderem den bisher unbekannten Bruder Albert Einsteins, erfährt die wirklichen Hintergründe, weshalb Amerika zuerst die Atombombe herstellen konnte, wieso Russland die Bombe erst später bekam, und warum Schweden bis heute noch keine hat. Alles in einer Sprache geschrieben die weit von der der literären Elite entfernt liegt - aber sich auch weit über die wohlpolierte und geölte Spannungsprosa der meisten heutigen Bestsellerautoren erhebt.

Dennoch läßt sich dieser Roman nur langsam lesen - schuld daran sind die vielen unfreiwilligen Schmunzelpausen die der Leser zwangsläufig einzulegen genötigt ist.

A cleverly interwoven series of entertaining "tall tales".

I read the German version as a non-native speaker and found the text to be very accessible for a B2 level German student who is just 25 years younger than the hero. It is a wonderfully absurd and very amusing book which touches on the foibles of many famous/infamous 20th century characters. I was completely engrossed in these cleverly interwoven tales and tended to frequently laugh out aloud, much to the consternation of my wife. I have recommended it as essential reading for all my avid reader acquaintances.

Einfach erfrischen

Mal was ganz Anderes!! Ein herzerfrischender, trockener Humor. Die Situationen, die sich diesem Hundertjährigen ergeben sind absolut lustig, allein die Vorstellung ist zum schieflachen.

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Title: Pigeon English

Author: Stephen Kelman

Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-12-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Lying in front of Harrison Opuku is a body, the body of one of his classmates, a boy known for his crazy basketball skills, who seems to have been murdered for his dinner.

Armed with a pair of camouflage binoculars and detective techniques absorbed from television shows like CSI, Harri and his best friend, Dean, plot to bring the perpetrator to justice. They gather evidence - fingerprints lifted from windows with tape, a wallet stained with blood - and lay traps to flush out the murderer. But nothing can prepare them for what happens when a criminal feels you closing in on him.

Recently emigrated from Ghana with his sister and mother to London's enormous housing projects, Harri is pure curiosity and ebullience - obsessed with gummy candy, a friend to the pigeon who visits his balcony, quite possibly the fastest runner in his school, and clearly also fast on the trail of a murderer.

Told in Harri's infectious voice and multicultural slang, Pigeon English follows in the tradition of our great novels of friendship and adventure, as Harri finds wonder, mystery, and danger in his new, ever-expanding world.

Critic Reviews:

"Pigeon English is a book to fall in love with: a funny book, a true book, a shattering book.... If you loved Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or Emma Donoghue's Man Booker-shortlisted Room, you'll love this book too." (Erica Wagner, The Times)

"One of the hardest things in fiction is to write from a child's point of view - Kelman does it brilliantly." (Alex Clark, Guardian)

Members Reviews:

If you loved Life of Pi...

Adored this book. Perhaps even more as I'd not read any reviews, nor had heard of any of the hype surrounding this (which I found out about after).

My advice. Don't either. I loved the fact that I had no idea what this was about, or even where in the world this was. As the story unfolded it painted a very vivid picture of this boy's world that slowly I began to truly understand.

What brings this to life is the narration. Its superb, I could imagine, if you were to read just the printed book, you'd really not enjoy as much or be as immersed as I became.

Reminded me of Life of Pi, another favourite of mine, for reasons that I won't say here, but I think you'd understand having finished it.

Ultimately incredibly moving and a very rewarding listen.

Didnt Enjoy as Much as I had Expected to

To be honest I wasnt a huge fan of this book. I didnt like the childlike language (and while I appreciate it is a young adult book and a book about someone who is a non-native speaker I found it very off-putting). The pigeon annoyed me as well both as the idea for the use of language and also for the commentary/thoughts of the protagonist. Much more could have been made of it, especially relating to Harrisons uprooting from Ghana to the estates of London. There are some modern culture references that did make me smile, such as adding extra brands to a pair of trainers but again I just felt the whole story was lacking something and could have been in a lot more depth exploring changes views and perspectives.

