Showing posts with label Paula Hawkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paula Hawkins. Show all posts

13/06/2022

A Slow Fire Burning / Un Fuoco che Brucia Lento - Paula Hawkins

  

A Slow Fire Burning / Un Fuoco che Brucia Lento

- Paula Hawkins



🇬🇧 Hey, how have you been doing? Today I'm here with a mystery book from modern literature. 

Check out my last review about Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.

---

Today's review will be about the book A Slow Fire Burning, by the British author Paula Hawkins. 

Published just last year in August 2021, this is her third major book. Her first two were The Girl on the Train which became a bestseller and was turned into a film, and Into the Water. 

---

The book talks about a young man, Daniel Sutherland, that has been gruesomely murdered in his boat house on Regent's Canal, London. We see different point of views of the characters that were connected with him somehow: Laura, a troubled girl that had a one night stand with the victim and was the last person to be seen exiting the house boat; Carla, the aunt of Daniel, already mourning the recent death of another family member; and Miriam, the neighbour that found the dead body that seems to be keeping secrets from the police, though.  

Because of these three women we also see other characters that are connected to the story: Theo, the ex husband of Carla and Irene, an old lady and neighbour of Angela, Carla's sister, the mother of Daniel.

The book sees the themes of revenge and peace seeking. It makes you understand that even by always have been a good person, you never know what someone could be capable of doing when they can get revenge for the wrongs they got in life. 

---

I must say that I liked it but it didn't make me enthusiastic. I had a bit of high expectations about it, since I've read her first book The Girl on the Train and I loved it. So I was a bit expecting another psychological thriller, but I was wrong. We could think of it more as a mystery than a thriller. 

The book was short, around 315 pages, so it didn't take me much to finish it, and it kept me hooked even though not as much as I wanted, but it left me speechless on some parts, and I must say, at the end, the killer was not someone I expected, so that was a positive point for it.

I really liked the setting since I'm obsessed with the UK and London in general, so I liked to explore it even just through a book. 

For finishing, I recommend it but as I wrote above, only if you like mysteries and you're not looking for a psychological thriller (: 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

🇮🇹 Ehi, come state? Oggi sono qui con un libro giallo della letteratura moderna.

Dai un'occhiata alla mia ultima recensione su Pomodori Verdi Fritti al Café di Whistle Stop di Fannie Flagg.

---

La recensione di oggi riguarderà il libro Un Fuoco che Brucia Lento, dell'autrice britannica Paula Hawkins.

---

Pubblicato l'anno scorso nell'agosto 2021, questo è il suo terzo libro. I primi due sono stati La Ragazza del Treno, che è diventato un bestseller ed è stato trasformato in un film, e Dentro l'Acqua.

Il libro parla di un giovane, Daniel Sutherland, che è stato orribilmente assassinato nella sua casa sull'acqua sul Regent's Canal, a Londra. Vediamo punti di vista diversi dei personaggi che in qualche modo erano collegati a lui: Laura, una ragazza problematica che ha avuto un'avventura di una notte con la vittima ed è stata l'ultima persona ad essere vista uscire dalla casa galleggiante; Carla, la zia di Daniel, già in lutto per la recente scomparsa di un altro familiare; e Miriam, la vicina che ha trovato il cadavere che sembra tenere segreti alla polizia, però.

Grazie a queste tre donne vediamo anche altri personaggi che sono legati alla storia: Theo, l'ex marito di Carla e Irene, una vecchia signora e vicina di casa di Angela, la sorella di Carla, la madre di Daniel.

Il libro vede i temi della vendetta e della ricerca della pace. Ti fa capire che anche se sei sempre stata una brava persona, non sai mai cosa potrebbe essere capace di fare qualcuno quando può vendicarsi per i torti che ha avuto nella vita.

---

Devo dire che mi è piaciuto ma non mi ha entusiasmata. Avevo un po' di grandi aspettative al riguardo, dato che ho letto il suo primo libro La Ragazza del Treno e l'ho adorato. Quindi mi aspettavo un po' un altro thriller psicologico, ma mi sbagliavo. Potremmo considerarlo più un giallo che un thriller.

Il libro era breve, circa 315 pagine, quindi non ci ho messo molto a finirlo, e mi ha tenuto attaccata anche se non quanto avrei voluto, ma mi ha lasciata senza parole in alcune parti, e devo dire, a alla fine, l'assassino non era qualcuno che mi aspettavo, quindi questo era un punto a favore.

Mi è piaciuta molto l'ambientazione poiché sono ossessionata dal Regno Unito e da Londra in generale, quindi mi è piaciuto esplorarla anche solo attraverso un libro.

Per finire ve lo consiglio ma come ho scritto sopra, solo se vi piacciono i gialli e non cercate un thriller psicologico (:


12/02/2020

This month's recommended books:


Hey!!!

I've decided to recommend three books that I appreaciated every month. Here are the first three for the month of February. Hope you'll like them as much as I do.

»»————- ♔ ————-««


»»————- ♔ ————-««

«The Girl On The Train» by Paula Hawkins

If you still haven't read it yet then what are you waiting for?
The book is narrated by three different women: Rachel, the main character, Megan and Anna. This can make it difficult to read because the dates at the beginning of every chapter can confuse you, but you'll get used to it.
Whether we agree or not we all observe people. On the train, while walking, while shopping. It's kind of part of the human nature. Obviously Rachel's curiosity was another level of curiosity for sure. It was totally extreme. She interjected herself into lives that didn't belong to her.
There's a lot of lying in this book, a lot of secrets. Everyone is lying to everyone else, and you don't really understand what is actually happening till the end.
And with all those lies you will start to ask yourself: "Who should I trust? Who trusted whom?"
If you love psychological books, then this is the rest one for you.

»»————- ♔ ————-««


»»————- ♔ ————-««

«The Hunger Games» by Suzanne Collins (all the three books)

With the three books "The Hunger Games", "Catching Fire" and "The Mockingjay", the Hunger Games is probably the best written teen saga after Harry Potter.
Way more better than the movies, these books will get into you. You'll feel attached to the characters, you'll live their pain, their happiness.
It will feel like you're part of Panem, like you're one of them.
And that's exactly what the writer wanted, to make you feel a part of it.
When you finish the first book, you think that nothing can beat it but that's exactly where you're wrong, because the second two books are formidable.

»»————- ♔ ————-««


»»————- ♔ ————-««

«The Book Thief» by Markus Zusak

This one is my favorite book between all three that I mentioned in this post. The writer was able to actually make you live in that moment, to make you feel like a friend of Liesel, like you're there with her. Her friendship with Max is just amazing. She doesn't have any prejudice for him, not like everyone else did, instead. She treated him as a normal person, because it was just who he was, a person, a friend. 
The way that Rudy acted when he was practicing for running against the other children was terrific. He was a fan of Jesse Owens and he wasn't afraid of showing it, even though the other dispaised him for it and treated him bad. 
This book will make you laugh, but it will also make you cry because those things should had never have happened but they will never be forgotten.