"Paris at my feet" (from Les Misérables)

The Novel:
Anna Trent (pronounced Tron in French) suffers an accident in a chocolate factory in England where she works. She loses a couple of toes and in order to get back on her feet, her erstwhile French teacher Claire - who herself is extremely poorly -  suggests she takes some time to get herself together and work for Thierry, master chocolatier, and also Claire's amour from younger days. Paris  certainly calls....
Anna settles into a tiny apartment high above the rooflines of Paris, which she shares with Sami, an operatic costumier who brings a sense of exoticism to the story (as though diving in and out of chocolate making and eating delicious food isn't enough!). The story deftly weaves its way through the quartiers of Paris, as love and care blossom and we follow Anna as she experiences an "EXTREMELY foreign experience".

Paris, the City:
Come, follow us to Paris via this  beautiful tale of romance, heartache and chocolate:

"Friday afternoon in early July on the Ile de la Cité was hot and sticky and bustling with tourists. Away from the formal 'placement' of the organised streets and wide boulevards, the far corner betrayed its twisty, hugger mugger mediaeval origins; little alleyways springing hither and thither; roads narrowing to nearly nothing or ending abruptly at the wall of one of the great churches." Tempted to visit....?

Author Interview:
To mark the publication of this fabulous new book, TripFiction poses some questions to author Jenny Colgan

TF - You warmly evoke Paris in your new novel – so much so that we are left yearning to visit again. How have you come to know the city so well? 

JC - My brother moved there when he was in his early twenties and lived there for a long time so I used to hop across all the time. Now I have two friends who spend a lot of time there and I love going to see them from Antibes, where I live. It's a beautiful trip on the TGV. 

TF - You describe how Laurent and Anna set off down a tiny maze of alleys, heading for a restaurant that only has a mushroom over the door to indicate an eating establishment; it is somewhere only Paris insiders would know about. Does this restaurant exist and how did you discover it? 

JC - It certainly does, and it's amazing- we were taken there by friends, I can't even remember where it is. We ate nine mushroom based courses. Extraordinary place. 

TF - You share so much wonderful information about the production of chocolate. Where did you learn about the process? 

JC - Haha, thank you but very boring research I'm afraid; books and the internet. Alas, I never got to go to a factory! 

TF - The story is in part romance, but it also has a much darker edge it to it. What was your inspiration for the storyline? 

JC - Well, I really did it backwards - what would make Anna go? It's so hard to throw up your whole life and change everything, really difficult. So I thought someone must have inspired her to go and Claire's story came out of that really: when I started the book I didn't envisage Claire having such a large role. 

TF - How did you choose the names for your characters? 

JC - With enormous difficulty. Every writer will say this, it's a great question. You want names that tell you a bit about a character but not too much. I chose Claire because it sounds the same in both English and French. Finding a boy's name was quite difficult because a lot of the male names I really like in french sound a bit feminine to english ears- Clément, Florian, Baptiste. So we experimented with a few and settled on Laurent. Anna started off with another name, I can't remember what it was now. Actually funny story: my daughter is called Delphine and when I told my writer friends two of them went 'oh, really?" So this year both Jill Mansell and Maggie O' Farrell have books coming out with Delphines in them. I'm really pleased! 

A huge thank you to Jenny for answering our questions.

Museums & Fiction in MEXICO CITY

We are so pleased that author Carmen Amato has kindly agreed to guest blog her selection of fiction set in and around the Museums in Mexico City……
There you are, strolling through amazing exhibits and you know something’s missing. Like the backstory. Wish you'd known more before going? But there wasn't time. Besides,  researching before going to a museum sounds too much like work. So prep with a little fiction! Have fun and get the backstory before you go by matching a good book with a counterpart museum. It’s like pairing white wine with fish or a cabernet with a good steak; each tastes better with the other. 

Here are some suggestions for pairing fiction books with museums in Mexico City. Just like Corona with carnitas! (Click on the covers for more information).

Chapultepec Castle and The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo

The museum: Perched on top of a hill, with sweeping views over Mexico City’s western sprawl, the fortress-style castle was home to the ill-fated Emperor Maxmillian I and his empress, Carlota, during the Second Mexican Empire from 1864 to 1867. You can walk through the rooms, which are arranged shotgun fashion--each leading into the other--insuring that no one at the court had much privacy. The gilded, delicate French-style furniture is an indication just how out of touch the royal court was from real life in Mexico. Take the trolley from street level up the hill, otherwise you’ll be too exhausted from the climb to appreciate the museum.

