Marvin's Monthly Book Bites is a monthly newsletter I started in 2024 to share the books I've read over a month. You can subscribe to updates here.

Hey there 👋

Days are getting longer, the sun is coming out, and the first quarter of the year is already over (wait, that's crazy!). Many of the books I mention here are in German, and I am not sure if there is already a translation available for all of them. But that should not stop us from reading great books! In March, I read four books, all of them in paperback format. Let's get into it.

The Handmaid's Tale is a poignant and provocative dystopia by Margaret Atwood, set in a totalitarian future where women are stripped of their rights and forced to become servants of a repressive regime, raising profound questions about power, gender roles, and the struggle for freedom. I was reminded of books by George Orwell in many places and one can find many parallels between the two. I must say that I probably wouldn't have read this book on my own, but was pushed to do so by my current Master Class with Margaret Atwood (yes, I want to write myself someday). It was quite good overall. All in all, it is a book where one can read and must read between the lines. The ending leaves a lot of room for interpretation and addresses themes such as freedom, hope, the image of women, and patriarchy. Perhaps we are all just going around in circles and this work holds up a mirror to warn us about our own future.

When I found out at the end that John Green himself had contributed a sentence to the book, everything became clear to me. In many ways, Hard Land is reminiscent of John Green's books, and that is absolutely not meant in a negative way. It is an ode to adulthood, with sadness, heartache, a summer that changes everything, and new friendships. For me, it was also a journey back to my youth, and I caught myself grinning for pages on end. Clearly, anyone who is not touched by Hard Land was never truly young.

Maybe I chose this book because it has a similar title to one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums. Or maybe just because it's written by Martin Suter, and his novels have become my comfort zone. And I was not disappointed. Urs Blank is a star in the legal industry. But after a bad mushroom trip, he flees into the woods and sees only one way out. The synopsis of the book alone fascinated and intrigued me. Definitely worth recommending, even though it may not have the same emotional depth as other Suter novels.

When I saw the book, it immediately felt familiar to me. A classic case of experience bias. I had heard a lot about the movie a few years ago and it was often in the press in Germany. I didn't have high expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. Despite being a fictional novel (with only partial historical background), it feels so real and detailed that it is truly captivating. Fabrizio Collini had led a life without ever doing anything wrong. So why did he cold-bloodedly murder the CEO of one of the most important economic companies in Germany? With this premise and the small and big surprises that Ferdinand von Schirach places here, it is definitely not the last work that I will read from this successful author.

What are your reading highlights from this month? Any suggestions what I should pick up next?

See you in April ✌️
Marvin