The overall story of hunting a person who committed a knife crime could have been made more interesting but I simply felt that the book didnt get into the psyche enough of the people who live in this type of environment.

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Title: Under the Net

Author: Iris Murdoch

Narrator: Samuel West

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 07-07-11

Publisher: Random House AudioBooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Iris Murdoch's first novel is set in a part of London where struggling writers rub shoulders with successful bookies, and film starlets with frantic philosophers. Its hero, Jake Donaghue, is a drifting, clever, likeable young man who makes a living out of translation work and sponging on his friends. A meeting with Anna, an old flame, leads him into a series of fantastic adventures. Jake is captivated by a majestic philosopher, Hugo Belfounder, whos profound and inconclusive reflections give the book its title - under the net of language.

Members Reviews:

Over the net

Under the Net, Iris Murdoch's entertaining first novel,presents a difficult task for any narrator . The story is told in the first person by a complex contradictory character Jake Donaghue -likeable but flawed, perceptive but often obtuse - and the narrative ranges from knockabout comedy to philosophical discussion.All these challenges are successfully met by Samuel West in this excellent reading. He judges the tone of each episode with great discernment and besides giving a convincing voice to the principal character West also succeeds in bringing to life all the characters Jake encounters. His intelligent interpretation will greatly add to the understanding and enjoyment of most readers -as with Timothy West's reading of Trollope, such an excellent performance gives listening to the audio book a distinct advantage over reading for oneself.

I hope that Samuel West will read more novels by Iris Murdoch.

More Murdoch

I would happily listen to more Murdoch - and this is one of her best, least typical novels, full of charm and thought and easy invention, lucidly read with intelligence and just the right amount of charm.

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Title: Fishing the Sloe-Black River

Author: Colum McCann

Narrator: Clodagh Bowyer, Tim Smallwood, Paul Nugent, Fiana Toibin, Sean Gormley, John Keating, Ed Malone

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-06-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

The short fiction of Colum McCann documents a dizzying cast of characters in exile, loss, love, and displacement. There is the worn boxing champion who steals clothes from a New Orleans laundromat, the rumored survivor of Hiroshima who immigrates to the tranquil coast of Western Ireland, the Irishwoman who journeys through America in search of silence and solitude. But what is found in these stories, and discovered by these characters, is the astonishing poetry and peace found in the mundane: a memory, a scent on the wind, the grace in the curve of a street. Fishing the Sloe-Black River is a work of pure augury, of the channeling and re-spoken lives of people exposed to the beauty of the everyday. Never before in audio.

Members Reviews:

Good Writing But Stories Are Jolting

This is my first McCann read. I'd seen reviews of his work outside of Amazon and decided to give this a try while I awaited the arrival of "Thirteen Ways of Looking."

Several of the stories are what I'd consider typically brooding Irish. I know that's a stereotype, but it seems that McCann fills it well in this small collection of stories. "Sisters," in particular, fits that bill.

On the other hand, there are "Stolen Child" and "A Basket Full of Wallpaper" which really drew me in.

There's one story, "Through the Field," that could have used a U.S. editor. McCann tries to write in Southern redneck slang that's just stilted and odd.

Still looking forward to "Thirteen Ways of Looking."

Not my favorite McCann opus

I read Colum McCann's "Let the Great World Spin" and absolutely loved it. This collection of short stories was not as compelling as the novel that I read, and I generally love well written short stories. Some of them were better and some really lacked any interest for me and didn't draw me into them. I will definitely read more of his work though!

A wonderful collection by a certified master

A wonderful collection by a certified master. It lacks SOME of the power of his novels, as many short stories do, but what power he sacrifices is made up for in perfect concision. Tight, well rounded stories, like poems, or fever dreams, with enormous emotional payoff. The first story, SISTERS, is a miracle.

A fine story collection from a master

Colum McCann is noted for the mosaic construction of his novels--the books assemble and reassemble before your delighted eyes. The short story form does not give him the spatial and temporal latitude to do this. The stories, however, are fine and sometimes deeply touching. The title story, in particular, is a small masterwork--it makes its point in a quiet, poetic way and breaks the heart.

