Summer Reading III...

" A Concubina Russa" by Kate Furnivall is an incredibly romantic and epic book. The story story begins in 1917 in Russia and ends in China, Junchow.
The story is about two rrussian refugees in China who live a very poor and difficult life. They, mother and daugther struggle to survive in a very hostile community, the old China with its ancient culture and criminality and the international community settled there.
The young girl, Lydia, is a brave character that goes through many adventures but above all great changes, the discovery of a forbidden love with a young communist chinese boy, the discovery of her own identity and the secrets of her mother.
I loved the book because I love to " travel" to distant and unknown cultures. The book is a valuable source of information about China and international politics too.
A beautiful love story.

Summer Reading II...

This is a post written immediately after having finished reading another book.

This is an extraordinary book about an extrordinary woman who became a Pope of Rome in the ancient times of 853 .

The book of " A Papisa Joana" written by Donna Woolfolk Cross, is the story of a young and brilliant girl who fought against all odds to have the right to learn. To have an academic education was forbbiden to girls because they were considered inferior. Joana, fought against her cruel father, against her mother, against the law of men just to have the pleasure to learn and to study. She was a brilliant student but also persecuted because of her intelligence. She lived most of her life hiding herself under the clothes of men.

Her intelligence, skills as doctor and character take her to Rome and near the Popes. Elected as one of them, she had dedicated those brief times as Pope to help the poorest.

The book is also about her love story.

She died in 855 in the streets of Rome while giving birth to a still-born child.

A book that absorbs our attention till the end.

Summer Reading I...

I love reading. I've already told you about this passion of mine.

Reading takes me very far away, it takes me to distant places, I meet new people and new cultures.

This year I've already read some books...

To start with I must recommend the Stieg Larson trilogy.

The first book "Os homens que odeiam as mulheres", the second " A rapariga que sonhava com uma lata de gasolina e um fósforo" and the third " A rainha no palácio das correntes de ar", are to be read in this order because the story, the lives of the famous journalist Mikael Blomkvist, of the strange girl and hacker Lisbeth Salander and many others are developed through the three books.

These books are a combination of romance with a thriller. Once you start reading....you can't stop.I vividly recommend this author who died before his work was acknowledged by the literary world.