Pour lire ma chronique sur le roman : In my dreams I hold a knife d’Ashley Winstead
Playlist Littéraire • In my dreams I hold a knife d’Ashley Winstead
Étiquette : Musique
Playlist littéraire • Sistersong de Lucy Holland
30 chansons pour mes 30 ans
Aujourd’hui, je franchis une nouvelle dizaine. Ne pouvant me passez de musique, j’ai envie de partager trente titres qui m’ont marqué, m’évoquent des souvenirs ou que j’écoute encore et toujours en boucle. Il n’y a pas d’ordre de préférence pour cette liste.
Little Talks • Of Monsters & Men
Across the stars • John Williams
Mariage d’amour • Paul de Senneville
Valse des flocons de neige • Piotr Illytch Tchaikovsky
Sorties VO • Août 2020
Son & Heir • Alexander Münninghoff • Amazon Crossings • 1 août • 292 pages
What can a son say upon discovering that his father wore a Nazi uniform? Reporter Alexander Münninghoff was only four when he found this mortifying relic from his father’s recent past in his attic. This shameful memento came to symbolize not only his father’s tragically misguided allegiance but also a shattered marriage and ultimately the unconscionable separation of a mother and son.
In this revelatory memoir, the author confronts his parents’ complex past as he reconstructs the fortunes and disillusions of an entire family upheaved during the changes of twentieth-century Europe. The Münninghoffs were driven by greed, rebellion, and rage. An embattled dynasty, they were torn between the right and the wrong side of history. Their saga haunted Alexander’s life for the next seventy years.
Only in reconciling with them can this man find the courage to move forward as son and heir to the startling legacy of a flawed yet grand tradition.
Across the winding river • Aime K. Runyan • Lake Union Publishing • 1 août • 301 pages
Beth Cohen wants to make the most of the months she has left with her elderly father, Max. His only request of his daughter is to go through the long-forgotten box of memorabilia from his days as a medic on the western front. Then, among his wartime souvenirs, Beth finds a photograph of her father with an adoring and beautiful stranger—a photograph worth a thousand questions.
It was 1944 when Max was drawn into the underground resistance by the fearless German wife of a Nazi officer. Together, she and Max were willing to risk everything for what they believed was right. Ahead of them lay a dangerous romance, a dream of escape, and a destiny over which neither had control.
But Max isn’t alone in his haunting remembrances of war. In a nearby private care home is a fragile German-born woman with her own past to share. Only when the two women meet does Beth realize how much more to her father there is to know, all the ways in which his heart still breaks, and the closure he needs to heal it.
Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil • Susan Neiman • Farar, Strauss & Giroux • 27 août • 432 pages
As an increasingly polarized America fights over the legacy of racism, Susan Neiman, author of the contemporary philosophical classic Evil in Modern Thought, asks what we can learn from the Germans about confronting the evils of the past.
In the wake of white nationalist attacks, the ongoing debate over reparations, and the controversy surrounding Confederate monuments and the contested memories they evoke, Susan Neiman’s Learning from the Germans delivers an urgently needed perspective on how a country can come to terms with its historical wrongdoings. Neiman is a white woman who came of age in the civil rights–era South and a Jewish woman who has spent much of her adult life in Berlin. Working from this unique perspective, she combines philosophical reflection, personal stories, and interviews with both Americans and Germans who are grappling with the evils of their own national histories.
Through discussions with Germans, including Jan Philipp Reemtsma, who created the breakthrough Crimes of the Wehrmacht exhibit, and Friedrich Schorlemmer, the East German dissident preacher, Neiman tells the story of the long and difficult path Germans faced in their effort to atone for the crimes of the Holocaust. In the United States, she interviews James Meredith about his battle for equality in Mississippi and Bryan Stevenson about his monument to the victims of lynching, as well as lesser-known social justice activists in the South, to provide a compelling picture of the work contemporary Americans are doing to confront our violent history. In clear and gripping prose, Neiman urges us to consider the nuanced forms that evil can assume, so that we can recognize and avoid them in the future.
Chasing Chopin: A musical journey across three centuries, four countries, and a half-dozen revolutions • Annik LaFarge • Simon & Schuster • 11 août • 240 pages
A modern take on a classical icon: this original, entertaining, well-researched book uses the story of when, where, and how Chopin composed his most famous work, uncovering many surprises along the way and showing how his innovative music still animates popular culture centuries later.