Touching and beautiful stories

This is his first short story collection. It is about loss, loneliness, and immigration as a whole. The Irish diaspora is portrayed from the perspective of the ones who left Ireland and the ones who stayed. The author uses personal stories to deepen the topic what makes it absolutely fantastic!Everything in This Country Must: A Novella and Two Stories

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Title: Everything in This Country Must

Subtitle: A Novella and Two Stories

Author: Colum McCann

Narrator: Paul Nugent, Clodagh Bowyer, Sean Gormley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-06-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

In a daring tour de force, one of our writers takes on the most intractable of conflicts--the Troubles in Northern Ireland. In his fourth book, Colum McCann, a writer of fierce originality and haunting lyricism, turns to the Troubles and reveals, as only fiction writers can the reverberations of political tragedy in the most intimate lives of men and women, parents and children. In the title story, a teenage girl must choose between allegiance to her Catholic father and gratitude to the British soldiers who have saved the family's horse. The young hero of "Hunger Strike", a novella, tries to replicate the experience of his uncle, an IRA prisoner on hunger strike.

And in "Wood", a small boy does his part for the Protestant marches, concealing his involvement from his blind father. Writing in a new form, but with the skill and force and sparkling poetry that have brought him international acclaim, Colum McCann has delivered masterful, memorable short fiction.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

This book will break your heart âï again and again. So very good

Typical Colum...Awesome

Great prose and characters. A quicker read, for me, than his other short story collections. Read if you are fan.

Five Stars

Mccann's prose is fluid, haunting.

Everything in this Country Must a Must

Colum McCann, one of the finest young writers in Ireland & Amreica continues to grace us with this corageous book. Not just corageous for the obvious subject, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but its deeper one -- the connections between the life around us (political and otherwise) and the life inside us. At its center is not so much the Troubles but the depths and power of love -- love for country, for God, for family and for one's self. These loves are at odds with one another. The narrator of the title story loves her father and lost mother and brother, yet she feels drawn to the young English soldier who helps them save their horse, and very well may have caused the accident that killed her mother and brother. The mother in "Wood" must decide between her love for her invalid husband and her Protestant identity, and tries to balance them. And in "Hunger Strike" a boy's coming of age through his uncle's and country's political strife is guided and challenged by adults who wish to protect him and soothe his rage. This is not the "All You Need is Love" kind of love. This is deep, spritual, love -- the thing binds us and breaks us, and McCann is brave for tackling this within a political context and a world that often values surface issues instead of, to paraphrase Norman McClean, the river that runs through us.

An interesting read, but I wanted a little more connection to the story

I was interested in reading this book because of my family's cursory connection to "The Troubles". I have never read anything about them, though, so I expected to be swept up into a story that grabbed my emotions and made me feel what it was really like to be there. This didn't happen. There were interesting bits - I liked the creative touch of the boy and his mother making chess pieces out of bread and about the countdown of his uncle's weight as he sat in prison.

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Title: Centuries of June

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Keith Donohue

Narrator: Mark Bramhall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-31-11

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 24 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Keith Donohue has been praised for his vivid imagination and for evoking the otherworldly with humor and the ordinary with wonder (Audrey Niffenegger). His first novel, The Stolen Child, was a national best seller, and his second novel, Angels of Destruction, was hailed as a magical tale of love and redemption that is as wonderfully written as it is captivating (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Centuries of June is a bold departure, a work of dazzling breadth and technical virtuosity.

Set in the bathroom of an old house just before dawn on a night in June, Centuries of June is a black comedy about a man who is attempting to tell the story of how he ended up on the floor with a hole in his head. But he keeps getting interrupted by a series of suspects - eight women lying in the bedroom just down the hall. Each woman tells a story drawn from five centuries of American myth and legend in a wild medley of styles and voices.

Centuries of June is a romp through history, a madcap murder mystery, an existential ghost story, and a stunning tour de force at once ingenious, sexy, inspiring, and ultimately deeply moving.

