Booking Through Conversions / From The Review Pile (17)

Do you find yourself thinking that the books you read would be good on film? Do you wish the things you watched on TV or in the movies were available as book?

I prefer books to movies, anytime. Movie adaptations of books somewhat disappoint me and vice versa. Give me a good old book any day and let me watch a movie unadulterated!

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From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday. The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review. (or any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

The Affair by Lee Child:

Everything starts somewhere. . . .For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A cover up. A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington. Reacher is ordered undercover—to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control. Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justice—and an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.

Teaser Tuesday/First Chapter First Paragraph

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this weekly meme. The idea is that you post the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). 

The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

On a winter night shortly after the New Year festivities, Chen Kai sat on the edge of the family kang, the brick bed. He settled the blanket around his son.

“Gwai jai,” he said. Well- behaved boy. “Close your eyes.”

“Sit with me?” said Chen Pie Sou with a yawn. “You promised . . .”

“I will.” He would stay until the boy slept. A little more delay. Muy Fa had insisted that Chen Kai remain for the New Year celebration, never mind that the coins from their poor autumn’s harvest were almost gone. What few coins there were, after the landlord had taken his portion of the crop. Chen Kai had conceded that it would be bad luck to leave just before the holiday and agreed to stay a little longer. Now, a few feet away in their one- room home, Muy Fa scraped the tough skin of rice from the bottom of the pot for the next day’s porridge. Chen Kai smoothed his son’s hair. “If you are to grow big and strong, you must sleep.” Chen Pie Sou was as tall as his father’s waist. He was as big as any boy of his age, for his parents often accepted the knot of hunger in order to feed him.

“Why . . .” A hesitation, the choosing of words. “Why must I grow big and strong?” A fear in the tone, of his father’s absence.

“For your ma, and your ba.” Chen Kai tousled his son’s hair. “For China.” Later that night, Chen Kai was to board a train. In the morning, he would arrive at the coast, locate a particular boat. A village connection, a cheap passage without a berth. Then, a week on the water to reach Cholon. This place in Indochina was just like China, he had heard, except with money to be made, from both the Annamese and their French rulers.

With his thick, tough fingers, Chen Kai fumbled to undo the charm that hung from his neck. He reached around his son’s neck as if to embrace him, carefully knotted the strong braid of pig gut. Chen Pie Sou searched his chest, and his hand recognized the family good luck charm, a small, rough lump of gold.

“Why does it have no design, ba?” said Chen Pie Sou. He was surprised to be given this valuable item. He knew the charm. He also knew the answers to his questions. “Why is it just a lump?” 

Top Ten Bookish Confessions

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, we get a theme to list our top tens. 

This week's Top Ten pick : Top Ten Bookish Confessions

1) I like to buy poetry books
2) I cannot stand self help books
3) I have read most of the classics
4) I could never read Ulysses by James Joyce beyond 10 pages
5) I read romances on the sly
6) I pick out most difficult of books to read
7) I read scientific stuff happily enough
8) I occasionally snack on rice crispies and iced tea while reading
9) I like gifting books to everyone, including non-readers
10) I possess a photographic memory about the shelving of my books
  

Crime Fiction Alphabet: O is for Out at Night by Susan Arnout Smith

"They've been using the money to fund eco-terrorism. Paying for safe houses. Guns. Bombs."

~Page 210

Title: Out At Night
Author: Susan Arnout Smith
ISBN: 978-0007275519
Publisher: Minotaur Books/2009
Pages: 283

When Professor Thaddeus Bartholomew is being chased by a killer, he has no time other other than type a text message with the name of Grace Descanso, before he is killed. He is found in a soy field, with a crossbow shot in his chest. 

Grace, is a crime-scene tech and is on a vacation with her daughter. FBI has no compunctions about getting in touch with her. Grace has only a vague recollection of the Prof and does not understand his last text before his death. Her Uncle Pete, who is in the FBI does not want her to walk away. 

When she starts the investigations in her own way, she finds her family involved in it. And the genetically modified soy is only a scratch in the surface.  And the Prof. murder is not a random act! there are politicians, and agriculturists involved. It is always  question of money. 

