The Tulip Eaters by Antoinette van Heugten

This is a novel that revisits the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War 2, and how it effects people 30 years later and a world away.

Move forward to 1980.  Nora de Jong returns home from work as a pediatric surgeon in Houston, Tx,  to find her mother murdered and her baby, Rose, missing.  Her mother has been shot in the head and her hair hacked off.  There is also a dead man lying in the house; someone Nora has never seen before.  The police quickly descend and try to discover just who this man is, and who would want her mother dead.  First and foremost, however, is Rose.  Obviously there were two people involved in this murder; why take Rose?  Nora is frantic to find her daughter and uncover her mother's murderer.

Nora's parents both came from Holland after World War 2, and never talked about their life in Holland, or their families.  Nora discovers  a metal box containing evidence that puts her mother in the dreaded NSB, a Nazi organization Nora's grandfather helped run with a ruthlessness towards Jews living in Amsterdam.  Was Anneke, Nora's mother, really part of this group?  And Nora's father--accused of murder and condemned to death after the war.  What happened?  

Nora quickly realizes the answer to her daughter's disappearance is tied to her parent's past, and she goes to Holland.  Of course, the father of Nora's baby lives in Holland, and he's the only person who can help Nora uncover her family's mysterious past.  

Meanwhile, the kidnapper is a bit of a bumbling person, terribly unsuited for the drama he's been thrust into.  And he has a nasty woman, literally scarred from her experiences in World War 2, bent on revenge and determined to stop Nora from finding her daughter.  

The novel is fast paced, a bit brutal in a few spots, and full of information about  Holland and Amsterdam's occupation by the Nazis during World War 2.  I think the novel being set in 1980 kept the bitter feelings of Nazi survivors  alive and   revenge stewing until it reached a boiling point.  The war wasn't so far away then as it is now in 2013.  Anyone who likes contemporary novels with a bit of a historical mix, anything about World War 2, or just a good novel about a women determined to find her daughter will enjoy this quick read.  

Rating:  7/10 for the historical background of Amsterdam and Holland during Nazi occupation; quick pace, and strong female character.  

Available in paperback and e-book.  Thanks to Harlequin/Mira for a review copy!

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The Tulip Eaters by Antoinette van Heugten

The Dinner by Herman Koch

It's a good thing I finished this book at home tonight with a freshly poured glass of wine at my side.  Why?  Cause this is the kind of book that makes you say "holy crap!" and take a fortifying sip of wine when you've read the last page.

This book has been reviewed by many--either people love it and are horrified by it at the same time, or they find it terribly "boring" and stupid.  

I am one of those who find it incredibly disturbing and well written.  The story starts out pretty simply:  a man and his wife are meeting his brother and his sister-in-law for dinner at a posh restaurant one night.  Why?  To discuss their teenage sons.  What for?  You find out.  And you're disturbed.  

But you're also disturbed by Paul, the narrator and one of the brothers.  He's carried a loathing for his brother Serge most of his life--and now Serge is in the running to be the next Prime Minister--if he wins the upcoming election.  And seeing Serge and his wife Babette through Paul's eyes; well yes, they are asses.  He's a brash, annoying man, and she's a wife who just goes along for the ride.  Claire, Paul's wife, is so much more than Babette.  

But then you start reading more of the book, and you start to get that feeling in the pit of your stomach.  That feeling that the narrator (Paul) isn't quite what he seems.  Neither is his wife.  Neither is his son, Michel.  

And then you read enough to figure out that it's much, much worse than you thought.

I can't tell you anymore.  It would give it all away.  Just know that this book will make you incredulous, angry, and appalled at the character's conversations during dinner.  I'm not a parent, so I can't say for sure what I would do in these circumstances.  But I'm pretty darn sure I wouldn't be nodding my head in agreement with Claire and Paul as they discuss  their son and nephew over dinner.  I found myself saying "WHAT? THE? HELL?!" out loud quite a bit during my reading.  Good thing I was home alone.  

I understand the buzz about this book.  None of the characters are likeable.  Not at all.  You'll see.  But read it.  You WILL need to discuss this with someone else.  Wow.

Rating:  8/10 for a compelling look at middle/upper class society, how we feel about less fortunate people, adoption, adopted children, crime, and taking a horrible situation and turning it into an acceptable one in your mind--not a good thing.

Available in hardcover and as an e-book.

Share: facebook - twitter - pinterest

The Dinner by Herman Koch