Cannonball Read 14

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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> FAQ Home
> Tag: Berlin

Spies Alive

The Torqued Man by Peter Mann

January 22, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

The Torqued Man is a very difficult novel to pull off. It has to accurately replicate the atmosphere of Nazi Germany in World War II, introduce two queer heroes enmeshed with each other without the Tragic Homosexual trope, present a novel-within-the-novel that tweaks the story without it losing momentum. become a high wire spy tale in the tradition of Furst and LeCarré, and do all of this in a way that entertains while seamlessly blending multiple genres. And man oh man does Peter Mann do it. […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense Tagged With: Berlin, Espinoage, gay fiction, humor, LGBTQIA, Nazi Germany, Peter Mann, The Torqued Man, WWII

Jake's CBR14 Review No:9 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense · Tags: Berlin, Espinoage, gay fiction, humor, LGBTQIA, Nazi Germany, Peter Mann, The Torqued Man, WWII ·
· 0 Comments

Vacation Reading

Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America by Martin Doberman

The Pursuit of Pearls by Clara Vine

Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

The Rocksburg Railroad Murders by K.C. Constantine

March Violets by Philip Kerr

Can't Knock the Hustle: Inside Brooklyn's Season of Hope: How Basketball Helped Us Survive Power, Politics, and a Global Pandemic by Matt Sullivan

The Lime Pit by Jonathan Valin

July 6, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I was on vacation last week and, as you can tell from the stack in the header, I read a LOT… Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America **** I wish this had focused more on the Uprising itself, as opposed to being a semi auto-biography on those who were involved in it. But it’s still a fascinating story at the nascent days of the LGBTQIA+ Movement, the challenges and complexities, and what emerged from it. A good gateway into learning […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: #history, basketball, Berlin, Bernie Gunther, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Nets, Can't Knock the Hustle, Cincinnati, Clara Vine, Eileen Chang, espionage, historical fiction, Hong Kong China, Jonathan Valin, K.C. Constantine, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, LGBTQIA, Lust Caution, March Violets, Mario Balzic, Martin Doberman, Matt Sullivan, mystery, NBA, New York City, paris, Pennsylvania, Philip Kerr, politics, sports, Stacey Abrams, Stonewall, The Lime Pit, The Pursuit of Pearls, The Rocksburg Railroad Murders, thriller, While Justice Sleeps

Jake's CBR13 Review No:102 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: #history, basketball, Berlin, Bernie Gunther, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Nets, Can't Knock the Hustle, Cincinnati, Clara Vine, Eileen Chang, espionage, historical fiction, Hong Kong China, Jonathan Valin, K.C. Constantine, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, LGBTQIA, Lust Caution, March Violets, Mario Balzic, Martin Doberman, Matt Sullivan, mystery, NBA, New York City, paris, Pennsylvania, Philip Kerr, politics, sports, Stacey Abrams, Stonewall, The Lime Pit, The Pursuit of Pearls, The Rocksburg Railroad Murders, thriller, While Justice Sleeps ·
· 0 Comments

Conspiracy of Fools

Wedding Station by David Downing

June 7, 2021 by Jake Leave a Comment

I don’t know what to make of David Downing’s Station series. On the one hand, I frequently read historical fiction that explores the pitfalls of life in Nazi Germany. Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series is the best example but there are others in the popular “Nazi Noir” subgenere and Downing’s series is one of them. Downing gets the atmosphere of prewar Berlin down in an effective, readable way. I visited Berlin before and while it’s far removed from its Nazi past, the environment of low […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Berlin, David Downing, historical fiction, John Russell, mystery, Nazi Germany, Wedding Station

Jake's CBR13 Review No:79 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Berlin, David Downing, historical fiction, John Russell, mystery, Nazi Germany, Wedding Station ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Lyrical, Soulful, Compelling

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugan

September 1, 2020 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

I’ve been wanting to read Half Blood Blues, Esi Edugan’s Giller prize-winning, Booker prize-shortlisted novel, ever since it came out in 2011- its only taken a “Music” bingo square to finally get me there.  Half-Blood Blues is a beautifully written, deeply layered, and historically fascinating novel about a group of mixed-race jazz musicians in Paris and Berlin during the wild interwar years.  The novel opens in Paris in 1941, when one of the band members gets ‘pinched’ by the occupying Nazis. From this navel, the […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History Tagged With: 1930s, Berlin, cbr12bingo, Esi Edugan, Half Blood Blues, music, paris

Wanderlustful's CBR12 Review No:47 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: 1930s, Berlin, cbr12bingo, Esi Edugan, Half Blood Blues, music, paris ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Auf Wiedersehen, Old Friend

Metropolis by Philip Kerr

April 15, 2019 by Jake Leave a Comment

The last week or so, I’ve written in different outlets about the impact Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series has had on my reading journey and personal life. While acknowledging the many faults of these books, I love them in a special way. I think Kerr is great at capturing atmosphere and cynicism to produce some truly great crime reading. “Nazi Noir” is a burgeoning genre now but Kerr’s Gunther works were really the trendsetter. Knowing this would be the last one following Kerr’s untimely death, […]

Filed Under: Mystery Tagged With: Berlin, Bernie Gunther, historical fiction, Metropolis, mystery, Philip Kerr, Weimar Germany

Jake's CBR11 Review No:40 · Genres: Mystery · Tags: Berlin, Bernie Gunther, historical fiction, Metropolis, mystery, Philip Kerr, Weimar Germany ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

eeeugh. gross in so many ways.

The Innocent by Ian McEwan

February 10, 2019 by andtheIToldYouSos 9 Comments

TRIGGER WARNING: sexual violence- and other terrible things What started out as a fairly mild story of a man who is a:not good at his job and b: not a terribly interesting person lurched suddenly downhill into a dirge of rape fantasy, sexual violence, murder, and dismemberment. “Eeeugh” was putting it lightly. I’m not one to tell you, dear reader, what to do- but I strongly suggest avoiding this garbage fire. I am normally drawn to post-war drama- especially involving espionage and intrigue- but I […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History, Suspense Tagged With: 1950s, Berlin, espionage, ian mcewan, post-war, white male privilege

andtheIToldYouSos's CBR11 Review No:4 · Genres: Fiction, History, Suspense · Tags: 1950s, Berlin, espionage, ian mcewan, post-war, white male privilege ·
Rating:
· 9 Comments
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