Literature

Ah, holiday time, the time when you finally have some time on your hand. Time to hang around at beaches ... and to read some nice books. This time, I had four books with me, but found just enough time to finish two of them -- there was also swimming and sun bathing to do, mind you.

The first one, "The bed room secrets of the master chefs" by Irvine Welsh is a novel constructed around one interesting idea: what if you could transfer all your personal disasters over to the one person you're hating the most? Although it would be equally valid to say that the novel is constructed around the question what damages permanent alcohol abuse can do to your body, but something along this line is probably the connecting issue of Welsh's books anyway. What I particular liked about this book is the way in which Welsh describes the figures to encounter in British (or make that Scottish) pubs: judging from the few times I've been to a pub in the UK it's easy to take the picture Welsh is painting for real. A note of warning: if you don't like "explicit content" this is not a book to your likening and if you don't happen to be a native speaker (I'm German) this is not the easiest book to pick up. Funny and very recommended if you like pub novels.

The second book I've read is "Gangleader for a day" by Sudhir Venkatesh, subtitle "A rogue sociologist crosses the line". It's an autobiography and a fascinating one. Sudhir Venkatesh wanted to find out more about urban poverty in Chigaco and got to take a very close look into the ghettos of modern America. He befriends a gang leader in Chigaco and learns about how the people in the poor projects manage their lives. Although his writing is a little dry, the characters and stories are fascinating. It's of course a very particular look at american society, one which teaches you respect for the poor, but still one which doesn't increase my respect for the american society and its politicians as a whole. Well worth a read.