The Hummingbird: ‘Magnificent’ (Guardian)

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Spencer does a brilliant job of keeping up the tension and the banter going between Abigail and her most difficult patient, the handsome and darkly sensual man who only gives her his first name, “Jesse.” It is all the more amazing when you consider that most of the book occurs in her home and in a single room, her bedroom occupied by the recovering train robber.

E però, la tendenza al cambiamento, anche quando è probabile che non porti nulla di meglio, fa parte dell’istinto umano, e tu non la concepisci. De puzzelstukjes bestaan uit vertellingen, dialogen, ansichtkaarten, brieven, whatsappberichten, een speech en zelfs een inventarislijst met daarop het designmeubilair van zijn overleden ouders.

Ride the Wind

Ho dovuto accelerare la lettura, scorrere velocemente le righe per arrivare all'ultima e tirare un sospiro di sollievo (quando inizio un libro mi impongo di finirlo, ma stavolta è stato terribile). This was not a ~she put up a token resistance but almost immediately became an enthusiastic participant~ situation. Not only did he use a weapon to force her into the act (and basically verbally threatened to do more at a later date), at the end of the ordeal, she feels “filthy” and “violated,” not only from the assault but because she eventually started to enjoy it a little toward the end. Vond u het wat? vroeg ik de dame uit het Noord-Hollandse Heemskerk nadat ik haar in de deuropening € 5 had overhandigd voor de Kolibrie van Sander Veronesi (gebonden, 333 pagina's, zo goed als nieuw). Ze schudde haar hoofd: 'nee, het kon me niet zo boeien.'

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher William Morrow via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is September 8, 2015** And to make it EVEN WORSE (that would have been enough, but this is the piece that just makes it even more incomprehensible to me), Jesse ISN’T EVEN THE VILLAIN train robber he’s accused of being. He is a photographer. Just a regular guy. Who?? Thinks this is okay?? And then LAUGHS after she leaves the room, his own private joke because only he knows that the gun has been empty the whole time. Thank you sooo much Jill!:) Also, I gotta thank Tammy – so glad you jumped in “with arms waving” convincing me to read this one next:)...LOL

First of all, I like author's writing style and her ability to develop everyday's life events so naturally in her story. Although sometimes these events seemed boring, I admit that they were needed for the sake of characterization and story progress. Zamanda sürekli ileri geri giderek çözüyoruz hikayeyi. Mektuplar, mesajlaşmalar, e-postalar da bize eşlik ediyor. Çözümlendikçe düğümleniyor, öykü açıldıkça derinleşiyor. Kahramanımız Marco Carrera'nın 70 senelik yaşam öyküsünü, dönüm noktalarını, kayıplarını okuyoruz. Aileye, romantik ilişkilere, bağlara, bağımlılıklara, sevginin doğasına ve biçimlerine, olmak istediklerimize, olamadıklarımıza, mutluluk fikrine, bizatihi mutluluğa ve pek tabii mutsuzluğa dair çok süssüz ve fakat bir o kadar incelikli şeyler anlatıyor Veronesi. Evet bu kitapta altı çizilesi büyük aforizmalar yok ama insanın içine işleyen bir yalınlık var. Ve biliyorsunuz ki ben böyle edebiyata bayılıyorum.

Si lessa il tacchino dopo averlo disossato; poi si mette tutto in frigo in modo da far solidificare il brodo e far formare la gelatina. Qui c’è tutto quel che bisogna sapere All’inizio del capitolo Un filo, un Mago, tre crepe ho voluto rendere un omaggio a questa magistrale prosa poetica di Sergio Claudio Perroni intitolata Sapere la strada e contenuta nel libro Entro a volte nel tuo sonno del 2018 (La nave di Teseo): “Ti muovi nel buio e non ti trovi, cammini piano tra le pareti di casa ma ciò che ti aspettavi non lo tocchi, ciò che sfiori è inatteso, arriva troppo presto, troppo tardi, ha spigoli nuovi, profili inauditi, allora cerchi a tentoni l’interruttore più vicino, accendi un attimo la luce per orientarti, solo un attimo per non svegliarti del tutto, e quell’attimo ti basta per individuarti, per riconoscere il tragitto un istante prima che scompaia, per incidere nella tua mente la planimetria del buio, e riprendi ad avanzare con la certezza di ogni passo, di ogni gesto, tra forme di cui ti fidi, convinto di sapere la strada nell’invisibile, ma a farti andare avanti è solo il ricordo di quell’attimo, a guidarti è solo la memoria della luce.” Poiché come omaggio non era granché, ero giunto alla decisione di tagliarlo, ma il 25 maggio 2019, mentre ero ancora impegnato a scrivere questo romanzo, Perroni si è tolto la vita a Taormina, dove abitava. Siccome era un mio amico, ho deciso di rimettere il mio mediocre omaggio nel romanzo, giusto per avere l’occasione di scrivere queste righe di riconoscenza nei suoi confronti.”The composition of this novel is very particular: Veronesi has cut up Marco's life story into some 45 episodes, shaken up quite well through time. He also experiments with different forms, alternating dialogues, letters, chat sessions and ordinary narrative passages. This means that a lot of puzzle work is involved, especially in the beginning, at the expense of the content of the story. I must admit that because of that, the story only started to captivate a little halfway through. Until then, I noticed the very light narrative tone of Veronesi, which is strange, because quite a lot of sad things happen to the protagonist Marco, at a certain moment one disaster follows the other. But Marco seemingly struggles through them with a large dose of stoicism, very reminiscent of Williams' Stoner. Also, quite a few psychiatrists are involved, both for better and for worse (Veronesi clearly has a thing with psychoanalysis). Also, I don't like ending. Maybe I didn't like David much and I was sure he was not for Abigail, though he didn't deserve this result. In addition, it was not fit Abigail's character at all. A masterpiece of love and grief ... Everything that makes the novel worthwhile and engaging is here: warmth, wit, intelligence, love, death, high seriousness, low comedy, philosophy, subtle personal relationships and the complex interior life of human beings ... magnificent - moving, replete, beautiful ... what makes the book special is that The Hummingbird is such an intelligent meditation on life, family, the human heart and the "dictatorship of pain" that comes with grief' - Edward Docx, The Guardian Because no life should be a whisper. Remember that, okay? You’re not a miracle because you have brittle bones or because you use a wheelchair or walker. You’re not a miracle if you don’t. I want to mention two last things. First, the translator, Elena Pala, who seems to me to have done an astonishing job; the language reads so brightly and distinctively, and yet not so as to interrupt the flow or make it self-conscious. And second, to commend and celebrate The Hummingbird’s last scene, in which Veronesi achieves something transcendent; no plot spoilers, but it’s well worth the read on its own. If you’re in need of modern, intelligent European fiction – and who isn’t? – then this is the precise prescription.