What I'm Reading...

I have decided to try my hand at starting a new blog.

I am tired of the name "Appalolly" and people wondering what the heck it stands for. Just to satisfy your curiousity, it has absolutely no meaning in my life.  It is the name of a riding stable in our area (think horses and lots of poo and dusty trails) and I only picked the name 6 1/2 years ago because I figured no one else would be using it.

I also have some ideas for my new blog.  Fun ideas. New ideas.  I would say "creative ideas" but like most of us out there, I steal a lot of my ideas from other people and just call them my own.  Its OK.  You're allowed to do that.  Well, unless you're not. And then you might end up in jail.

I thought that I might do some book reviews...as I love books and love to read.  I am usually reading at least one book, sometimes more.

The latest book I read was "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana De Rosnay.  Apparently, this book has also been made into a movie which, despite its French subtitles, my friend Roxanne said is really good and she and her husband both liked it.

First of all, the picture on the front of the book was very confusing to me and I never could figure out how it fit into the story.  Just for what that is worth. In case you find yourself, like me, trying to reconcile the cover picture with anything you read into the book!

The book is written from two different people's perspectives.  One is a little Jewish girl whose family is deported from Paris during the "round-ups" that happened in the time of Hitler.  The other perspective is that of a 40 something American journalist who is living in Paris at in the early 21st century. 

She is assigned to research the 60th anniversary of a particular round-up that occured.  As she delves into this story that she had previously knew nothing about, she becomes more and more intrigued and saddened by what she learns.

As is prone to happen in books, the life of the little girl and the life of the American journalist collide when she discovers that this little girl used to live in the apartment that she and her husband are in the process of renovating.

She sets out on a search to find out what happened to this girl and her family and to find this little girl (who would now be a 70 year old woman). 

In the process, she discovers what is important to her in life and she discovers a lot about herself. 

The book loses some of its "umph" about 1/2 way through, when it is written only from the American journalist's (Julia's) perspective and the chapters written by the little girl are no longer part of the story.

I didn't really identify with the obsession this woman had with this Jewish family.  She was willing to drop everything else in her life to pursue this, even going so far as to borrow money from her boss, divorce and move away from her husband (this one was probably coming anyway, since there were issues with them from the very beginning of the book, plus he asked her to abort the child she finally had become pregnant with after years of trying to have a 2nd child), and take a flying trip to Italy to meet the son of the little Jewish girl.

Bottom line:  I would say that the book is well written over all.  It does give you a lot of historical information about what happened in France during World War II and it wheted my appetite for learning more about that time period. It can be very hard to read in places.  There is a lot of sadness. The book does make you think. The characters are likeable and the book is a reasonably short read. 

Read this: Especially if you have an interest in the Holocaust and the World War II era. 

*** on Audrey's rating scale of 1-5 stars

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