The book: The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo is a fictionalized account of the Second Mexican Empire seen mostly through the eyes of the American woman whose son was adopted (or seized depending on your point of view) by the childless Maxmillian and Carlota in the vain attempt to establish an heir to the Mexican throne. The book is a real gem and shows off both amazingly detailed research into the life and times of the Second Mexican Empire and the author’s ability to create wholly believable historical characters.

The Palacio Nacional and The Eagle’s Throne by Carlos Fuentes

The museum: This long, stately building rises impressively along one side of Mexico City’s enormous Zócalo central square. It is a working government building but visitors flock there to see the famous murals by Diego Rivera that adorn the main stairwell and the walls of the second floor. Grandly titled "The Epic of the Mexican People," the murals were painted between 1929 and 1935 and tell Mexico’s story from the Aztecs to the worker of Rivera’s times. Above the building’s central doorway, facing the Zócalo, is the main balcony where just before 11:00 pm every 15 September, the president of Mexico gives el Grito de Dolores, the infamous cry for independence from Spain originally made by national hero Miguel Hidalgo. Hidalgo’s church bell from the church of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, hangs above the balcony. 

The book: The Eagle's Throne by Carlos Fuentes - The murals and the el grito commemoration are integral parts of Mexio’s turbulent and at times visceral political rivalries and history. The Eagle’s Throne, written as a series of letters by a tangled net of political players, is a masterfully crafted inside look at that political game. The letters reveal the story bit by tantalizing bit, with allegiances, conflicts, brinkmanship, and manipulation driving the narrative. An amazingly complex and skillful book, there is nothing else that so perfectly takes the reader inside Mexico’s political world. It is a winner of the Cervantes Prize as well.

La Casa Azul (Frida Kahlo’s house) and The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

The museum: This cobalt blue house in the artsy Coyoacán suburb of Mexico City was the family home to iconic painter Frida Kahlo and where muralist Diego Rivera also lived during his stormy marriage to her. Kahlo and Rivera were socialist sympathizers and la Casa Azul was an intermittant refuge for Leon Trotsky 1937-39 when he fled Stalin’s Russia. The house contains numerous Kahlo artifacts and pieces of artwork. An outdoor room built by Rivera and encrusted with shells shows just how unrestricted the two were in their creativity.  

The book: The Lacuna traces the life of a troubled young American man who was raised (by a free spirit mother) in Mexico City and becomes assistant, chef, and secretary to Kahlo and Rivera. Rich in imagery, poetic prose, and character development, we see the conflict and intimate life of the two artists through his own troubled eyes. Their commitment to Trotsky and his time in Mexico City is the real centerpiece of the book. I didn’t love the end, but the novel is a dense, lavish telling of the story of Kahlo and Rivera—and all that had happened in that house.

The Tamayo Museum and The Hidden Light of Mexico City by Carmen Amato

The museum: The Tamayo is the queen of contemporary art in Mexico, drawing in A-list international artists and fearlessly promoting new ideas and installations in the art world. A huge curved sign occupies prime real estate on Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City’s main drag, advertising the ever-changing array of exhibits. The building is a piece of glass sculpture, a nice contrast to its neighbor, the more stolid Anthropology Museum. Well curated, it is rarely crowded and always gives fresh perspectives. Also, the small restaurant has very good coffee. 

The book: In The Hidden Light of Mexico City by Carmen Amato anti-corruption attorney Eddo Cortez Castillo talks to housemaid Luz de Maria Alba Mora in front of the museum and mistakes her for an art teacher. Their tour of the museum brings the reader right along, showing the variety of things one is likely to see in the Tamayo, from video installations, to 3-D objects of startling variety and materials, to classics like actual paint on canvas. Like it does to everybody, the Tamayo startled Eddo and Luz but also hugely entertained, leading to an unforgettable conversation about life, history, and love. Of course more happens after that—Eddo’s hunting a corrupt Minister of Public Security and an elusive cartel leader while Luz’s family implodes—but you’ll have to read the book to see how it all works out in an ending that takes on Mexican government corruption as well as the country’s rigid social system.

Carmen Amato is the author of political thriller THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY and the EMILIA CRUZ mystery series set in Acapulco. Both draw on her experiences living in Mexico and Central America. Her blog series GIRL MEETS PARIS captured her adventures while a student in the City of Light. She currently divides her time between the United States and Central America. 

