BOOK REVIEW #8: The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen (2007)

The Keeper of Lost Causes (US) or Mercy (UK) is a book written by the Danish writer of crime fiction, as well as a publisher, editor and entrepreneur Jussi Adler-Olsen in 2007. Its original title is Kvinden i buret.

Being a fan of Scandinavian authors and thrillers, when my boyfriend gave me this book, I started reading it at once. And I loved it. Indeed, The Keeper of Lost Causes is the first book of a whole series and its author won a great number of literary prizes for it : the Sealed Room Award (Japan 2012), the Livre Robinsonnais prize (France 2012), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle (France 2012), the Barry Award Best Novel (US 2012), the Danskerees Yndlingsforfatter (Denmark 2013), the Prix Plume d’or (France, 2013) and many more..

That should be enough to convince you to try it ! Personally, I’m already reading the sequel  The Absent One (US) or Disgrace (UK) (Fasandræberne in Danish).

The power of yet versus the tyranny of now: why we need to balance the carpe diem adage

We are often told that we should not live in the anticipation. We must let go of our fears of, and for the future in order to live in the now. You know, carpe diem and all that stuff.

While I do not want to contradict this idea, I think it is also interesting to consider the opposite view : think in the long(er) term instead of constantly being nagged by the responsibilities of the day.

Is consumption free happiness for you ?

The trend now is to contribute to the “slow” movement. We can see it everywhere : slow food, slow fashion etc… It is not really difficult to understand its success when we look at the age of crazy consumerism that we are currently living in: fast food, fast fashion, scheduled obsolescence, burn outs…

Speed has become on of the most important medium of communication in our lives today. And like everything else, it is confronted to a counter movement.

Within this age of mass consumption, a lot of people are starting to suffocate and support slow trends and minimalism. Not only it will save you money, it will also leave you more time and make you happier. Interested ?