Critic Reviews:

"A tour de force in its mastery of styles, the book also has moments of high sillinessthough toward the end Donohue weaves the threads of plot together in a surprising and affecting way." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Donohue's faultless eye for character and keen sense of humor keeps what could easily become a muddled mess pristine, with members of his quorum shining individually but also acting as cogs in the larger story's machinery. There are moments when the reader is left to wonder how things can possibly come together, but it's worthwhile to trust Donohue's narrators as they lead this puzzling and greatly satisfying trip." (Publishers Weekly)

Donohues polished prose holds the story together and offers a more than satisfying ending. (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

lovely but lacking

Would you listen to Centuries of June again? Why?

no, it was a bit dry and lacking in connection

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

the ending was the primary saving grace

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Title: Miracle Boy and Other Stories

Author: Benedict Pinckney

Narrator: Benedict Pinckney

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-25-11

Publisher: Holiday FM

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Miracle Boy and Other Stories represents a body of work 18 years in the making. Benedict's last short story collection was the critically acclaimed The Wrecking Yard, published in 1992 by Nan A. Talese. That collection was followed by the Steinbeck Award-winning crime novel Dogs of God, also from Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, in 1994, which Marilyn Stasio said was written "in a vein of rare, wild beauty with the lyrical exactitude of Henry Thoreau on a metaphysical field trip to hell."

Miracle Boy and Other Stories is a collection of 14 narratives, many of which earned appearances in The O.Henry Awards, New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, The Pushcart Prize: The Best of Small Presses, The Best of Tin House, and Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. Elizabeth Strout, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, says, "These are amazing stories. They contain the exquisite beauty of poetry and the dense muscularity of a language that takes the reader to breath-taking heights. Never complaining, or flinching, Pinckney Benedict presses us right against the variety of human experience in ways I've never seen before. There is not a story here that is not the real thing."

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Title: What Comes After

Author: Steve Watkins

Narrator: Emily Janice Card

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-12-11

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

After the death of her father, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight is uprooted from her hometown in Maine and sent to live on a farm in Craven County, North Carolina, with her hard-bitten aunt Sue and her hulking, monosyllabic cousin, Book. Almost immediately, Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats her livestock, fritters away Iriss small inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense.

Grief-stricken and alone, Iris finds solace in her aunts willful but lovable herd of goats. But when Iris sets two of the young goats free to save them from slaughter, the tensions between her and Aunt Sue come to a frightening and violent head. Can Iris recover from tragedy for a second time and find a way to save not only her beloved goats but also herself?

Powerful and deeply moving, What Comes After is at its heart an affirmation of the redemptive power of animals and the resilience of the human spirit.

Members Reviews:

Loved This Book

What Comes After is truly a gift. Though I won it for free through GoodReads First-Reads, and though, by necessity I am a penny pincher, this is worth whatever price the author and publishers decide.

Steve Watkins wrote this with such skill that it grabbed me by heart and soul, right from the start. The story and characters are well developed over the course of the novel.

I had to keep looking at the cover to see who wrote this. It is very seldom that a male author can capture female thoughts and actions. Iris is no femme-fatale, helplessly waiting for the white knight. She is a strong girl with a mind of her own, and a heart that wishes only for the good. Unfortunately, life keeps throwing trucks full of lemons at her.

I am so sorry that the story came to an end. There is so much more I wanted to see Iris solve. Maybe there is a part two? It does come to a natural ending, it doesn't just leave you at a cliff. But, well, I think as a mother, I grew to love her and wasn't ready for her to leave my nest.

What a pleasant surprise to find in the acknowledgements at the end of the book that the author is a fellow UU (Unitarian Universalist)! The Universal love is expressed through Iris and her actions of non-biased love. Kudos!

Now I will have to find other works by Mr. Watkins. What a story-teller!

I may read this again as I am curious, as a budding writer, how Steve pulled me through without my feeling it. That is talent!

After I wrote my review (above) for GoodReads I quickly came over here and bought the Kindle edition. It is that good!

Great book

Great young adult book. Read it for grad school YA class and taught to my undergraduate students. They enjoyed it.

What YA Fiction Should Be

This is what young adult fiction should strive to be. Watkins creates so effortlessly but with great empathy. You will remember this book long after the last page.

