In Bern, as in many parts of the world, autumn is the season of cool, crisp air, golden light, falling leaves—and hunting. But here it isn’t just the hunters who get to enjoy the meat they bring down: venison steaks are for sale in local grocery stores. As far as I’m concerned, though, the bestContinue reading “Hunting (and Eating) Game”
Author Archives: Kim Hays
What Makes a Mystery “Traditional”?
My debut police procedural, Pesticide, won’t go on sale until April 2022, but already I’ve been busy combing the page proofs for typos. I’ve also drafted text for the book’s back cover. Trying to come up with the best way to describe Pesticide made me ask myself: What does it mean to call a bookContinue reading “What Makes a Mystery “Traditional”?”
The Birth and Death of the Aare
When I first came to live in Bern in January 1987, only two months had passed since the Rhine had been disastrously polluted by a fire in a Sandoz warehouse on the river’s bank in the Swiss city of Basel. The water used to put out the fire had caused huge quantities of dangerous chemicalsContinue reading “The Birth and Death of the Aare”
Cheese: One of the Basic Swiss Food Groups
“A big bowl of hot boiled potatoes and some cheese? For fifty people?” Peter’s and my wedding had been in the US. Now my in-laws wanted to give a buffet dinner for us in Bern, to celebrate with Swiss family and friends. When Peter told me the main course, I was . . . well,Continue reading “Cheese: One of the Basic Swiss Food Groups”
A Deeply Moving Darkness
In an earlier post on Belinda Bauer’s terrific mystery Snap, I mentioned how much I enjoy adult novels with realistically portrayed children. Another brilliant example is Heather Young’s The Distant Dead (2020) . The story, set in a small desert town in Nevada, is told by three characters: Jake Sanchez, a volunteer fireman and driverContinue reading “A Deeply Moving Darkness”
National Memories, Myths and Memes
Today, the first of August, is the Swiss equivalent of the Fourth of July, similarly celebrated with picnics, firework displays and speeches by local and national politicians. Swiss families gather with their neighbors at village-sponsored breakfasts or evening fish fries, and the huge bonfires lit on local hills are visible for miles. Already for daysContinue reading “National Memories, Myths and Memes”
World without Gender:
Revisiting The Left Hand of Darkness My husband Peter and I just got back from two weeks in France. We started our holiday in the town of Sarlat in the Dordogne region, which is a nine-hour car trip from Bern. Not only did we drive back two weeks later, but we used the car aContinue reading “World without Gender:”
Swiss Women’s Rights: What Happened?
In 1869, the territory of Wyoming (population less than 10,000) gave white women the right to vote. The first country to grant suffrage to women (including Maoris) was New Zealand, in 1893. Later came Australia (1902), Norway (1906), Great Britain and Ireland (1918), Germany (1918) and the US (1920), among others. A few more atContinue reading “Swiss Women’s Rights: What Happened?”
An Evening with Donna Leon
My March 12 post mentioned Donna Leon’s latest book, Transient Desires, her thirtieth in thirty years. I’ve always enjoyed her mysteries, and her Commissario of Police, Guido Brunetti, is my idea of a perfect hero: a clever, compassionate and literate man with an interesting family. This past Wednesday evening Ms. Leon was here in Bern,Continue reading “An Evening with Donna Leon”
Books We Grow Into
There’s a column in the New York Times called “By the Book,” in which successful writers—or famous people who have written a book, which isn’t quite the same thing—answer questions about their reading habits. If my friend Donna reads an example she particularly likes, she cuts it out and shares it with me over coffee.Continue reading “Books We Grow Into”
Kim Hays 