Out At Night is very real. In the sense that by modifying our plant life, we are playing God, creating havoc for the nature, for humanity. The initial want of better yields, has given way to destruction, power and money. We need to tackle those questions.

Monday: Mailbox/What am I reading?/Musings

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. 5 Minutes For Books is hosting MM for the month of August.

I received four books in my mailbox:  

1) Cera's Place by Elizabeth McKenna:

In 1869, San Francisco saloon owner Cera Cassidy offers redemption to any woman looking for honest work. At Cera's Place, men can get a decent hot meal with a whiskey, but if they want anything more, they have to take their desires elsewhere. One summer night, a distraught Chinese girl bursts through the swinging doors with a shocking tale of murder, kidnapping, and prostitution. Outraged, Cera vows to set things right. 

Jake Tanner, a scarred ex-soldier haunted by the horrors of the Civil War, is on a mission to fulfill a friend's dying wish. The trail has brought him to Cera's door. Captivated by her Irish beauty, he wants to join her fight - but will she let him?

2) The Second Empress by Michelle Moran:

After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war.

 Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise.  

3) Aroha by Anaru Bickford:
Tormented daily by the cousin who holds her responsible for ripping their family apart, Maori teenager Aroha has many, many other things to worry about. Though she lives in the US with her aunt and uncle, the dreams that have plagued her since her childhood in New Zealand are starting to recur more and more often. 
The sun felt suddenly cold. ‘You know so many things, Nanny,’ I said.

‘So do you, my Aroha.’ She sat in silence for a while, then said, ‘Well, what was it?’

‘What was what?’

‘The question,’ she said. ‘That the voice asked you.’
So I told her.

‘How will love survive, when the whole world’s on fire?’

Attacked from all sides, Aroha must learn to listen to her heart to discover the truth. AROHA is the story of a journey to find love, and to accept responsibility … at the end of the world.

4) The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam:

Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English school in Saigon. He is also a bon vivant, a compulsive gambler and an incorrigible womanizer. He is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of the Chen Academy. He is fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, and quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, choosing instead to read the faces of his opponents at high-stakes mahjong tables. But when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage, and Laing Jai, a son born to them on the eve of the Tet offensive. Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further and further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

Violet Fire by Brenda Joyce
Gold Ring Of Revenge by Lilian Peake
Gone by Morning by Lilian Peake
Run For Your Love by Lilian Peake

I am in the midst of reading:

Varied Novels!

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What is the weirdest/strangest/craziest book you’ve read?

The Suicide Collectors by David Oppegaard:

There is something like Despair which has plagued the Earth for some years now. This has resulted in mass suicides. And as soon as there is a suicide, a shadowy group arrives from nowhere to collect the bodies.

It is terrifying, very stark, bleak and scary at places. In the sense that it can become a reality. Despair can hit us at any time and giving into it is going to be easy. To fight against it, is hard. This novel has surprises, twists, turns and is powerful. I would call it gloriously creepy. The prose is wonderfully flowing and very gripping. A book to read, to think about and revisit, if possible.

Do click the title to read my full review of the novel,

The Sunday Post/Sunday Salon: Writing, Shopping and Reading

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

This past week, I had a good one in the sense of writing. I wrote poetry after coaxing my muse out of its vacation. I read scientific articles and also a few romance novels along with crime fiction. As my niece is getting married, I did some shopping too, for myself. I need to get Sari, a dress or two, Jewellery and shoes.  I have bought half the stuff and will buy whatever is left, in the next shopping spree. I am not a very enthusiastic shopper but I did enjoy looking through Saris and dress (the party wearing kinds, that is). (I am VERY enthusiastic when I buy books!!)

I got a few books in my mail and will write about those in my Monday Mailbox post tomorrow. I do not have anything planned for next week, as usual. I will take it in my stride. Planning always goes haywire for me.

I posted the following on my blog:

Mailbox/What Am I reading?/Musing
Crime Fiction Alphabet: N is Nemesis by Agatha Christie
Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton
Top Ten Favorite Books I've Read During The Lifespan of my blog
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros
Booking Through Discuss / From The Review Pile (16)
Saturday Snapshot: August 25, 2012

Saturday Snapshot: August 25, 2012

As my niece is getting married in two months time, we are all nostalgic. She sent me some old photos. I am sharing two here:

my nieces and nephews, youngest niece is NOT in this photo

My oldest niece shares a special bond with my youngest nephew. They are cousins..

