Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Jan-Philipp Sendker

Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in Hamburg in 1960, was the American correspondent for Stern from 1990 to 1995, and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. In 2000 he published Cracks in the Wall, a nonfiction book about China. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, his first novel, was an international bestseller. He lives in Berlin with his family.

Sendker's new novel is Whispering Shadows.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:
I am currently reading, actually just finished two books, a novel and a non fiction book.

Ghana Must Go is a novel set in the USA and Africa. It was recommended to me by a friend whose taste in books I actually respect a lot. However, I was reluctant to pick up the book first and I don’t know why. The title? The cover? The story line? When I started I fell in love with it right away. The writing is simply fantastic, the rhythm, the style, the intensity. Chapeau! Same with the characters, a family searching for its roots and secrets between Africa and the USA. Highly recommended.

The other is Ten Billion a non fiction book by a British scientist about climate change. It was an eye opener for me. Recommended by my 18-year-old son I started reading in the evening and did not put it down before I had finished it in the early morning. It is a short book, it explains in plain sentences, with a few numbers and examples what we have been doing to this planet and what the consequences will be for us and our children and grand children. A must read for everybody.
Visit Jan-Philipp Sendker's website.

The Page 69 Test: Whispering Shadows.

My Book, The Movie: Whispering Shadows.

--Marshal Zeringue