Erika Pluhar

Plot:
Paulina Neblo used to be a dancer, but has retired long ago. Now 70 years old, she decides that she will start to write a diary, at first to keep the memories (of her dead husband, of her dead daughter) and the loneliness of her everyday life (only interrupted by her housekeeper Hortensia) at bay. But as she writes, not only do her memories keep encroaching, suddenly her lonesome routine gets severely disrupted – her former student and friend Florinda drags her shaky marriage with Vincent and Vincent himself into Paulina’s life; and a lover of old, Maxime, pops up in Paulina’s life again. Bit by bit Paulina realizes that she might not be quite as done with life and herself as she thought.

Spätes Tagebuch is not completely cliché free and it’s sometimes a little too close to kitsch, but it’s not bad at all: it’s a quick, enjoyable read.

Read more on my blog: http://kalafudra.com/2015/05/24/spates-tagebuch-late-diary-erika-pluhar/… (plus d'informations)

Ein Mann und eine Frau treffen sich im Bus, die Pragerin
Nelly, Mitte 50, und der 60-jährige Smelik. Sie fragt ihn
nach dem Weg. Daraus entwickelt sich ein leichtes
Geplauder, das zunehmend interessanter wird. Man trinkt
Kaffee miteinander, geht spazieren, sitzt in einem
Wirtshausgarten - und die beiden reden bis zum nächsten
Morgen. Aus anfänglich harmlosen Informationen wird zum
Schluss eine gegenseitige Lebensbeichte, die beide tief
aufwühlt und existenziell berührt.… (plus d'informations)

This 'late diary' covers a few, life-changing months in the life of a 70-year-old woman.

The first thing that you notice on opening it is that it is printed in a fairly large font. Paulina could actually read it!

The German is also fairly easy to read. It flows, and the mood is positive, and future-oriented. This is a good read. Because of the diary format, there isn't a lot of action. Everything that happens is more commented on than described. An amazingly quiet book for the amount that actually happens.… (plus d'informations)