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books 

Booking Through Discuss / From The Review Pile (16)

Do you like to talk about what you read? Do you have somebody to talk WITH?

Yes, I like to talk about what I read. Very much so. BUT I do not have somebody to talk with about the books I have read. In school and college, I had such friends. NOT any more. At times I do feel frustrated but that is how it is.

I think, book blogging takes care of our MUST discuss needs!!!
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From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday. The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review. (or any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

Today I showcase Aroha by Anaru Bickford

Book Description:

Tormented daily by the cousin who holds her responsible for ripping their family apart, Maori teenager Aroha has many, many other things to worry about. Though she lives in the US with her aunt and uncle, the dreams that have plagued her since her childhood in New Zealand are starting to recur more and more often.The sun felt suddenly cold. 'You know so many things, Nanny,' I said.

'So do you, my Aroha.' She sat in silence for a while, then said, 'Well, what was it?'

'What was what?'

'The question,' she said. 'That the voice asked you.'

So I told her.

'How will love survive, when the whole world's on fire?'

Attacked from all sides, Aroha must learn to listen to her heart to discover the truth. AROHA is the story of a journey to find love, and to accept responsibility … at the end of the world.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this weekly meme. The idea is that you post the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).

I am posting the intro from Perla by Carolina De Robertis

Sometimes, to hide your sadness, you have to cut yourself in two. That way you can bury half of yourself, the unspeakable half, and leave the rest to face to the world. I can tell you the first time I did this. I was fourteen years old, standing in a bathroom stall holding the last note I would ever receive from my friend Romina, a note consisting of a single question in furious capital letters.

We had been in class together for years, but did not grow close until we were thirteen, when Romina began to have her experience. That was her own word for it, experience, spoken in a hallowed tone that gave it an aura of great mystery.

“An experience,” I repeated blankly, the first time I heard of it.

“Come over tonight, I’ll show you,” Romina said.

As it turned out, Romina’s experience was nothing more and nothing less than the philosophical and aesthetic expansion of her world. She had begun exploring her parents’ bookshelves. That was all.

We began to spend hours together after school, after homework was done, exploring books, ideas, poems, life’s great questions. We pillaged her parents’ bookcase, pulling volumes down, reading, and sharing our findings with each other.

Top Ten Favorite Books I've Read During The Lifespan Of My Blog

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, we get a theme to list our top tens. 

This week's Top Ten pick : Top Ten Favorite Books I've Read During The Lifespan Of My Blog 

I started book blogging in mid 2006. There are many books which have been my best reads since then. To list 10 is not doing justice to all those great reads. Here I go listing the best ones I remember. Do click on the titles to read my reviews. 
Those are no particular order:

1) East of Eden by John Steinbeck
2) Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
3) The Road by Cormac McCarthy
4) Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
5) Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
6) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
7) The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
8) I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
9) Faces In The Fire by T. L. Hines
10 A) The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
     B) The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
     C) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton

"Two sons and two fathers now," he said. "plus one girlfriend. McKnight, I think we've something terrible going on here."

~Page 92

Title: Misery Bay
Author: Steve Hamilton
ISBN: 9780312380434
Publisher: Minotaur books/2011
Pages: 304

On a cold miserable night, a college student hangs himself from a tree in the middle of a snowy, deserted field called Misery Bay near Lake Superior. He doesn't leave a note, but then suicide victims seldom do. The boy's father, a federal marshal and who happens to be an old friend of Alex McKnight's rival Police Chief Roy Maven, asks Alex to look into his son's suicide. But what appears to be a simple suicide, gets them embroiled in something sinister. Alex and Chief Maven find themselves working together, trying to find and stop a cold-blooded killer, who is hell bent on targeting law enforcement officers via their children. Meanwhile Alex tries to put the demons of his past behind him.

