Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from German by Michael Hofmann. Born in East Berlin in 1967, Erpenbeck, in addition to being an award-winning novelist, is also an opera director and playwright who trained as bookbinder (endearing her to us even more). Her novel, published by Granta books, is described by [...]
By Naomi A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Amor Towles’ novel A Gentleman in Moscow has been made into a tv series that started airing in March. The book follows Count Rostov, who was sentenced to house arrest by a Bolshevik tribunal in 1922. He [...]
By Lília Continuing with the celebration of our 52 years of existence, ABC’s Iris and Luke asked colleagues their book choices for the occasion. Most of them revolved around the lives of normal people in somewhat exceptional settings (reminiscent of ABC!), with overcoming adversity a prominent theme. No one chose it, [...]
Here at ABC our experts always strive to bring the best to our customers and let you know what we love. We also get an inkling at what books you love through our monthly(ish) Bestseller lists, compiled from the lists of our three stores. We love to share this with you, [...]
By Lauren The 2024 winners of the prestigious Pulitzer Prizes were announced earlier this week at New York’s Columbia University. Read on to see what they are and what the jurists had to say about them. Fiction Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips “A beautifully rendered [...]
With the winner of the International Booker Prize 2024 set to be announced in May, veteran Dutchnews book reviewer and ABC blog contributor Molly Quell dives into past Booker winner, Amsterdam. Click here to read how author McEwan wrote his award-winning novel, in his own words. [...]
After a little time off to smell the spring flowers, we’re back with our staff picks! Luke and Iris love doing them. They get to ask our colleagues what they’re reading and loving and what our customers are enjoying. And of course, they get to talk about [...]
Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger - these are some of luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjamin Labatut thrusts the reader, showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, alienate friends and lovers, descend into isolation and insanity. Some of their discoveries reshape human life for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear.
By Dr. Otto Bleker In 2021, Deborah Levy published her third but likely not last autobiographic book, Real Estate, because she dreams of a house where she can live and work at her own pace. But even in her imagination, this home is blurred, undefined and not realistic. She had to [...]
By Dr. Otto Bleker In her second autobiographic volume, The Cost of Living, Deborah Levy brings into practice her new attitude towards the people she’s met, including a male colleague, who talked about his wife without mentioning her name. While he spoke with her, Levy thought: “She does not have a [...]