The Frédéric Chopin Annik LaFarge presents here is not the melancholy, sickly, romantic figure so often portrayed. The artist she discovered is, instead, a purely independent spirit: an innovator who created a new musical language, an autodidact who became a spiritually generous, trailblazing teacher, a stalwart patriot during a time of revolution and exile.
In Chasing Chopin she follows in his footsteps during the three years, 1837–1840, when he composed his iconic “Funeral March”—dum dum da dum—using its composition story to illuminate the key themes of his life: a deep attachment to his Polish homeland; his complex relationship with writer George Sand; their harrowing but consequential sojourn on Majorca; the rapidly developing technology of the piano, which enabled his unique tone and voice; social and political revolution in 1830s Paris; friendship with other artists, from the famous Eugène Delacroix to the lesser known, yet notorious in his time, Marquis de Custine. Each of these threads—musical, political, social, personal—is woven through the “Funeral March” in Chopin’s Opus 35 sonata, a melody so famous it’s known around the world even to people who know nothing about classical music. But it is not, as LaFarge discovered, the piece of music we think we know.
As part of her research into Chopin’s world, then and now, LaFarge visited piano makers, monuments, churches, and archives; she talked to scholars, jazz musicians, video game makers, software developers, music teachers, theater directors, and of course dozens of pianists. The result is extraordinary: an engrossing, page-turning work of musical discovery and an artful portrayal of a man whose work and life continue to inspire artists and cultural innovators in astonishing ways.
The Habsburg: To rule the World • Martyn Rady • Basic Books • 25 août • 416 pages
Habsburgs ruled much of Europe for centuries. From modest origins as minor German nobles, the family used fabricated documents, invented genealogies, savvy marriages, and military conquest on their improbable ascent, becoming the continent’s most powerful dynasty. By the mid-fifteenth century, the Habsburgs controlled of the Holy Roman Empire, and by the early sixteenth century, their lands stretched across the continent and far beyond it. But in 1918, at the end of the Great War, the final remnant of their empire was gone.
In The Habsburgs, historian Martyn Rady tells the epic story of the Habsburg dynasty and the world it built — and then lost — over nearly a millennium, placing it in its European and global contexts. Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Habsburgs expanded from Swabia across southern Germany to Austria through forgery and good fortune. By the time a Habsburg duke was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III in 1452, he and his clan already held fast to the imperial vision distilled in its AEIOU motto: Austriae est imperare orbi universe, « Austria is destined to rule the world. » Maintaining their grip on the imperial succession of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries, the Habsburgs extended their power into Italy, Spain, the New World, and the Pacific, a dominion that Charles V called « the empire on which the sun never sets. » They then weathered centuries of religious warfare, revolution, and transformation, including the loss of their Spanish empire in 1700 and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. In 1867, the Habsburgs fatefully consolidated their remaining lands the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, setting in motion a chain of events that would end with the 1914 assassination of the Habsburg heir presumptive Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, World War I, and the end of the Habsburg era.
Their demise was ignominious, and historians often depict the Habsburgs as leaders of a ramshackle, collapsing empire at Europe’s margins. But in The Habsburgs, Rady reveals how they saw themselves — as destined to rule the world, not through mere territorial conquest, but as defenders of Christian civilization and the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace and harmony, and patrons of science and learning.
Atomic Love • Jenny Fields • … • G.P. Putnam’s Sons • 368 pages
Chicago, 1950. Rosalind Porter has always defied expectations–in her work as a physicist on the Manhattan Project and in her passionate love affair with colleague Thomas Weaver. Five years after the end of both, her guilt over the bomb and her heartbreak over Weaver are intertwined. She desperately misses her work in the lab, yet has almost resigned herself to a more conventional life.
Then Weaver gets back in touch–and so does the FBI. Special Agent Charlie Szydlo wants Roz to spy on Weaver, whom the FBI suspects of passing nuclear secrets to Russia. Roz helped to develop these secrets and knows better than anyone the devastating power such knowledge holds. But can she spy on a man she still loves, despite her better instincts? At the same time, something about Charlie draws her in. He’s a former prisoner of war haunted by his past, just as her past haunts her.
As Rosalind’s feelings for each man deepen, so too does the danger she finds herself in. She will have to choose: the man who taught her how to love . . . or the man her love might save?
The Notorious Virtues (1) • Alwyn Hamilton • 18 août • Faber & Faber • 368 pages
At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.
But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.
And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for. With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.
