Naïve. Super and Gone with the Woman by Erlend Loe

In November 2008 I happened to be in the Hague where a Norwegian writer Erlend Loe presented his newly written novel. I have not had a chance to read that novel yet but I have read two of his earliest books that brought him if not fame but recognition. I loved the books, especially Naive. Super, but they are both written in a very easy manner and probably like their author they do not claim to be something not heard or seen before, they simply tell us about another way to look at eternal topics of sense of life, essence of love and need to be with somebody. The books guarantee a couple of laughs, some very broad smiles and light thinking process afterwards.

It is actually quite interesting how different the instruments used by writers can be. They can drive you into depression like it was skillfully done by our well known and respected Dostoevsky, they can touch every nerve as Hemingway liked to do (his nerves as known were in a much worse condition, though) or they can make you laugh, laugh together with the characters, because there is no need to die, there is no need for dramas - there will always be some place for doubts, sadness, goodbyes and loneliness, but they can be embraced just as anything else, I think.

Frida Kahlo in Mexico by Robin Richmond

This is no fiction book to marvel play on words or richness of the vocabulary. I borrowed it from the library after having watched "Frida" with Salma Hayek to know what could be considered true and what not. Of course, we will never know many things (least of all the truth) but let's not forget that Frida Kahlo was quite an exhibitionist and left not only the paintings who alone are stories enough but also diaries, letters and notes. "Frida in Mexico" is an attempt to understand her art, her life, her love, her country.

It is quite incredible how things can become different as soon as you go deeper. Primitive as they might seem for somebody who cherishes realistic art, Frida's paintings are no less unique - one simply has to be prepared for them. And to do so one should know about the woman who stands behind them, her incredible story of survival and fight for life, her disastrous love for Diego Rivera, her beliefs in a better future of the world, her patriotism.
It was quite a revelation for me to read Frida's biography. A small woman with a broken spine who suffered most of her life and still managed to win over not only Mexico but the whole world by her talent, will power and buoyancy.

The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster

After losing his wife and two little sons in a plane crash, a university professor David Zimmer isolates himself from the world and falls into hard drinking. Ironically the death of the family makes him rich so he allows himself a break from teaching and spends days in his apartment. It drags on and on till the day he accidentally switches on his TV and bursts out laughing watching an old silent comedy starring a Hector Mann. Surprised by his own reaction David decides to learn more about Mann and his work. He finds out that Hector Mann mysteriously disappeared in the 1920s having left only some silent movies after him. David makes up his mind to watch them and write a book about them. This brings him to an unexpected discovery that Hector Mann who disappeared over 60 years ago is still alive. When a person experiences such misery and shock it is hard to find their own place in the world again. And though it sometimes seems that the story is over-dramatic especially at the end, there is certain appeal in all those endless losses and findings and yet again losses the protagonist goes through.

The book is full of sadness and the topic of death and futility is on the surface. Everything has its beginning and its end. One can fool time by writing a book or making a film but they will all come to an end as well, one day sooner or later. What is left? To live in the moment, maybe. To grasp what might be yours, to appreciate if what you have grasped is really that good and desirable. To remember that life goes on despite anything.