What Comes After by Steve Watkins

Iris Wight's life is like a train wreck-- horrible, terribly depressing and so gripping the reader truly can't look away. Iris's strength is what makes this novel amazing and emotional. There were too many times when I wished I could pluck her out of the story and make her feel better. The ending and her growth is stasifying and realistic.

The law in Iris's life is that anything bad that can happen will happen. For most of the novel, Iris is rejoicing in the very small things in life because that's all she has.

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Title: Exposure

Author: Mal Peet

Narrator: Christopher Lane

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-28-11

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Otello is South Americas star soccer player and has just signed a deal to play for a team in the southern part of his country, a region with a history of racism toward black northerners like Otello. Desmerelda is a white pop star and the daughter of a right-wing politician.

Their sudden and controversial marriage propels them to center stage, where they burn under the media spotlight. But celebrity attracts enemies - some very close to home. When a young girl is found murdered, Paul Faustino, veteran soccer reporter for La Nación, witnesses the power of the media in making - and breaking- lives.

Members Reviews:

Overall a good read

This is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's "Othello." I love Mal Peet stories. This one took a while to hook me. However, it was overall a very good story. I would not recommend it for those under the age of 15 or so due to some language and some sexual content (not very graphic, but still there).

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Title: The World Beneath

Author: Cate Kennedy

Narrator: Julie Nihill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 11-22-10

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Once, Rich and Sandy were environmental activists, part of a world-famous blockade in Tasmania to save the wilderness. Now, 25 years later, they have both settled into the uncomfortable compromises of middle age although theyve gone about it in very different ways. About the only thing they have in common these days is their 15-year-old daughter, Sophie. When the perennially restless Rich decides to take Sophie, whom he hardly knows, on a trek into the Tasmanian wilderness, his overconfidence and her growing disillusion with him set off a chain of events that no one could have predicted. Instead of respect, Rich finds antagonism in his relationship with Sophie; and in the vast landscape he once felt an affinity with, he encounters nothing but disorientation and fear. Ultimately, all three characters will learn that if they are to survive, each must traverse not only the secret territories that lie between them but also those within themselves.

Editorial Reviews:

In Tasmania, two former environmental activists find themselves settled into middle age with a 15-year-old daughter. But a father-daughter trek in the outback leads to some hard discoveries for all involved. In the end, these three characters must do some serious soul searching if they are to come together. Australian Actress Julie Nihill is a voice worth hearing. Her tone is full of warmth and security, like a fire on a snowy day. She handles youthful characters and older ones with ease. It's no wonder Booklist gave The World Beneath a starred review.

Members Reviews:

After slow start - wondering if it was just going ...

After slow start - wondering if it was just going to be the 'hippie' mother angsting about adolescent daughter and bitter about the father who walked out when she was a baby - but as it progressed I was drawn into it and couldn't put it down. While the father is taking the daughter to the hike in Tasmania to bond with her, the mother is at a retreat trying contact her past life, totem etc etc. But the drama over the mountain hike with the daughter's observations of her father recognising his failures and seeing through his blustering, meanwhile she is gradually coming to terms with no mobile coverage, her makeup non existent. Her eating, or not eating disorder, becames slowly more and more evident with the harshness of the trail, despite her resilience and strength. Sides of her mother has never observed and recognised. I felt for the characters' struggles and was with the father and daughter on that mountain. Luckily it doesn't have a mushy ending so bear with it for the beginning and get enthralled.

An insightful look at how people see themselves

The opening chapter, told from the point of view of an extremely annoying disillusioned single mother of a teenager, a one-time environmental activist who spends a lot of time feeling sorry for herself, almost put me off the whole book. Cate Kennedy follows her thought processes so realistically, you might think she agrees with the sentiments the woman expresses. Then we get equally convincing chapters from the point of view of the estranged husband and of the teenage daughter.

The father's machismo and stupidity during the gruelling overland trek through the Tasmanian wilderness that he 'fought to protect' is particularly cringe-worthy. He is trying to prove himself to a daughter he barely knows and fails spectacularly.