Visit her website at carmenamato.net where she blogs about the elements of motive and offers a book club that travels the world two books at a time. Follow her on Twitter @CarmenConnects.

This is an update of an article previously posted on camrenamato.net.

A brush with China under Manchu rule

At TF we came across Peirene Press very early in our researches - they specialise in contemporary European literature, that is thought provoking, well designed and short. They have a perfect strapline from the TLS which absolutely sums up the books they produce:  "Two-hour books to be devoured in a single sitting: literary cinema for those fatigued by film". Click on the cover to see reviews and to find our more!

We feature the Sea of Ink by Richard Weihe which spans much of the 17th century in China. It follows the life of  Zhu Da, a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, who has the tremendous gift of producing beautiful pieces of artwork. His scholarship progresses, as his character morphs and adapts to the new regime of the Manchus, through Buddhism studies to feigned madness, in an attempt to can keep his integrity as an artist and continue his quest to capture the essence of nature with a single brushstroke. The book is a thought-provoking study of scholarship and persona, and is beautifully translated from the German original.

The Sea of Ink in the title refers to the highest category of scholarship that could be attained. The book has a scattering  of delicate and contemplative picture postcard vignettes of the work of Shu Da, who by the ends calls himself Bada Shanren (the name under which he is remembered and his work classified). The prose is delicate and contemplative and his artwork simple in nature and beautifully composed. A dream of a novella for those interested in art and this period of Chinese history.

Click here to see more of our featured fiction set in, and evocative of China. Please add any books set in China that you have liked and have evoked the country.

 
 We have a rolling selection of books that we can send to you for review. If you are interested, click on the blogpost on the right hand side bar "Review Copies for Readers" to see the books currently available for review.




 

County Mayo to New York City

"The sky was blue-grey, with pencils of peach light framing the tall buildings" 

Welcome to New York City

This post now appears here



Novels set in Bookstores

During our researches for the TripFiction site, we have come across innumerable books that are set in bookshops around the globe. A quirky compilation, one that hones in on cultural differences, with books and bookstores as the central theme. We have really enjoyed creating this small list -. and please add your favourite "novels set in bookstores" below!

Our collated novels set in bookstores can now be found on our Pinterest board here

Foodie fiction set in Zurich and Amsterdam

The Chef by Martin Suter

set in Zurich/St Moritz 

This is an interesting book that crossed our path recently, a kind of large novella. Maravan is living in Zurich, having left his homeland of Sri Lanka, though he can never quite sever himself from his roots and particularly from Great Aunt Nangay who inspired him to cook. Meeting up with Andrea, a waitress working at the renowned restaurant Chez Huwyler,  where he too worked for a time, they form a plan to provide sumptuous Ayurvedic meals for couples who need to stimulate their sex life. ("Ayurveda is a type of medicine which is many thousands of years old. It has eight disciplines. The eighth is called Vajikarana. It's all about aphrodisiacs. This includes certain food dishes").They encounter arms traders and prostitutes along the way, all set against the current political and economic events of the late 2000s, both in Europe, Switzerland and in Sri Lanka, whilst all the while trying to preserve their own moral values. And of course therein lies the rub!

We defy anyone reading this book not to salivate and if you feel motivated, there are some of Maravan's recipes included at the back. As a sampler from one of the menus they serve....

Cinnamon curry caviar chapattis

Baby snapper marinated in turmeric with molee curry sabayon

Frozen mango curry foam

Milk-fed lamb cutlets in jardaloo essence with dried apricot puree

Beech-smoked tandoori poussin on tomato, butter and pepper jelly

Kulfi with mango air

The storyline, the people and the food are all elements that combine together, like ingredients and feed the storyline. This is a definite read for those who like food and who are familiar with Zurich.

(PS: if you want to know what Chuchichäschtli is, mentioned in the text of The Chef, it is the Swiss German word for kitchen cupboard, and is horrific to pronounce correctly...)

To compliment this book - or in other words something to offset the starter as it were - we have chosen a second food-centric novel, this time set in Amsterdam, which was a great hit in 2012 - and interestingly from the same publisher, Atlantic.

The Dinner by Herman Koch

set in Amsterdam

A summer's evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse - the banality of work, the triviality of holidays. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.
Each couple has a fifteen year old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children, and as civility and friendship disintegrates, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.

To our readers: what books do you recommend, where the food just wafts off the pages and where there is an evocative setting? Please let us know in the Comments Box if you were really inspired by food, place and writing...





