*This was originally written for my blog

I had never heard of this author before but I was captivated by the beautiful design of this books cover.

This book is (mostly) set in modern day Germany. It revolves around a museum. This museum is not what one would expect - it does not contain war memorabilia not does it house fossils and loin cloths, this museum is dedicated to bring awarenesses to one of the world's most grim topics: suicide.

Now, before I go any farther I wish to point out that this book is not as dark and depressing as one may originally assume. As well as the museum's subject matter it also discusses other hard to deal with topics such as rape, but the author does not dwell on these occurrences, nor does he shove then in the readers face. These have a place in the story and are not halfheartedly shoved in for the sake of shock factor.

This is a difficult book to review as everything feels to be a spoiler as the author is so carefully secretive about everything, nothing is told to the reader until it needs to be.

Little Hands Clapping follows the story of multiple characters, from the beautiful Portuguese Madalena, to Doctor Ernst Fröhlicher, to Pavarotti's Wife, each person has their own intertwined story, their own quirks, and their own purpose. It discusses serious subjects, but manages to be light hearted at times and the authors humour is so weird and macabre I must admit that I am hooked! It elicits a laugh here and there that will leave the reader hating themselves for allowing a giggle to slip out during what would be a serious moment in any other novel. For anyone who has ever watched The League of Gentlemen, the dark humour is quite similar.

I do not want to say any more about this masterpiece as I fear that I have said too much about the plot already. I highly recommend this book to everyone and anyone over the age of 18 (as there is some swearing, sexual references, etc.).

I rate this 5/5 stars. ( )

This book was a lot darker than I originally anticipated! Cannibalism, necrophilia, suicide?! Despite moments of nausea, there was still some humor and sweetness in this weird, fairy-tale like story. So different and so much fun to read! ( )

Strange book, this... very very weird subjects, but written in a really funny way, and more of 'intermingled' short stories rather than a continuous plot.
And quite a surprise to find portuguese characters here! ( )

all'inizio mi era sembrato un pò confuso,ma quando la storia ha ingranato,ne è venuta fuori una favola tenera,divertente e originale!molto carino! ( )

How to describe this book? Well it’s a modern day fairy tale and is funny, macabre, innocent, idealistic, realistic and taboo breaking. It’s also beautifully written and at times unremittingly perceptive of the human condition, “She felt numb. Then she felt sick. Then came a raging pain, as if insects were trapped inside her body and struggling to scrape their way out through her skin. One by one these insects gave up and she felt numb again. She hoped this would last, but soon the nausea returned, and the scraping. Her eyeballs throbbed.” This was recommended to me, with some hesitancy, by the manager of my local independent book shop. I understand her hesitancy as I’m a uncertain as to how I feel about this book as at times it feels a little unnecessarily gruesome and the plotting is a little uneven. ( )