Stories for summer

LANGUAGE | Summer Reading
Stories for summer
Die langen, gemächlichen Sommertage lassen sich mit einem guten englischsprachigen Buch noch
angenehmer vertreiben. Doch es ist nicht immer einfach, aus der Fülle der Neuerscheinungen etwas
Passendes auszusuchen. Im Folgenden geben wir Ihnen eine kleine Entscheidungshilfe.
abuse [E(bju:s]
adultery [E(dVltEri]
agreeable [E(gri:Eb&l]
bad-tempered [)bÄd (tempEd]
bestiary [(bestiEri]
chipmunk [(tSIpmVNk]
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Spotlight 6|11
Beleidigung
Ehebruch
liebenswürdig, sympathisch
schlecht gelaunt
mittelalterliches Tierbuch
Streifenhörnchen
counter- [(kaUntE]
dissolution [)dIsE(lu:S&n]
graphic novel [)grÄfIk (nQv&l]
humiliation [)hjumIli(eIS&n]
hunchback [(hVntSbÄk]
judge a book by its cover
[)dZVdZ E )bUk baI Its (kVvE]
light-hearted [)laIt (hA:tId]
mystery (story) [(mIstri]
nasty [(nA:sti]
parrot [(pÄrEt]
seek [si:k]
sovereign [(sQvrIn]
squirrel [(skwIrEl]
surface [(s§:fIs]
thrilling [(TrIlIN]
torture [(tO:tSE]
tread [tred]
tread a fine line
[)tred E )faIn (laIn]
wicked [(wIkId]
GegenAuflösung (der Klöster)
Comicroman
Demütigung
Buckel
etw. von außen beurteilen
heiter, unbeschwert (→ p. 57)
Krimi
fies, gemein, schlimm
Papagei
suchen
Herrscher(in), Monarch(in)
Eichhörnchen
Oberfläche
spannend
foltern
beschreiten, einschlagen
sich auf einem schmalen
Grat bewegen
boshaft, böse
Fotos: Polka Dot; iStockphoto; Hemera
H
oliday time is here again, bringing the opportunity
to relax with a really good book. But how do you
choose something to suit your taste when confronted with the huge selection of material available in
bookshops and online? is summer, we at Spotlight have
done the work for you. We’ve selected books in English in
different styles and from various genres. Are you looking
for a good mystery story? Do you prefer travel writing? Or
are you a fan of graphic novels? ey are all here, reviewed
for you by members of the Spotlight team. So why not let
your summer reading begin on these pages? Who knows?
Perhaps you’ll find a new favourite book or author.
D
avid Sedaris presents a collection of humorous animal fables guaranteed to make you laugh in
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Wicked Bestiary. Just
don’t judge this book by its cover.
At first sight, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk looks like a
children’s book, but the content is definitely for adults.
e author uses humour and talking animals to give
the stories a light-hearted feel. Below the surface,
though, the fables deliver a serious message. Meet the
rabbit who doesn’t let “foreign” animals through his
gate, or the dog with his bad excuses for adultery, or
the racist parents who ruin a romance between a squirrel and a chipmunk.
My favourite fable is “e Motherless Bear”, the
tale of a female bear who uses a tragedy for her own gain.
When her mother dies, the bear’s friends are quick to support her. But they soon get tired of listening to her.
“Did I mention to you that my mother died?” she says,
always turning the subject back to herself. She starts looking for pity elsewhere. She meets another bear who is being
forced to work for a travelling circus under terrible conditions. ough his situation is far worse than her own, she
continues to think only of herself. Even when she comes
to a nasty end, she doesn’t seem to have learned her lesson.
T
he modern world
has its political dramas, its social and religious conflicts. Here’s
your chance to compare
these with life in 16thcentury England at the
time of King Henry VIII
in the Shardlake series
of historical mysteries by C. J. Sansom.
e main character, Matthew Shardlake, is a London
lawyer. In each book of this series, he is called before historical figures — chief minister omas Cromwell, Archbishop
omas Cranmer and Queen Catherine Parr — and is given
a legal case to investigate, often involving a death. Sooner or
later, as fact and fiction are mixed in a thrilling storyline,
Shardlake finds himself in personal danger and no longer
sure whom he can trust.
Shardlake is an agreeable figure — kind, loyal, unlucky
in love. He also suffers humiliation and abuse because of
his hunchback. Long days in the saddle cause him pain
and sometimes make him bad-tempered. In all the books
except the first, Dissolution, he’s protected by his young,
strong, good-looking assistant, Jack Barak.
Author C. J. Sansom often follows the two characters
on their journeys as they travel around London, or to cities
such as York (book three, Sovereign) and Portsmouth (the
is is a new direction for Sedaris, whose
writing is usually autobiographical. If you enjoy books that
tread a fine line between funny and uncomfortable situations, these seemingly simple tales are for you. Each story
is illustrated by a — sometimes grotesque — drawing.
Little, Brown, ISBN 978-1-4087-0166-9, €12.80;
German title: Das Leben ist kein Streichelzoo: Fiese Fabeln
Toby Skingsley, language editor
latest book, Heartstone). e descriptions of these cities
are particularly atmospheric: we join a crowd that sees the
first parrots arrive from the New World, for example, and
smell the stink of an overcrowded city in a hot summer.
A lawyer himself, Sansom is good at describing turbulent political times. ere’s usually a prisoner somewhere who is being held
in an institution or tortured in a tower because
of a “crime” or his religious beliefs. Often
Shardlake finds himself
carefully treading the
path of his own beliefs
through a minefield of
religious revolution and
counter-revolution.
From Pan Macmillan, ISBN 978-0230-71125-9, €15.45;
German title: Der Pfeil
der Rache
Jo Westcombe, language editor
6|11 Spotlight
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