Traitor • Amanda McCrina • 25 août • Farar, Straus & Giroux • 368 pages
Poland, 1944. After the Soviet liberation of Lwów from Germany, the city remains a battleground between resistance fighters and insurgent armies, its loyalties torn between Poland and Ukraine. Seventeen-year-old Tolya Korolenko is half Ukrainian, half Polish, and he joined the Soviet Red Army to keep himself alive and fed. When he not-quite-accidentally shoots his unit’s political officer in the street, he’s rescued by a squad of Ukrainian freedom fighters. They might have saved him, but Tolya doesn’t trust them. He especially doesn’t trust Solovey, the squad’s war-scarred young leader, who has plenty of secrets of his own.
Then a betrayal sends them both on the run. And in a city where loyalty comes second to self-preservation, a traitor can be an enemy or a savior—or sometimes both.
Prelude for lost souls (1) • Helene Dunbar • 1 août • Sourcebooks Fire • 384 pages
In the town of St. Hilaire, most make their living by talking to the dead. In the summer, the town gates open to tourists seeking answers while all activity is controlled by The Guild, a sinister ruling body that sees everything. Dec Hampton has lived there his entire life, but ever since his parents died, he’s been done with it. He knows he has to leave before anyone has a chance to stop him.
His best friend Russ won’t be surprised when Dec leaves—but he will be heartbroken. Russ is a good medium, maybe even a great one. He’s made sacrifices for his gift and will do whatever he can to gain entry to The Guild, even embracing dark forces and contacting the most elusive ghost in town.
But when the train of Annie Krylova, the piano prodigy whose music has been Dec’s main source of solace, breaks down outside of town, it sets off an unexpected chain of events. And in St. Hilaire, there are no such things as coincidences.
The cabinets of Barnaby Mayne • Elsa Hart • 4 août • Minotaur Books • 352 pages
London, 1703. In a time when the old approaches to science coexist with the new, one elite community attempts to understand the world by collecting its wonders. Sir Barnaby Mayne, the most formidable of these collectors, has devoted his life to filling his cabinets. While the curious-minded vie for invitations to study the rare stones, bones, books, and artifacts he has amassed, some visitors come with a darker purpose.
For Cecily Kay, it is a passion for plants that brings her to the Mayne house. The only puzzle she expects to encounter is how to locate the specimens she needs within Sir Barnaby’s crowded cabinets. But when her host is stabbed to death, Cecily finds the confession of the supposed killer unconvincing. She pays attention to details–years of practice have taught her that the smallest particulars can distinguish a harmless herb from a deadly one–and in the case of Sir Barnaby’s murder, there are too many inconsistencies for her to ignore.
To discover the truth, Cecily must enter the world of the collectors, a realm where intellect is distorted by obsession and greed. As her pursuit of answers brings her closer to a killer, she risks being given a final resting place amid the bones that wait, silent and still, in the cabinets of Barnaby Mayne.
The Royal Governess • Wendy Holden • 25 août • Berkley • 368 pages
In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring their Royal Highnesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into the sheltered and privileged lives of the two young princesses.
At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Balmoral, Marion defies oppressive court protocol to take the girls on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth’s. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses the upheaval of the Abdication and the glamour and drama of the 1937 Coronation.
During the war, as Hitler’s Heinkels fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is there when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip. But being beloved governess and confidante to the Windsor family has come at a cost. She puts her private life on hold until released from royal service following Princess Elizabeth’s marriage in 1947.
The Girl from Vichy • Andie Newton • 13 août • Aria • … pages
1942, occupied France. As the war in Europe rages on, Adèle Ambeh dreams of a France that is free from the clutches of the new regime. The date of her marriage to a ruthless man is drawing closer, and she only has one choice – she must run. With the help of her mother, Adèle flees to Lyon, seeking refuge at the Sisters of Notre Dame de la Compassion. From the outside this is a simple nunnery, but the sisters are secretly aiding the French Resistance, hiding and supplying the fighters with weapons.
While it is not quite the escape Adèle imagined, she is drawn to the nuns and quickly finds herself part of the resistance. But her new role means she must return to Vichy, and those she left behind, no matter the cost. Each day is filled with a different danger and as she begins to fall for another man, Adèle’s entire world could come crashing down around her.
Mes 3 découvertes musicales de 2018
En 2018, je me suis ouverte aux découvertes musicales en quittant de temps à autre mes artistes et genres favoris. J’ai fait plusieurs nouvelles rencontres musicales comme Charlotte Cardin (Main Girl), Moriarty (Jimmy) ou Barns Courtney (Glitter and Gold)… Cependant, mes trois gros coups de coeur vont pour trois artistes féminines aux univers musicaux très éloignés de ce que je peux écouter habituellement. Je suis très folk et pop. Je ne peux désormais plus m’en passer.
