Two Reviews: In the Country of Men/Case Histories

I've been wanting to read Kate Atkinson's Case Histories for a long time. Basically, it tells the story of three cold cases (in police terms) and one private investigator. All of these stories, of course, intertwine with each other and with the life of the private investigator.

It's a quick read, well written and entertaining. However, a disclaimer is that there is a lot of blood and gore, especially in the beginning. It's not gratuitous; the story couldn't really be told without it. But still, don't read it while you're eating anything with tomato sauce! Seriously.

All in all, though, a definite good read. I like her style and would read anything else she has written.




I've also had this book on my list for quite some time. Most likely, it got on the list from a Bookmarks Magazine review. It is a very interesting and engaging book, narrated by a 9 year old boy growing up in Libya. Sometimes reading about childhoods in other countries can seem daunting or unreal, but this book is easy to read, while informative about the leadership of Qaddafi and his people. It could be because Hisham Matar does such a great job weaving the story of the relationships in the book - which of course, is universal to us all. Either way, though, this book is a good example of a book I never saw anyone hand-selling, never saw get much exposure -- and yet, it's a fantastic book that deserved better. If you're interested at all about learning about some of the politics of Libya and what it was like to grow up there, read this book.