Noir Novels: ROME

"see a location through an author's eyes"

Two noir novels set in Rome, with colour co-ordinated covers! (Are cerulean blue and 50 shades of grey the workaday colours of the noir genre, we wonder?) Dark, dark city, murder, back alleys, sinister characters - these all feature in abundance, taking you to the places in Rome that as tourists we are (happily) unlikely to encounter.






 Any Human Face by Charles Lambert is set in the bleaker backwaters of Rome, on the edges of the gay community, each chapter like a snapshot in black and white. The Leitmotiv throughout the novel is a collection of photographs of convicts, which passes from one hand to another and eventually ends up in the possession of Andrew Caruso, who runs a delapidated book shop La Piccola Libreria, in the city. Moving between the 1980s and 2008, the photographic quality of the chapters serves to highlight the intrinsic isolation of many of the colourful characters who breeze in and out of the storyline, all the while set against a lurking presence of menace. The storyline and characters sometimes have a Pasolini-like quality, which really anchors the novel in the Eternal City.

And from this book we discovered  the restaurant “L'obitorio" un classico di Trastevere which serves pizza "piu' buona di Roma” - Bruno and Alex drop in early on in the book. Has anyone been there, what did you think?


"Even today, after two years of Roman vacations, I get lost in the center of the city as soon as I leave the perpendicular line of the Corso. For someone accustomed to the perfect symmetry of Manhattan, the twisting streets of the Italian capital seem a labyrinth of squares and narrow alleys, all the same: a fountain, a column, a flaking wall, a café, a market stall, a wild dog, a motorcycle, a beggar, a group of American or Japanese tourists, another fountain" (extract from Roman Holidays, Rome Noir short story, by Enrico Franceschini).

Recognise Rome from this short description? The lovely indecipherable impenetrable city with a history going back two and a half thousand years; and this is just one of many descriptions that pepper the book of short stories Rome Noir edited by Chiara Stangalino and Maxim Jakubowski. A cocktail of 16 stories set around the capital from Stazione Termini to the Via Appia Antica, Fiumicino to the Villa Borghese. Some stories are like gossamer veils enveloping and captivating, some are downright dark, and others culminate in murderous intent. Others are visceral in their storyline, some are seamy, but there is something for everyone. Tour the city through this collection and get to know areas off the beaten tourist track and experience the stories through the eyes of its citizens.

Share your choice of Rome set noir novels with us below in the Comments Box - novels that bring a place to life  (oh, and any suggestions for any good, out-of-the-way eateries?).

Our selected books to take to INDIA

Where to start when one suggests fiction that brings India to life? There are so many novels out there where the heat, the smells, the life and the colour of the country really lift off the pages. One novel that recently crossed our path is East of the Sun by Julia Gregson, set in the late 1920s and just so evocative of the era and country. Unmarried young women on the search for husbands travelled to India in search of eligible young men based over there - the constant stream of women heading out East was charmingly called "The Fishing Fleet". Rose, arriving in Bombay describes her first impressions: "...there was too much to take in: the dazzling sun, the stink of drains and incense, the brilliant saris and dark faces." And there is more where that came from.... And what a beautifully designed cover!



Our next choice is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Compassionate realism and narrative are vividly captured in this masterpiece. It is 1975 and India is again in a state of flux, the location is an unnamed city by the sea (but it might well be Mumbai). A state of emergency has just been declared and, again, the lives of three characters are thrown together – a spirited widow, and two tailors from a hill station – living in a tiny apartment with an uncertain future.






The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan spans the lifetime of one woman (1896-1962), and brings us intimately into a Brahmin household, into an India we've never before seen. Married at ten, widowed at eighteen, left with two children, Sivakami must wear widow's whites, shave her head, and touch no one from dawn to dusk. She is not allowed to remarry, and in the next sixty years she ventures outside her family compound only three times.





City of Devi by Manil Suri - Armed only with a pomegranate, Sarita ventures into the empty streets of Mumbai, on the eve of its threatened nuclear annihilation. She is looking for her physicist husband Karun, who has been missing for over a fortnight. She is soon joined on her quest by Jaz - cocky, handsome, Muslim, gay, and in search of his own lover. Together they traverse the surreal landscape of a dystopia rife with absurdity, and are inexorably drawn to the patron goddess Devi ma, the supposed saviour of the city. Groundbreaking and multilayered, The City of Devi is a fearlessly provocative tale of three individuals balancing on the sharp edge of fate.


