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/ ( )

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. ( )