Eine junge Dolmetscherin verlässt nach dem Tod ihres Vaters New York, um am Internationalen Gerichtshof in Den Haag zu arbeiten. Auf einer Party lernt sie Adriaan kennen. Doch dann verschwindet er zu seiner Noch-Ehefrau und hinterlässt nichts als Fragen. Ins Grübeln kommt die junge Frau auch, als sie für einen angeklagten westafrikanischen Kriegsverbrecher dolmetschen muss.

„Intimitäten“ ist ein Roman von Katie Kitamura.

Meine Meinung:
Der Roman besteht aus 16 Kapiteln. Erzählt wird in chronologischer Reihenfolge in der Ich-Perspektive aus der Sicht der Dolmetscherin.

Der Schreibstil ist unaufgeregt, aber eindringlich und atmosphärisch. Immer wieder wird das sprachliche Talent der Autorin deutlich.

Der Fokus liegt eindeutig auf der leider namenlosen Dolmetscherin, deren Innenleben intensiv beleuchtet wird. Sie wirkt authentisch und ist psychologisch gut ausgestaltet. Die übrigen Personen bleiben blass, was mich jedoch überhaupt nicht gestört hat.

Inhaltlich geht es vor allem um existenzielle Fragen. Das Thema Heimatlosigkeit spielt ebenfalls eine wichtige Rolle. Sehr interessant fand ich es, mehr über das Berufsbild von Dolmetschern zu erfahren.

Die Handlung ist überschaubar. Der Schwerpunkt der Geschichte sind die Gedanken der Protagonistin. Viele dramatische Momente gibt es somit nicht. Dennoch konnte mich der Roman mit seinen etwas mehr als 200 Seiten fesseln.

Der deutsche Titel ist wortgetreu aus dem Englischen („Intimacies“) übersetzt worden. Auch das Cover passt zur Geschichte und gefällt mir sehr gut.

Mein Fazit:
„Intimitäten“ von Katie Kitamura ist ein empfehlenswerter Roman. Ein intensives und ungewöhnliches Leseerlebnis.

I haven't bothered with these monthly wrap-up posts in recent months because I've got so little reading done and with moving my account, it just got lost in the shuffle.

So anyway, four books finished in June. Only one fiction that I chose to read and it was pretty good. Three non-fiction from Netgalley. I seem to have a backlog of those all of a sudden. Some of them are a bit woo but I do take an interest in all sorts of things.

I'm reading several books at once so I may have more books done by the end of July. I'm still getting back to normal reading after the end of the world in march so I'm just glad to be reading again!

by Katie Huang

This is the first book I've seen that melds crystal healing with astrology. Interestingly, I've recently been reading a book on Ayurvedic medicine and found precedent for this combination there. It starts off with some very basic information about astrology that would be useful to someone totally new to the subject, but already familiar to anyone who has read anything else about astrology.

This is followed by similarly basic information about crystals, but this veered into belief rather than practical instruction and I found it of little use. After a bit of woo, it got to the part I was looking for; segments on astrological placements and which stones would be useful for specific purposes.

It goes through each of the twelve signs, giving an overview followed by small segments about the significance of the Sun, Moon and Ascendant, assigning stones to each, then covers the "personal planets", Venus, Mercury and Mars. The book does not address the outer planets but explains how they are slow moving and tend to affect generations more than individuals.

It gives a few basic spells, mostly based on visualisation and covering basic things like love spells, communication and personal insight. While I found the information a bit light, I did see it as useful and would certainly recommend it to someone new to these subjects and of use to people wanting to expand work with crystals.

@Archaeolibrary, @Zaberbooks, #NewAdult, #Fantasy, 5 out of 5 (exceptional)

Ashes and Blood is the first book in the Dalya series and it starts off with a very weird tree! Even though this book is listed as New Adult I still, somehow, managed to convince myself it was Young Adult. So it was a bit of a shock when I read about them drinking and swearing. Still, it was my error and one I quickly got over as I immersed myself in their adventure.

The details in this story are simply amazing. The descriptions given help the reader to see every tree, person, and situation so clearly. The action is non-stop and with enough twists and turns to keep anyone happy. There is romance but not with the main character (or at least, not yet. I'm hopeful for the future!) which made a nice change.

And speaking of characters, the ones in here will jump out at you. They are so well described and three-dimensional, you will have no issue with remembering who is whom. I loved the girls' different attitudes and capabilities PLUS how Tristan was the one to watch, even though he came across as the most easy-going!

This was a fantastic start to the series and I really can't wait to read more and return to Dalya. Absolutely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!