Please add any novels in the Comments Box below which you would take to India with you and are really evocative of the location. Would you add Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, or perhaps Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo.... or These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach (the book behind the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)? Help to make www.TripFiction.com a really valuable resource for both actual and armchair travellers by adding your suggestions and your spontaneous review.

Death stalks the pages in "Never Coming Home" (Italy)

Set in
USA, England, Italy

Never Coming Home by Evonne Wareham is an engrossing novel from the folks at Choc Lit publishers, this book bowls along at a cracking pace, from the USA, to England and over to Italy. A storyline that twists and turns, slowing a little in its pace as it comes to the final chapters. Is Jamie, the little girl alive or is she not?

And here at TF we absolutely love the cover - and a lot of covers cross our path, both great and not so great. Here, the heat and sun of Italy are evoked: the shadows, the shutters, the shapes all come together to highlight the dark, featureless figure of the little girl in the foreground. The cover gives a brooding sense of foreboding, a dark mystery about to unfold in the pages of this book. 

Available to buy from your local bookshop or through TripFiction by clicking on the cover.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH EVONNE WAREHAM

TF In “Never coming Home” you evoke Italy particularly well. What drew to that country as a location?

EW Thank you – I’m glad you enjoyed the portrayal of Italy. The locations of my books are important to me, as I want to take the reader to somewhere glamorous and exciting – and then have sinister things happen. I love Italy, and Florence is one of my favourite cities. When I needed to send my heroine, Kaz, to search for her ex-husband in Europe, it was a natural choice. I like to write about beautiful locations, full of sunshine, as I HATE the cold, and it is lovely to re-visit places I have stayed, even if the return visit is only in my memory and imagination! Because the locations in my books are special to me, I’ve created an armchair tour for Never Coming Home, with pictures and more information. It’s on my blog http://www.evonneonwednesday.blogspot.com 

TF It’s a fabulous plot that goes back and forth. How did the storyline evolve?

EW I’m not really sure how it worked. I knew what all the threads were and where they were going, but I’m still not certain how they knitted themselves together. I did have panic moments where I had to check that characters were not in two places at once, but it was usually OK. I had a pretty strong idea of the plot before I began writing, but things never quite go as you plan them. I do a lot with time lines and I had multiple ones to cover parts of the story that were taking place simultaneously, but in different parts of the world. 

TF We are particularly drawn to the cover which is infused with the warm “pink” that you see in Italy so often, the shadows make it feel like a really hot climate and the shadowy figure of the little girl leads one to wonder whether she is really there or not. How much input did you have in the design?

EW My publisher, Choc Lit, is very good about involving their authors in the cover choice. There were half a dozen possibilities, and I would have been happy with any of them, but the one that was finally chosen completely sums up the book for me. I’m grateful to Berni, the designer, for the trouble she took. And I’ve been lucky enough to have her design the cover for my second book – Out of Sight Out of Mind - which has a very different look, but is equally gorgeous.

TF How did you first come to writing?

EW I’ve been writing since I was in school and Never Coming Home is the result of a very long apprenticeship! It took me a while to find the genre that I really enjoyed writing. I love creating a balance between the love story and the thriller element and I’ve discovered a darker side to my work that I didn’t know existed. 

TF How did you decide on the names of your characters?

EW Authors will tell you that the names of characters are very important, and it’s true. I try out a lot of ideas in my head, before anything gets written down. I knew very early that Devlin would only use one name. Because of the life he has led, he has had many changes of identity and he’s simply got bored with thinking up new names. Devlin seemed to fit him. Kaz/Katarina started out as Caz, but the spell checker on my machine kept trying to change it and in the end I decided to give in – and when I did, it felt right. When you get the right name it seems to click. It may not even be a name you particularly like, but once it fits, that’s it. 

THANK YOU to Evonne for answering our questions.

Our novel selection for BERLIN

After reading Ben Elton's extraordinarily good novel "Two Brothers" set in Berlin we felt inspired to bring together several top reads which we feel will help understand how Berlin, over the course of the 20th century, came to be what it is today. The city has truly been at the heart of a roller coaster ride, experiencing 2 wars, mass destruction, terrible persecution of minorities, unrest, massive inflation, pomp and partition. And if you are about to visit the city, then these novels will echo with the footsteps of past generations: imagine what it was like walking under the Brandenburg Gate in the build-up to WW2, how full of life the decadent Berlin of the 20s was and how difficult it must have been for many folk living in the divided city until 1989. Enjoy our choices.