Hamilton’s drawing of characters or plot-line is superb and very believable, Alex McKnight’s  relationship with police chief Roy Maven changes to grudging mutual respect as the novel progresses. The  twists and turns in the story line keeps the reader on the edge. WE observe that the victims are the real focus, and although McKnight and the FBI search frantically for that elusive link that might lead them to the killer, we do see a hopelessness and bleakness in the characters. 

Alex McKnight is one of the best fictional investigators that has been created in a novel. I am going to read  as many books I can, written by Hamilton.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: N is Nemesis by Agatha Christie

Nemesis by Agatha Christie

Book Blurb:

In utter disbelief, Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr. Rafiel—an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. He had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing.

Soon she is faced with a new crime—the ultimate crime—murder. It seems someone is adamant that past evils remained buried. . . .

My views:

Miss Marple had met Mr Rafiel in A Caribbean Mystery. She reads about his death in the newspaper and later contacted by his lawyers and given a letter by him. She has to solve the mystery of his death. If she succeeds she will get a share of his fortune. The money does not interest her but she has to investigate his death. There are some references to a rape, which seems outdated but given the time of the writing, the mindset of the people prevailed as mentioned in the book. Similar mindset persists in India, even now....

Monday: Mailbox/What Am I reading?/Musing

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. 5 Minutes For Books is hosting MM for the month of August.

I received two books in my mailbox:  

1) Sweat by Mark Gilleo

When Jake Patrick took a summer internship at his estranged father’s corporation, he anticipated some much-needed extra cash and a couple of free meals from his guilty dad. He would never have guessed that he'd find himself in the center of an international scandal involving a U.S. senator, conspiracy, backroom politics, and murder. Or that his own life would hang in the balance. Or that he’d find help – and much more than that – from a collection of memorable characters operating on all sides of the law. Jake’s summer has turned into the most eventful one of his life. Now he just needs to survive it.

From the sweatshops of Saipan to the most powerful offices in Washington, SWEAT rockets through a story of crime and consequences with lightning pacing, a twisting plot, an unforgettable cast of characters, and wry humor. It is another nonstop thriller from one of the most exciting new voices in suspense fiction.

2) Winter Journal by Paul Auster

In 1982, following the death of his father, Paul Auster published what has become a classic of personal memoir writing, The Invention of Solitude. Now, on the 30^th Anniversary of his breakthrough debut, Auster gives us another unconventional memoir with Winter Journal.

Auster, now thirty years older, confronts his own aging, writing a history of his body and his experience as a human being, life’s horrors and its great joys. Facing his sixty-fourth winter, internationally acclaimed novelist Paul Auster sits down to write a history of his body and its sensations – both pleasurable and painful.

A bookend to The Invention of Solitude, Winter Journal is a highly personal meditation on the body, time, and memory by one of our most intellectually elegant writers.

I also downloaded the following galleys from Netgalley:

Heiress Behind the Headlines by Caitlin Crews
Duty and the Beast by Trish Morey
Two Wrongs Make a Marriage by Christine Merrill
Her Good Thing by Vanessa Miller
Handpicked Husband by Winnie Griggs
The Valtieri Baby by Caroline Anderson
How to Disgrace a Lady by Bronwyn Scott
Improve Sewing by Nicole Blum, Debra Immergut

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey

I finished reading:

The Inconvenient Duchess by Christine Merrill
Duke of Deception by Stephie Smith
Spring's Fury by Denise Domning

I am in the midst of reading:

Varied Novels!
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Have you ever reread a book and found that your opinion changed?

Not really. But yes I have re-read a lot of books...

The Sunday Post/Sunday Salon: Independence Day and all that....

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

 It was a hot week weather wise. School was also hectic. In the midst of it, we celebrated our Independence Day. I painted my nails in the colours of our flag. If you wanns see my nails, click on the Saturday Snapshot link below and let me know your views! Reading took a backseat but that is ok. We all need a break now and then!

I posted the following on my blog: (Do check them out)

Mailbox/What Am I reading?/Musing
Crime Fiction Alphabet: M is for Michael Robotham
The Accused by John Grisham
Top Ten Book Romances That You Think Would Make It In The Present World
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros
Booking Through Sniffle/From The Review Pile (15)
Saturday Snapshot: August 18, 2012

Here I am sharing my photo dressed in the colours of our flag:

Moi in Sari

Saturday Snapshot: August 18, 2012

We celebrated Independence day (August 15) in our Apartments. Everyone gather for Flag hoisting. We sang the National Anthem and shared sweets along with greetings. Sharing a few photographs of that...

