Tag Archives: Alexander Maksik

The best book soundtracks begin with ABBA

Posted by Kate W in Fiction, Stuff and Nonsense and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ABBA-1

I have a very, very deep love for ABBA. I won’t try to explain it because if you’re not an ABBA fan, you’ll never understand (and why waste my time when I could be singing along to excellent tracks such as Bang a Boomerang?).

I’m not sure if I’m doing this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic right, but I figure if Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid can pose for a photo in tin foil, then anything goes. So, I’ve taken ten ABBA songs and matched them (very loosely) with ten books.

1. My Love, My Life – Wilful Disregard by Lena Andersson Continue reading →

‘You Deserve Nothing’ by Alexander Maksik

Posted by Kate W in Fiction and tagged with , , ,

I picked up You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik because I read an article about the controversy surrounding the author – and I love a bit of hoo-ha over an author or book, it always adds interesting context (see previous post about Ayelet Waldman).

You Deserve Nothing is set in an international high school in Paris and is told in three voices: that of Will, a charismatic young teacher who brings ideas alive in the classroom in a way that profoundly affects his students; Gilad, one of Will’s students who has grown up behind compound walls in places like Dakar and Dubai; and Marie, the beautiful, vulnerable senior with whom, unbeknownst to Gilad, Will is having an illicit affair. Continue reading →