Two Brothers by Ben Elton - It is 1920 and this is the story of two boys who became brothers but who had different biological parents; and how the issue of birth in Germany came to mean so much in the build up to the Second World War. It is poignantly and realistically told, in modern parlance, which I thought would grate, but actually adds to the immediacy of the story. You can hear the footsteps on the streets of Berlin and feel the creep factor of oppression, torment and death. As a reader I felt I was there with the two brothers Ottsy and Paulus, and their Saturday gang made up of Silke and Dagmar. In tandem, as they grow up, the National Socialists are also growing - they were founded on the day of the birth of the boys, 24 Feburary 1920.


It is truly deserving of 5* for both atmosphere and story and setting; should I mention the two things that I thought weren't quite right? One was - a little bottle of olive oil was taken on a picnic at the Wannsee, and am not sure that would have been right for the period...I think olive oil was only used medicinally and not for culinary purposes in those days; and the other, attending a parade of the Freikorps at the Brandenburg Gate the parents, Wolfgang and Frieda have their little babies in a buggy. A commotion starts and Wolfgang commands that they remove the babies from the buggy for fear of being trampled underfoot, and raise the babies above their heads and run (nah, you wouldn't do that, you would cradle them to your chest to protect them). Forget my nit picking, though, it's a truly top read!
(Alexandrine Orff for TripFiction)


The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin -  As the clock chimed the turn of the twentieth century, Lilly Nelly Aphrodite took her first breath. Born to a cabaret dancer and soon orphaned in a scandalous double murder, Lilly finds refuge at a Catholic orphanage, coming under the wing of the, at times, severe Sister August, the first in a string of lost loves.  There she meets Hanne Schmidt, a teen prostitute, and forms a bond that will last them through tumultuous love affairs, disastrous marriages, and destitution during the First World War and the subsequent economic collapse. As the century progresses, Lilly and Hanne move from the tawdry glamour of the tingle-tangle nightclubs to the shadow world of health films before Lilly finds success and stardom in the new medium of motion pictures and ultimately falls in love with a man whose fate could cost her everything she has worked for or help her discover her true self.

And our final choice to round off the the 20th century in this ever changing city is The Moment by Douglas Kennedy. Thomas Nesbitt is a divorced writer in the midst of a rueful middle age. Living a very private life in Maine, in touch only with his daughter and still trying to recover from the end of a long marriage, his solitude is disrupted one wintry morning by the arrival of a box that is postmarked Berlin. The name on the box—Dussmann—unsettles him completely, for it belongs to the woman with whom he had an intense love affair twenty-six years ago in Berlin at a time when the city was cleaved in two and personal and political allegiances were frequently haunted by the deep shadows of the Cold War.

And our final suggestion to complement any trip to the German capital is the city-Lit Berlin guide, a compilation of authors who bring the city to life through words. Another wonderful way to soak up the atmosphere...
‘Brilliant … the best way to get under the skin of a city. The perfect read for travellers and book lovers of all ages’ Kate Mosse, best-selling author of Labyrinth





There are so many novels set in Berlin - please do share with us in the Comments Box the books that you feel really evoke the feel of city both past and present. And we feature plenty more novels set in Berlin here- if we don't feature your favourite novel, let us know. 

Come and follow us on Twitter @TripFiction and on Facebook

Tasmania and the Snotty Trevally

Bay of Fires by Poppy Gee, set in Tasmania

Our review can now be found on the new TripFiction website, here

When in Rome.....

"Even today, after two years of Roman vacations, I get lost in the center of the city as soon as I leave the perpendicular line of the Corso.  For someone accustomed to the perfect symmetry of Manhattan, the twisting streets of the Italian capital seem a labyrinth of squares and narrow alleys, all the same: a fountain, a column, a flaking wall, a café, a market stall, a wild dog, a motorcycle, a beggar, a group of American or Japanese tourists, another fountain" (extract from Roman Holidays, a Rome Noir short story, by Enrico Franceschini).

Recognise Rome from this short description? The lovely indecipherable impenetrable city with a history going back two and a half thousand years; and this is just one of many descriptions that pepper the book of short stories "Rome Noir" edited by Chiara Stangalino and Maxim Jakubowski. A cocktail of 16 stories set around the capital from Stazione Termini to the Via Appia Antica, Fiumicino to the Villa Borghese. Some stories are like gossamer veils enveloping and captivating, some are downright dark, and others culminate in murderous intent. Others are visceral in their storyline, some are seamy, but there is something for everyone. Tour the city through this collection and get to know areas off the beaten tourist track and experience the stories through the eyes of its citizens.

