The Vanishing Act

The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen starts with the body of a boy being found on an island, of four people (a fisherman, daughter (the only one named with a 'real' name), priest and a magician/circus performer/cabinet maker) and a dog. It sounds as if this a start of a thriller, but actually is a book that is about the people on the island and their secrets. Part philosophy book (the author has degrees in philosophy and creative writing so not really that surprising) and a search for a community to come to terms with their pasts and the loss (for whatever reason) on a member of that community, wife, mother, or lover. The dead boy strangely becomes the vehicle for a father and daughter to work through their loss.

A nice book and fairly short at 217 pages worth a look though.

The monk who sold his Ferrari

The monk who sold his Ferrai by Robin S Sharma is one of those inspirational book you are glad you read. It is a simple read in a lot of respects and the ideas are not original; but the book does not pretend that they are ( it clear says there ancient ideas) or suffer for it. The story revolves around a worldly lawyer changing his life and coming back to teach his protege the lessons learnt. It is very easy to pick holes in the story, but the story really is just a vehicle to get the concepts over and therefore perhaphs should be viewed in that light. If you like Paulo Coelho books you will like this. It is a self help/ spirituality book with a strong eastern philosophic bent, but also very accessible and enjoyable read.