World Editions contacted me for their blog tour for Boekenweek. Books on the tour feature all Dutch literature that was recently translated into English. I asked for a copy of Two Blankets, Three Sheets, however, all opinions shared here are my own. Feel free to look up other reviews from other blogs on the tour. 🙂
In addition, I’ll be sharing four other books I have read over the last few weeks.
📚 Two Blankets, Three Sheets
WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK
I chose this book because the topic was interesting to me.
When we went to Europe in 2016, we caught a small glimpse of how the migrant and refugee crisis was impacting the world. While on a train going from Germany to Austria, a family traveling across country lines illegally was taken off of our train car. I’ll be completely honest, I began crying as I heard the woman beg to stay and heard her baby begin wailing. I’ve thought of that family many times since, and this book brought more of what their experiences may have become (if they were not deported).
MY REVIEW OF TWO BLANKETS, THREE SHEETS
As an ESL professional, I always try to be mindful of the experiences some of my students might have had. I feel this novel was beautifully written and describes the lost of identity that can come from immigrating, not being able to communicate, and having your whole life’s outcome be tied up in bureaucracy.
The author, Rodaan Al Galidi, somehow manages to tell the story of a refugee while maintaining good humor. I found myself laughing at situations which were artfully told against such a juxtaposed background.
I recommend reading this book if you are looking for more information about what it is like to be a refugee in some countries, if you’d like to feel more connected to current events while told in an uplifting way, and if you want to be inspired by the human spirit of resilience.
SUMMARY FROM Amazon:
Based on the author’s true story, this is the account of Iraqi refugee Samir, who spends nine years in an asylum center in the Netherlands.
Amsterdam Airport, 1998. Samir Karim steps off a plane from Vietnam, flushes his fake passport down the toilet, and requests asylum. Fleeing Iraq to avoid conscription into Saddam Hussein’s army, he has spent seven years anonymously wandering through Asia. Now, safely in the heart of Europe, he is sent to an asylum center and assigned a bed in a shared dorm―where he will spend the next nine years. As he navigates his way around the absurdities of Dutch bureaucracy, Samir tries his best to get along with his 500 new housemates. Told with compassion and a unique sense of humor, this is an inspiring tale of survival, a close-up view of the hidden world of refugees and human smugglers, and a sobering reflection of our times.
📚 We Met in December
This was a cute and predictable romance novel. There is language and “off screen” adult intimacy, but details are never given. The book is easy to follow and a great light read after something heavier.
SUMMARY FROM Amazon
Twenty-nine-year-old Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It’s December, and she’s taking a room in a crumbling, but grand, Notting Hill house-share with four virtual strangers. On her first night, Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor, at a Christmas dinner hosted by her landlord. They don’t kiss, but as far as Jess is concerned the connection is clear. She starts planning how they will knock down the wall between them to spend more time together.
But when Jess returns from a two-week Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started dating someone else – beautiful Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into (hell, sharing a bathroom with) the man of her dreams…and the woman of his.
📚 Home Sweet Maison
Great for Francophiles; it definitely made me think of home decor differently. However, a lot of the suggestions take so much effort that they aren’t easily implemented.
SUMMARY FROM Amazon
French Women Don’t Get Fat meets The Little Book of Hygge in this lively, sophisticated, and practical lifestyle guide that shows how to enjoy la belle vie – to live like the French every day – transforming your house into a home defined by beauty, family, and accessible elegance.
How do the French create the elusive and alluring sanctuaries they call home? This question long intrigued Danielle Postel-Vinay. Thanks to a chance encounter with a French expat in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and years of immersive research, she embarked on a quest to discover the secrets of the French home aesthetic.
📚 Harriet the Spy
A cute young adult read. Also, I love how Harriet goes to therapy in the book, and it is a positive thing; impressive for a book written in the 1960s. I really want to watch the movie again now!
SUMMARY FROM Amazon
Harriet the Spy refuses to become ruffled when an unidentified person starts leaving disturbing notes all over the quiet little beach town of Water Mill. She’s determined to discover the author of the notes. And she drags her friend, mousy Beth Ellen, into all kinds of odd and embarrassing situations in her efforts to reveal the culprit. Observing in her own special, caustic way with her ever-present notebook, Harriet the Spy is on the case. But will she be ready to face the truth when she finds it?
📚 The Path Between Us
I absolutely loved this enneagram book!! This and The Road Back to You are seriously the best enneagram books I have ever read.
SUMMARY FROM Amazon
How do we understand the motivations and dynamics of the different personality types we see in our intimate partners, our friends, or in our professional lives? This six-session study guide is a content-rich companion to Suzanne Stabile’s The Path Between Us, exploring the nine Enneagram types and how they experience relationships. Individuals and groups will gain deeper insights about themselves, their types, and others’ personalities so that they can have loving, mature, and compassionate relationships.
