Book Review: Sarah's Key

Although it began with an abandoned book and then one I barely made it through, January has ended up being a phenomenal book month. First there was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, then The Other Side of the Bridge, and now Titiana de Rosnay's wonderful Sarah's Key. How can the next 11 months compete?

Sarah's Key tells the story of Julia Jarmond, an American journalist living in Paris, as she does research for an article about the virtually unknown 1942 round-up (called the "Vel d'Hiv incident") of French Jews by the French authorities. Jarmond is horrified to discover that these 13,000 men, women, and children were sent to their deaths in Auschwitz. During her research she finds that her in-laws have a link to one of the Jewish families, and her investigation reveals a terrible discovery.

Alternating chapters with Julia's modern-day story is the story of Sarah Strazynski, a 10-year-old Jewish girl in 1942. Sarah attends school, wears pretty clothes, and takes piano lessons as most of her French friends do and hasn't the slightest idea why she must wear the yellow star upon her clothing—and why that makes her different. One summer day her world is shattered when her family is torn apart by the Vel d'Hiv. Sarah's courage and resourcefulness save her for awhile.

Ultimately the two stories intersect and become one. de Rosnay is a wonderful writer. Her characters are crafted well and she envokes compassion without ever being sentimental. After reading this I'm curious as to find out more about Vel d'Hiv and also to find more books by de Rosnay.

Other Reviews of Sarah's Key:
Gautami at the Reading Room here
She Is Too Fond of Books here
Caribous Mom here
A Reader's Respite here

Book Review: A Short Guide to a Happy Life

Anna Quindlen's little book is, indeed, short. I read it in about 15 minutes. It's a sweet book that probably started as a blog post and morphed into a tiny, happy book with photos. This is good, practical advice to find treasures in every day life. Like this:

I think of [my life] in all its small component parts: the snowdrops, the daffodils; the feeling of one of my kids sitting close beside me on the couch; the way my husband looks when he reads with the lamp behind him; fettuccine Alfredo; fudge; Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice. Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement.

I can totally relate to that. In fact, I try to do this once or twice a week (on my other blog) in a very tangible way by participating in Three Beautiful Things. I should do this everyday because I could certainly find a plethora of beautiful things in my daily life. Read this book when you need to be reminded of what really constitutes a life well lived, or buy it to give with a graduation or wedding present.

Book Review: All Good Gifts

I've had this book by Kathleen Morgan on my TBR list for at least two, maybe three, years. I have no idea where the recommendation came from—somewhere in the book-blogging world. And it was just a fluffy, easy-to-read, happy-ending little book. I'd say actually that this falls under the "inspirational romance" category, and I do say that while blushing. I didn't know.

It's an old story. Farm girl turns into the big-city career woman. Father dies; she comes back to settle his estate and ends up falling in love with the ranch hand. Sometimes, though, old stories can be done brilliantly, like good brother vs. bad brother in Mary Lawson's The Other Side of the Bridge. But in Morgan's novel, the characters are predictable and the writing, well, not exactly inspirational. Bulging muscles, angular jaw lines, playful banter, and lots of being sheepish.

But this is exactly the kind of book to which I was referring in my review of The Other Side of the Bridge; it's the kind of book you want to sandwich between two outstanding books so you can have a breather between greatness.

If you need something very light and syrupy, this is a perfect choice. Otherwise, skip it!

Sunday Scribblings #147: Phantoms and Shadows

It's been quite some time since I've taken part in Sunday Scribblings, but this week's theme—Phantoms & Shadows—is one of my favorites. Below is a poem that came to me after a vivid dream one night in which my dead high school boyfriend appeared, chilling me and breaking my heart all over again.

************************

Penance

I kneel to you
in absolution: Forgive me, lover,
for I have sinned. It has been three days
since I last thought of you, over two months
since I spoke

your name out loud. I brought you
these flowers from my mother’s garden:
lavender, statice, Michaelmas daisies.
She still can’t remember

your name; I have stopped
reminding her. You used to come to me
in dreams; once, floating
outside a second-story window,
you beckoned. I stepped back,
then awoke, nervous and guilty.

For nine years
now I’ve carried the burden
of you like a secret child; I have not spoken
often enough of what it was to know
you. I can’t remember

your birthday—is it the third or the fifth? By now
your hair would be thinning and your mustache
thick. Your twin brother is heavy and dull;
You will never face his fate. He is like some cruel
computer-aged representation. It’s only his voice

that throws me, raspy and cracked,
like yours. And his lips.
I have had impure thoughts.