Off for a Chinotto*. Cheers

Want a couple more books novels to transport you to Rome? Then we suggest these two little gems:

Saving Rome by Megan Williams: Amid the bustle of Rome, the Vespas and the Fiats, the cigarettes and teetering high heals, Megan K Williams, a Rome-based writer and correspondent, captures the essence of this bustling city. This is an insider's eye on the love, mystery and unholy chaos of Rome. In nine funny and insightful stories, Williams delves into the lives of women searching for meaning (and survival) in an ancient metropolis.


It's 2005. The Italian secret service has received news that a group of Muslim immigrants based in the Viale Marconi neighbourhood of Rome is planning a terrorist attack. Christian Mazzari, a young Sicilian who speaks perfect Arabic, goes undercover to infiltrate the group and to learn who its leaders are. Breathtaking set pieces, episodes rich in pathos, brilliant dialogue and mordant folk proverbs combine as the novel moves towards an unforgettable and surprising finale that will have readers turning back to the first page to begin the ride all over again.



* Chinotto [kiˈnɔtto] is a type of carbonated soft drink produced from the juice of the fruit of the myrtle-leaved orange tree (Citrus myrtifolia).

We have a selection of novels for review on the TripFiction site. Click on the logo above to see our current offers and let us know which one you would like to review! And of course, if you have a particular recommendation for a book to read in Rome, then let all our readers know in the Comments Box below.

Night Nurse and Freo Doctor in Fremantle and Perth



5 Peppermint Grove by Michelle Jackson set in Fremantle and Perth

Our review plus author interview can now be found on the new TripFiction website here

Novel set in Florence - Stottie or focaccia? + Author Interview

A novel that brings two stories from different epochs together, set in modern day Florence.


Titian's Venus of Urbino

From the Piazza della Signoria just enjoy the stunning view...."The sky is a strong azure blue: I can't believe what a perfect day it is. If you glance upwards and away from the crowds, the magnificence of the place is astounding. Wonders of architectural brilliance jostle from the sky line, and the campanile reaches high above us like a spear, away from the crowded foot of the Palazzo to the spacious heavens above, as if pleading to be plucked from the onslaught of visitors below" (extract from Urban Venus).

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Transport yourself to Florence, with this short novel that interweavess the touristy, modern day city with the city of the 1540s, the era of Titian. You also have the opportunity to drop in on Bologna.

Lydia Irvine has come to Florence on her year abroad from Newcastle Uni and she is learning the Italian way of life, as she absorbs the flavours, smells and sights of the modern city. And the reader, too, will feel that the city just lifts of the pages of this delightful novel. There are quite a few Italian turns-of-phrase without translation, and rather than leaving the reader floundering as to their meaning, it just adds to the Italian feel (and leaves you believing you can really speak Italian!)

The book is peppered with interesting facts. For the true Italian, you will learn that there are absolutely no milky coffees beyond breakfast; pull some strings and get a ticket to check out the hidden passageway between the Palazzo Vecchio and the Palazzo Pitti, via the Uffizi and a network of corridors across the city (all lined with works of art not generally seen by the public). Mmmmm, share Pandoro and Bombolone for breakfast.... and finally here's a bit of historical fact gleaned from the book: it was the French who brought syphilis to Bologna in 1495, apparently! And don't forget if you need an emergency ambulance you need to dial 118 (you might need to know this one day!).

A really enjoyable read, that truly brings Italy and Florence to life -  this is a novel that has more depth than the rather weak, sketchy cover might lead you to believe. If you have read it, come and leave a review at www.TripFiction.com and tell others what you think. How much did you enjoy the storyline, did it transport you to the location?

Author Interview with Sara Downing

1. Clearly this novel could be set nowhere other than in Florence. What first brought you to the city?

I first visited Florence during a holiday in Tuscany in 2001 and was instantly smitten by the city.  Bizarrely I had a sense of having been there before – even though I hadn’t – and it felt like a place I could live in quite happily, even though it was vastly different from anywhere I’ve ever lived.  I’ve been back many times since; it’s the sort of city you never tire of – the atmosphere is wonderful, scenery amazing and the cultural aspects are never-ending.  There’s so much to see and do, although very often we simply visit our favourite haunts again and again, or spend an afternoon window shopping in some of the gorgeous shops.  I love just sitting at a restaurant table in the sunshine and watching the world go by – the Italians can be very entertaining! 

