Steinbeck, Suskind

Two more book recommendations from TY pupils currently writing their Extended Essays:

Andrew Holt has read The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck:
"This novel is set during the Nazi invasion and occupation of neutral Norway. The book is set in a coastal village, one of the first to fall to the Nazis ; it surrenders with little fighting. The book focuses on the silent hatred of the German officers and patrols, and how the people carefully plan and attack the Germans in small outbursts of fighting. I enjoyed this book because it is not about a usual war, it was a mental war of hatred and resentment against the Germans."

Valentina Ascensio recommends Patrick Suskind's Perfume:
"This book is completely different and eccentric.The novel is situated in the eighteenth-century, in France. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one strange gift: a special sense of smell. As he is growing up, he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells, especially the smell of virgin women. This leads him to create 'the ultimate perfume' and become a cold-blood murderer.

The author is objective; he describes awfulness without giving his opinion, in an inhuman way. The time in which the book is situated is a really difficult time. There were no human rights so civilization wasn't really civilization and the author made the perfect description of that time. I loved this book because is different and really well written."