Title: Various animals alive and dead
Pages: 366
Author: Marina Lewycka
Publisher: Penguin Books
Reading time: One month. Could have been much faster if I didn't spent three of those four weeks working non stop, renovating our kitchen and attending family gatherings.
Why I chose this book: A trip to the magazine & bookshop at Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten in Berlin, has become somewhat of a tradition. From the first time I visited the city, many years ago, to my most recent visit in March. I didn't bring a book this time, just so I could buy one there, hop onto the U-bahn and enjoy reading the first pages of a new book while the yellow train races through the dark tunnels below the city streets.
Now the English book selection in German bookshop is scarce. Which is a good thing: less books to choose from, makes it easier to choose just one. It wasn't just the colourful cover of 'Various animals alive & dead' that caught my eye -I'm a sucker for a good cover- but also the following line: 'From the bestselling author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian'. Just before I left for Berlin, and Joost left for New York, he bought me a book. That book. I had only read a few pages before travelling to Germany, and it looked very promising. Apart from being a sucker for a good cover, a catchy title will also make me squeal with excitement. Perhaps this is a bit of an overstatement, oh well. Anyway, 'Various animals alive & dead' is one of those titles that makes you wonder about the story. What will happen? Which animals will die and how? And when you read the outline of the plot, you'll start to wonder what on earth animals, alive or dead, have to do with living in a commune, being a banker and having a clean bathroom. You've got to find out for yourself. And I'm sure, when you've gone and done just that, you'll start wondering -just like me- about the history of tractors in Ukrainian. Marina, you might just be my new favourite author.
Perfect read for: Lunchtime, with dinner, or a drink on the side, as the above picture proofs. It travels well too. The book has been in various places in Berlin, high in the sky and around Amsterdam. No complaining whatsoever. Easy, very enjoyable and funny read.
A few of my favourite lines:
'Has it got a name?'
''Amlet the 'Amster.'
'That's a great name. But...Hamlet died young!'
'E 'ad personal problems, din't 'e? But this one just sleeps all the time.'
Doro sighs. It was an adventure and, given the chance, she'd probably do it all again. But with fewer lentils.
Nick Holliday, who was Otto's dad and a school teacher, took the opportunity to give the kids a long lecture about sex and where babies come from. It sounded highly implausible.
They thought they were so liberated, sleeping around with everybody, like they'd invented the orgasm. Nowadays, girls have to fight for the freedom to say no.
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