The Shipping News

All this talk of cold climates in my previous article has got me thinking about one of my favourite novels - The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx. The Shipping News follows Quoyle, a journalist who moves with his daughters Bunny and Sunshine to remote Newfoundland, after the death of his wife. This novel is one of my favourites as it is so many things - sad, funny, profound, uplifting, and above all beautifully written.

Crime in a Cold Climate

For the last couple of years now Swedish crime writing has dominated the UK and US book charts, as well as topping bestseller lists across Europe. In 2009 Stieg Larsson was the no.1 bestselling author in Europe, and Camilla Läckberg came in 6th. With the Swedish films of Larsson's 'Millenium' trilogy releasing this year, it looks like the Swedes could be on top for a fair while longer. With this is mind I tried to find out what's hot in crime writing now in the icy climes of Sweden.

The Crime of Father Amaro: sexing up a classic

Perusing the Guardian's 1000 Books Everyone Must Read, I came across The Crime of Father Amaro, by Eça de Queiroz. I'd watched the 2002 film release, (mainly due to Gabriel Garcia Bernal's presence), the poster for which is shown above, but hadn't realised it was based on a Portuguese classic originally published in 1875. This novel focuses on a young priest in a small Portuguese town, who simply cannot control his manly urges - a problem which has devastating consequences for the girl he becomes involved with, and exposes the hypocrisy and corruption of the priests in the town. Seeing this novel gave me a flash of inspiration: it just looks ripe for reinvention - with a sexy new cover playing up the historical, religious and forbidden lust themes, it could be given a new lease of life.