2. How did you come to writing?

I’ve always wanted to write, but work and family had prevented it until fairly recently.  Then a few years ago, when my children were all at school, I suddenly found myself with the time – and a supportive husband who was happy for me to experiment with the possibility of a writing career. 

Although I’ve always ‘had a book in me’, I wasn’t sure when it actually came down to it if I’d be able to put pen to paper and be creative, something I hadn’t done in years.  And would what I produced be good enough for people to want to pay good money for?  It was all a little scary to start with; there was no guarantee that after working for a year on a project, it would actually sell.  However in the early days I was lucky enough to have some very positive feedback from a published writer and from course tutors, who gave me the confidence to believe in my writing and carry on.

EBooks, and in particular, Kindle Direct Publishing, arrived on the scene at the perfect time for me.  I published my first novel, ‘Head Over Heels’, in February 2011 and it took off very quickly on Amazon, reaching the UK Top 100 Kindle Books in its first six months.  

3. What was the inspiration behind this particular storyline?

On a writing course in the summer of 2009, one of the exercises was to choose a postcard and write about it.  I picked up a postcard of the ‘Venus of Urbino’ as I’d seen it in Florence and loved it, and quickly scribbled down three or four pages about a girl who visits the Uffizi, falls asleep in front of the painting, and dreams she is that woman.  At that stage I was well into writing ‘Head Over Heels’, but knew there and then that I had the beginnings of my next novel.  It was an exciting moment – I felt like I had been ‘presented’ with this storyline, and I couldn’t wait to get on and write it!

I took the script with me to Florence later that year, went to see the ‘Venus’ in the gallery again, and pretty soon had put together the plot for a full length novel.  I did a lot of research into Titian and his life, which wasn’t easy as, until quite recently, there has been very little written about him.  One fact I did discover was that he had an illegitimate daughter called Emilia.  As this is also my daughter’s name, it seemed like fate, and I knew I just had to write the book.  I felt there was enough mystery surrounding Titian’s life and the painting for me to create my own fictional account of what might be the untold story behind the ‘Venus’. 

4. Is there anything that you feel is a "must" see or do in Florence, from your own personal experience, for someone going there for the first time?

Oh, it has to be all the regular tourist haunts, really.  In some big cities you might advise new visitors to avoid the traditional hotspots, but in Florence these just have to be visited!  No one should miss the Uffizi, of course, or the Duomo, and every visitor should have to fight their way through the crowds across the Ponte Vecchio, stand in the middle and have their photo taken with the Arno in the background.  Then there are the Boboli gardens, and the Piazzas.  The Piazza della Signoria remains my favourite – sitting in one of the cafes or restaurants overlooking the square and the statue of David and people-watching in the sunshine. 

The Palazzo Vecchio is a must-see too.  And simply stroll around, soaking up the atmosphere.  Walk along the banks of the Arno, nip through the tiny alleys full of leather shops….. And visit a Gelateria – frighteningly expensive but the best ice cream ever!

5. From the book it is clear you like art. If you could hang one painting in your home, what would be your choice?

I do love art, and have a particular fascination with the Pre-Raphaelites.  I recently went to see the ‘Cult of Beauty’ exhibition at the V&A and have to say that any of those paintings could hang quite happily on my wall.   Millais’ ‘Ophelia’ is probably my utmost favourite, though - I love the story behind how it was painted, with Lizzie Siddal lying fully clothed in a bath.  Perhaps I love it so much because the character fascinates me – a bit like my Maria in ‘Urban Venus.’ 

6.  How important do you feel location is in a novel?  And what are your plans for future books?

A strong sense of location is as important as a good plot and believable characters, I think.  When I read something, I like to get a feel for the place it’s set in, as it’s all part of the fabric of the story. 

‘Head Over Heels’ is set in a fictional mix of the Worcestershire villages close to where I live.  Many of my friends recognised certain locations (and one, their home!) which I had ‘borrowed’ and dropped into the book.  Conjuring up a good feel for Florence was central to ‘Urban Venus’ for it to work.  Many reviewers have commented on how they’d like to visit or revisit places I mention and a few have advised reading it whilst staying there!

I’m planning to publish my third novel, ‘Stage Fright’, in the spring of 2013.  It’s set in the London of 2012, amid the exciting atmosphere of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, and I hope it conveys the buzz that could be felt across the city during that summer.