K.Flay
Ma première découverte de l’année a été pour cette artiste américaine au style indéfinissable. Il y a des influences hip-hop, rock et électronique. Le mélange est étonnant et détonnant. La rencontre s’est faite grâce au film Lara Croft dont elle signe la chanson phare, Run for your Life, titre absolument parfait. Par curiosité, je suis allée voir plus loin et là… Révélation pour son deuxième album Every where is some where. Il est dynamique, efficace et décoiffant avec des titres incroyables comme The Giver, Black Wave, Blood in the cut… À écouter sans modération, surtout pour cette ambiance un peu dark.
Billie Eillish
Je ne sais plus vraiment comment ou pourquoi elle a atterri dans ma playlist, mais j’ai commencé par You should see me in a crown (une des répliques les plus géniales de la série Sherlock, mais rien à voir). Le coup de foudre a été immédiat. Comment peut-on avoir à peine seize ans et déjà un talent fou ? C’est une pop mélancolique et un peu dark, avec des sons électroniques qui donnent des morceaux très léchés. Les textes sont très matures. Écouter Billie Eilish, c’est un moment à part, hors du temps. Il faut écouter Bellyache, Lovely, ou When the party’s over…
Bishop Briggs
Depuis 2017 et la sortie de son EP, River tourne en boucle dans mes playlists. Encore un mélange d’influences avec des passages un peu plus folk comme avec Dream, de la pop et des sonorités électroniques comme avec Dark side. Ses textes sont authentiques et parfois un peu sombres, mais ils arrivent toujours à me toucher. Elle a une voix rauque incroyable et puissante, facilement reconnaissable. Son album Church of scars est sorti cette année et chaque titre est parfait. Aucun ne m’a déçu… C’est une artiste à suivre.
Playlist • It’s all about folk ! Summer Edition
First Aid Kit – Hem of her dress
The Lumineers – Stubborn Love
Vance Joy – Riptide
George Ezra – Blame it on me
Mumford & Sons – The Cave
Christina Perry & Ed Sheeran – Be my forever
Shake Shake Go – We are now
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – 40 day dream
The Lumineers – Big Parade
Adele – If it hadn’t been for love
First Aid Kit – King of the world
Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man
KT Tunstall – Bkack Horse and a Cherry Tree
Radical Face – We’re are on our way
Birdy – Tee Shirt
Playlist • Mes artistes anglais préférés
Keane – Somewhere only we know
Tom Walker – Leave a light on
Adele – Rolling in the deep
Birdy – Tee Shirt
Amy Winehouse – Back to black
George Ezra – Shotgun
John Newman – Try
Mumford & Sons – Hold on to what you believe
Ed Sheeran – Happier
James Bay – Let it go
Jessie J – Who you are
Lily Allen – Not fair
Ella Eyre – Home
Emeli Sandé – Read all about it
Ella Henderson – Yours
Florence + The Machine – What kind of man
Daughter – Youth
Playlist • Ce mémoire n’aurait jamais pu être écrit sans l’aide de…
Radical Face / Always Gold
2WEI / Survivor
Radical Face / Ghost Town
The Paper Kites / Willow Tree March
The Oh Hellos / Hello my old heart
Daughter / Youth
Dropkick Murphys / Johnny I hardly knew ya
George Ezra / Paradise
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zero / Home
Kaleo / Can’t go on without you
Sigrid / Everybody knows
K.Flay / Run for your life
First Aid Kit / Fireworks
Alessia Cara / Scars to your beautiful
Mumford & Sons / Little Lion Man
Moriarty / Jimmy
Caravan Palace / Rock it for me
AronChupa / Little swing
Queen / Don’t stop me now
Je n’ai pas pu vous remercier comme il se doit au sein de mon mémoire. Pourtant, vous avez réussi à me rassurer et à m’apaiser tout au long de ses longs mois de recherches et d’écriture. Vous avez également jamais échoué à me motiver de nouveau, ou à accompagner mes crises de larmes. Vous avez aussi été là pour me détendre et j’espère que vous me pardonnerez de vous avoir quelque peu écorché en m’égosillant allègrement sur vous, alors que je chante faux, je l’avoue.
Vous avez aussi fait partie de cette aventure et vous méritiez bien aussi vos remerciements.
Autumn & Latte 