Swiss novels: I would like to read these 3 stories
13.5.2024
Translation: machine translated
In this series, every month I introduce you to a few books from our range that make me curious. Today it's all about Swiss authors and their books from the Alpine country.
I'm German and work in a Swiss company. That's reason enough for me to look specifically for books by Swiss authors. And no, I'm leaving out Heidi. But I found the mountains anyway: They serve as the backdrop for stories about a wayward love in a sanatorium, an unsolved murder in an Alpine hotel and an unlikely friendship on the roof of a hospital.
"The Sky above the Alps": The mafia moll and the Korean superstar
People with mental health problems and money like to take time out in a fictitious sanatorium in the Bernese Alps. Away from the public eye, two people meet here who would never have met under any other circumstances: a wife from an Italian mafia family and a Korean K-pop artist. Both carry heavy burdens from their past and the reality of their lives. And somehow they come together.
- Author: Monika Mansour
- Genre: romance novel
- Published: September 2023
Monika Mansour comes from the Zurich area. She usually writes crime novels.
A wife from the world of offers you can't refuse and a star from the Gangnam Style scene - and in the Swiss mountains: how is that supposed to go together? I rarely turn to romance novels. But here I'm interested in the mix. In mafia and cartel stories, wives don't usually play a major role. Here, however, one is allowed to unfold. And together with a star from the colourful, lively and choreographed K-pop culture. That can only be interesting.
"The Mystery of Room 622": The author who writes himself into history
A murder takes place in room 622 of a hotel in the Swiss Alps that is never solved. Years later, a famous writer named Joël Dicker stays there. He meets a young woman and the two of them develop an interest in finding out more about the old murder case. They want to find out what happened.
- Author: Joël Dicker
- Genre: crime thriller, thriller
- Published: March 2021 (German edition)
Joël Dicker comes from Geneva and writes in French. His books have been translated into up to 40 languages.
As a Stephen King fan, I immediately think of "The Shining" when I think of mysterious happenings in remote hotels. What particularly surprises me about the description, however, is that the author Dicker writes himself into the book. This arouses my interest in the character. Does Dicker turn his character into a go-getter, a charming womaniser, or does he perhaps present himself as shy and modest? And of course I want to find out more about the murder.
Fiction
CHF14.70
Das Geheimnis von Zimmer 622
German, Joël Thicker, Amelie Thoma, Michaela Messner, 2022
"The Spoon List": The life-weary carer and the terminally ill patient
Nurse Karin no longer sees any meaning in her life. Everything seems to be going wrong and when her boss once again makes her life a living hell, she stands on the edge of the roof of her clinic in Zurich: she wants to jump. But her patient Reto Rösti appears at just the right moment to stop her. The old, terminally ill man, who is soon to die, still wants to experience a few things. But first he has to leave the clinic. The two of them make their way to St. Moritz in the Upper Engadine and gather new courage together.
- Author: Blanca Imboden
- Genre: contemporary literature
- Published: September 2023
Blanca Imboden comes from Schwyz. She started writing late in life, but went on to write several bestsellers.
I find the idea that a light suddenly appears in the darkest minute of life very beautiful. I imagine that this story, as sad as it starts out, can draw attention to the beautiful things in life. And I would like to know whether the 80-year-old Reto is a grumpy old man who is rather reluctantly confronted with the emotional woman. How can these two people enrich each other? That's what interests me.
Here you can find my other articles about books I would like to read: fantasy books and thrillers.
Do you like this selection of books? Can you recommend any other books by Swiss authors ?
Header image: emons Verlag, Piper Verlag, Wörterseh Verlag
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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