This is what your mother said to me,
here in this spot, as she handed me your casket’s
blue ribbon: you were the love of his life.
Have mercy on me,
I have never visited her, but the ribbon fit
nicely in the depths

of my wedding bouquet. Seven years now
I have been married to a man you
never knew, two children who look like

him. I must have forgotten
how, in the pain of afterdeath, I swore
I would name my son for you.

It’s all coming back to me now.
Your crooked teeth and bony knees.

~Sarah Cummins Small, copyright 1999

For more scribblings, go here.

Book Review: The Other Side of the Bridge

I read Mary Lawson's Crow Lake two years ago (very short review here) and was mesmerized. I've had The Other Side of the Bridge on TBR list since then. As much as I loved Crow Lake (a lot), I am happy to say that Lawson's second novel is even better. I read this immediately after The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a wildly popular book right now (my review here). I wish I had read one not-so-good book between the two, because The Other Side of the Bridge was so outstanding that it did somewhat diminish my appreciation of Guernsey.

This novel tells the stories of brothers Jake and Arthur Dunn beginning in the 1930s, alternating with the story of teenager Ian Christopherson 20 years later. They all live in an isolated town in northern Canada, where some souls thrive and some shrivel up and must escape. Jake and Arthur are brothers with a Cain-and-Abel relationship. Lawson handles this familiar theme beautifully. Jake and Arthur are so fully portrayed that I could see them, and that is not always easy for me as a reader. Alternating chapters tell Ian's story, which intersects with the adult Arthur and his family. Ian is the son of the town's doctor and destined to become the third Dr. Christopherson.

Sometimes I finish the last few chapters of a book and feel as if the author was just tired of writing and wrapped things up too neatly, or not enough. One of the things that Lawson does so well is to tell these two stories, bring them together, provide closure, and never give the reader a sense of hurrying the story along. She is a stunning writer.

If you enjoyed the popular Crow Lake, you will love The Other Side of the Bridge. If you haven't read either, you are in for a couple of fantastic novels.

Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This book (with the very long title) by aunt/niece team Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows has been getting rave reviews throughout the book blogging community—and this is one bandwagon I'm jumping on. And don't let the title throw you; it sounds like one of those silly fluff books, but it really isn't.

The book is written as a series of letters, which was exactly the right choice to unfold this wonderful story of a writer searching for a subject, a war-ravaged island, and its inhabitants. It's London in 1946, just after World War II, and author Juliet Ashton begins corresponding with the residents of Guernsey. She is amazed to discover that the islanders spent the war under German occupation and had no contact with the outside world. During this time the Guernsey Literary Society was accidentally formed, and Juliet seeks out their stories through a series of letters. Eventually she visits the island, and the story continues there.

While it is true that much of the novel is predictable and wraps up so very nicely, I really didn't care. The writing is wonderful, the characters rich and distinctive, and Juliet's voice is fabulous. I knew absolutely nothing about the German occupation of Guernsey during WWII; in fact, I knew nothing about Guernsey at all prior to reading this book. I think an excellent sign of historical fiction, however light it is (and this book does have some tragic moments), is that it makes the reader want to explore the topic at a deeper level. And, of course, I think all readers want to travel to Guernsey upon finishing the book!

After having two book flops to start off the year, I was thrilled to find this book at our library. While it is early in the year, I imagine that The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will end up on my Top 10 list for 2009.

Library Loot

There's a fun new weekly going on over at The Striped Armchair called "Library Loot." The idea is to post your library haul each week (or each time you visit). I don't necessarily go to the library every week; I'm more of a biweekly library patron. But we did go yesterday, and here is what we checked out:
My America, Corey's Underground Railroad Diary: Freedom's Wings; Message in the Sky; and Flying Free
Meet Addy and Addy Learns a Lesson
Alec's Primer by Mildred Pitts Walter
The Wagon by Tony Johnston
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson
Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson


We are finishing up our slavery unit next week. We've already read Uncle Tom's Cabin (an abridged version), Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman, and If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad, so I wanted to finish off with some picture books. Oh, we also went to the library's winter book sale while we were there, and I found Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom, so we'll read that this week, too.

I didn't get any books for myself because I already have three checked out. I've read two but haven't yet reviewed them here. Both were fantastic: Mary Lawson's The Other Side of the Bridge (stunning) and the much-praised Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (excellent). I'm currently reading Kate Morton's All Good Gifts, which is rather sappy.

And that's our week at our library! Visit other library finds, or participate yourself, at this week's Library Loot.