Flag Hoisted

Children gathered for the event

My nails in the colour of our National Flag

Posted for Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Alyce of At Home With books 

Booking Through Sniffle/From The Review Pile (15)

What was the most emotional read you have ever had?

There have been many emotional read. But one that stands out is I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. Here is my review of the novel.

Title: I Know This Much is True
Author: Wally Lamb
ISBN: 9780061097645
Publisher: HarperTorch/ReaganBooks/1998
Pages 890

Thomas Birdsey, a 40-years old, goes to a library, all the while praying and with quite deliberation cuts off his right hand from the wrist. His only explanation being: by his sacrifice he can stop the war. His twin Dominick has always taken care of his schizophrenic brother for the last twenty years.

From there starts a journey of their story backwards. Dominick is the sane identical twin. He is the narrator of the story. This book goes back and forth from present to past. With deep dark secrets, a dysfunctional family, who really is responsible for Thomas' state? Born illegitimate with an unknown father, only father they know is Ray Birdsey, who had adopted them when he married Connie, their mother. For them he always remains the step father, at least in Dominick's eye. 

The deep search into Dominick's own psyche to understand his own inner being might give a clue about Thomas' state of being. That's what he believes. No matter what, Dominick has to take care of Thomas. We see him hating his identical twin, and also the deep abiding love for his other half. The question is who is the stronger twin? Dominick also gets to read his family history but he still can't know who is his real father. His mother died without letting it out. Despite his love and care for her, he hates her for it. 

This novel questions our own beliefs, our life's journey, and soul searching. Reading it makes us go through a whole gamut of emotions. Despite its length, it takes us in, with beautiful prose. With wit and dark humour, reading is not as difficult as I had initially presumed. With complexities of relationships, it is not a book for those who want everything neat and hunky dory.
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From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday. The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review. (or any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

Today I am showcasing Suzy's Case by Andy Siegel.

This wild ride of a debut thriller is packed with insider details that reveal the fascinating world of a New York lawyer who’ll stop at nothing to secure justice.

Introducing Tug Wyler, a dogged and irreverent New York City personal injury and medical malpractice attorney. He is as at home on the streets as he is in the courtroom, and larger than life in both places. Once you’ve met him, you won’t ever forget him.

When Henry Benson, a high-profile criminal lawyer known for his unsavory clients, recruits Tug to take over a long-pending multimillion-dollar lawsuit representing a tragically brain-damaged child, his instructions are clear: get us out of it; there is no case. Yet the moment Tug meets the disabled but gallant little Suzy Williams and June, her beautiful, resourceful mother, all bets are off.

With an offbeat, self-mocking style, Tug Wyler’s a far cry from your ordinary lawyer. Unswerving in his dedication to his mostly disadvantaged clients, he understands only too well how badly they need him with the system stacked against them. Tug is honest about his own shortcomings, many of them of the profoundly politically incorrect variety, and his personal catchphrase, handy in all situations, is “At least I admit it.”

When his passionate commitment to Suzy’s case thrusts him into a surreal, often violent sideshow, the ensuing danger only sharpens his obsession with learning what really happened to Suzy. Blending razor-sharp intuition, intellectual toughness, and endlessly creative legal brinkmanship, Tug determinedly works his way through a maze of well-kept secrets—encountering a cast of memorably eccentric characters along the way—to get to the truth.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this weekly meme. The idea is that you post the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).


Today I am posting the opening paragraph of The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller

All that I have I carry on me.

Or: All that is mine I carry with me.

I carried all I had, but it wasn’t mine. Everything either came from someone else or wasn’t what it was supposed to be. A gramophone box served as a pigskin suitcase. The light overcoat came from my father. The fancy coat with the velvet collar from my grandfather. The knickers from Uncle Edwin. The leather gaiters came from our neighbor Herr Carp, the green woolen gloves from Aunt Fini. Only the burgundy silk scarf and the toilet kit belonged to me, presents from the previous Christmas.