"An Unfaithful Woman" by Spanish novelist Reyes Monforte is a book based on a true story, which disclose the problem of Islamic extremism that has recently become a real threat for our society.

The main character of the book is Sara, twenty-four years old language teacher. She is a modern Spanish woman: she really likes her job, but she has to reconcile it with her family life because she brings up her six years old son all by herself. Her life changes as she falls in love with Nahib, one of her Muslim students from language school. What she doesn't know, is that he is an agent of radical Islam terrorist group and he has a cruel plan to use her for his own purposes. Soon she is forced to join a terrorist group herself.

It's the kind of books that really take you back: you expect something while reading and at the end it turns out completely the opposite of what you thought. It's a shocking story about passion, maternity, human tragedy, terrorism and vengeance. At the same time, it unveils the Islamic terrorists activities and shows them from within, by the eyes of a western woman.

This week I am reading “The Bourne Identity”, a spy fiction thriller by Robert Ludlum. I came across that book in the library and when I started reading the book description on its cover I immediately become absorbed in it.

The novel keeps you in suspense from the very beginning. It begins with a mysterious discovery made by a fisherman who, by accident, finds in the sea a wounded man. The man has on his body many traces of bullets and others serious injuries. When he wakes up it turns out that he suffers from amnesia: he cannot remember who he is, not even what his name is. He can remember some memories from the past, but he’s not able to understand them. The only clue is the number of a bank account in Zurich which was kept in the small movie embedded in the man’s hip. He starts a trip to Switzerland in order to find out who he is. During that journey he learns a lot about himself. He is a man of remarkable abilities, especially he seems to know all about weapons, fights, politics and international assassins. One by one he tries to get together the mixed and blurred parts of his past. 

Honestly, I do not remember how much time I spent reading that book, but when I started it I read it whole to the end almost without a break. The action is well-thought and psychologically credible. The action is fast moving: the gun fires, daring escapes, kidnaps, professional murderers, undercover agents… All that makes this book a great story. It is really hard to put it away once you start reading.

This week I am reading “The Real Lady Detective Agency: A True Story”, the book my friend lent me. And again, it is an entertaining book witch a charming style and easy to read: biographical and comical, just like “Catch me if you can”, only, it's contemporary. Well, to tell the truth, the story is completely different, but, nevertheless, I would put that two books into one category. I am sure that if you like the first one, you will enjoy the second one too.

The story is real and I can say it's rather original. The author, Rebecca Jane is the founder of The Real Lady Detective Agency. Her case seems to confirm a known English proverb: “necessity is the mother of invention”. She started the Lady Detective Agency in 2009 at the age of 24, when her first husband cheated on her. She says there wasn't a person to help her and she asked her friends for help. They decided to follow her husband and that's how she found the idea of setting up her own business. 

In her book she talks about many cases, she describes the details of detective's work. In the book you can find many strange and sometimes even funny adventures: following unfaithful husbands, looking for lost objects of personal value, pursuits of criminals..

The author talks about her life with a humorous approach. She doesn't take her troubles to heart. On the contrary, she is able to turn them into an entertaining story.

This time I opted for more serious book, so I chose Beware of Pity (Ungeduld des Herzens) written by an Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig. 

The book relates the story of lieutenant Anton Hofmille who gets to know young paralyzed girl named Edith and starts to spend with her and her family more and more time because of the compassion he feels for her. Although he feels nothing but pity for her, Edith falls in love with the young man. The story is touching and very well told.

The characters are well developed and psychologically credible. In fact, I think that the psychology is the strongest point of the book. A reader can look into protagonist's mind and actually understand his motivations, emotions and actions. It shows how a sensible and altruist man can find himself in a very difficult situation and how the pity he feels for the disabled girl slowly makes him embroiled in the terrible tragedy. 

Beware of Pity is definitely a great book, but it is not a “light” type of reading. However, I can recommend it to every person who likes that kind of novels.

Recently I have many things to do and I don’t have much time for reading. That’s why when I was looking for something to read I preferred  an entertaining book that could make me laugh and forget for a moment about work and everyday problems.

Today I want to present to you a book just like that. It’s titled “Catch me if you can” and it tells a story of  Frank Abagnale, one of the most creative criminals of the XX century. He stole millions of dollars from banks all over the world.

The book is written like a diary by Frank Abagnale himself. Its style is very direct which makes reading a really enjoyable experience. Most of Frank’s adventures are truly incredible: he  used to fly for free dressed as a pilot using a fake license, he pretended to be a podiatrist, academic teacher and lawyer. The book also describes his numerous daring and ingenious escapes from the police from many countries.

Undoubtedly the advantage of that book is the humorous style and many fascinating biographical facts about the author who shows himself as an incredibly intelligent criminal and the most skillful imposter.

“As white as Milk, as Red as Blood” is often called a contemporary version of Love story. It’s undoubtedly a book which picks up challenging and difficult subject, but surprisingly is able to do it in a very natural and attractive way.

The novel was written by an Italian writer Alessandro D'Avenia. The main character of “As white as Milk, as Red as Blood” Leo is an ordinary teenager: a little bit rebel who hates school and loves football.  His love for Beatrice changes him and makes him see many things. Leo starts to think about love, suffering and the value of human life.

From being a teenager he starts to feel adult. That book is a “bildungroman”, a book about education and growing up. Thanks to his experiences the main character learns a lot about the world and about himself. His participation in a human tragedy turns an immature 15 year old boy  into a grown man who can think and make important life decisions. 

Today I would like to tell you a little about a book I read last week. It was written by a Spanish novelist Javier Moro and it’s titled “The Red Sari”. It is a belletristic biography of Sonia Gandhi, an Italian girl who happen to marry a son of the Prime Minister of India and became one of the most important people in that country.

Before I read the book I didn’t have any idea who was she or what role in the Indian story she had. In fact, I knew very little about India at all. “The Red Sari” was the first book that was able to make me interested in Indian culture.

The author explains to a reader many Indian traditions, their everyday life and many political problems India has to struggle with. Javier Moro presents to us a character of a young European girl who chooses a life in a far foreign country, entirely different of what she was used to know.

Although her story had begun as a fairy tale, she had to suffer a lot in her life. During her marriage Sonia has to deal with many troubles not only related to the cultural differences between her and her husband’s family. She learns to act like a Indian woman, a politician, a mother and an important part of the most known and powerful family in India.

The book touches on many curious aspects, many of which, I think, are still current in our world, such as terrorism or poverty. What's more the book makes you think about human life and its destiny. I recommend that story to every person who wants to spend a good time and learn something new at the same time.