It’s time for #6Degrees – join in! Link up!
We begin this month with a book that topped international best-seller lists – Patrick Süskind’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I read Perfume many years ago – it was lent to me by a friend, who also gave me Neil Schaeffer’s The Marquis De Sade (clearly we were on an 18th-century French jaunt).
Bits of The Marquis De Sade made me physically sick. As did some of James Frey’s recollections in A Million Little Pieces.
After the release of A Million Little Pieces, Frey was accused of being a ‘literary fraud’, with many saying that his ‘memoir’ was more fiction than fact. It was a similar situation for Australian author, Helen Demidenko, who falsely claimed Ukrainian ancestry as part of the basis of her book, The Hand that Signed the Paper.
The Hand that Signed the Paper was about a Ukrainian family’s involvement with the Nazis during the Holocaust. It won the Miles Franklin award in 1994. Anna Funder’s novel, All That I Am, also won the Miles Franklin (in 2012) and also gives a different perspective on Nazi activity – it tells the story of four German-Jewish anti-Hitler activists forced to flee to London.
War stories told from the perspective of the ‘enemy’ always grab my interest and there are elements of this type of storytelling in the book that I’m currently reading – Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North made my (rigorously composed) list of Best Books of 2014 as decided by #ALLTHEREVIEWERS. Also on the list was The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, another book I’m planning to read this year.
So, my chain started in 18th-century France, had a brief stint in re-hab and then became completely dominated by WWII stories. I wonder where other chains will take us?
In honour of the recent 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, next month’s chain (June 4, 2016) will begin with Romeo and Juliet.
Nicely done. Flanagans book is superb isn’t it?
I’m about three-quarters of the way through – it’s harrowing but completely absorbing. Have just finished the third part which was all set on the railway – horrific.
Hi Kate, I’ve done my first 6 Degrees post! Figured I need to get some structure into my blogging otherwise it’ll fade away. I’ll try to do them all from now on.
Yay! So glad to have you on board. Feel free to give me a suggestion from your ‘Reading India’ project as a starting point for a chain.
Ooh it would have to be Midnight’s Children. And a question: do they have to be books you have read?
Consider it done (I’ll schedule it in for August – gives you plenty of time to work on a spectacular chain!). And no, having read the books is not necessary – I’ve started chains with books I haven’t read and I often include books that are sitting in my TBR stack.
And here’s Jenny’s link – https://jennyackland.com/2016/05/07/six-degrees-of-separation-from-perfume-to-mapping-manhattan/
Thanks for putting my link Kate.
A brilliant piece lateral thinking!
Thanks! I could have gone in lots of directions with Perfume (although all were quite dark).
It’s that kind of book.
Wow. Lots of heavy reads in your chain this time. Actually, so is the case with my chain.
Yeah, once I got on the ‘books that repulsed me’ and WWII theme, I couldn’t get away!
Great list! I love all your connections.
This is actually good fun to do! I’m still trying to find my way around these blogs so I hope I did mine correctly. It’s fascinating to see the chains people are coming up with.
The joy of this meme is that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ – some of my previous links have been tenuous to say the least eg. “I read both of these books on holiday…”!
Such fun Kate, enjoyed your Six degrees journey and the links yar made.
It’s fun to see all the different directions that people go in. Join in!
I’d like to one day, Kate – time is the issue.
*sigh* I know, it’s always time…
I’ve read only two of these books but they were both magnificent. Great chain this month! Mine completely bypassed WWII. 😉
Just checked out your chain Debbie – a very clever first link – I didn’t even think of the translation as a starting point! Thanks for joining in.
(And wondering if the two you’ve read on my chain are the two I haven’t read?? (those being The Hand That Signed and The Paying Guests).
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Hi Kate, I confess I haven’t read any of the books on my list, although the last three are on my to-read list, and I even have All That I am on my bookshelf just waiting for me to pick it up. I’m a bit late with mine, but here’s the link: http://www.melindatognini.com.au/6-degrees-of-separation-perfume-the-story-of-a-murderer/