After I finished Suite Francaise, I started reading Sara Paretsky's Hardball. I don't usually like reading books that are part of a series unless I've read all the books in the series. But for some reason, I decided to go ahead and read this. I'd seen a pop up add that said if I liked Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I should read Hardball.
I was checking out a stack of books, I saw Hardball on the new release shelf, so I got it.
On page 110, VI Warshawski is reading Suite Francaise. I thought that was an odd coincidence, since I just finished reading that book.
In other book news, I'm really liking the show, Rizzoli and Isles. I checked out a couple of the books -- including the first one (because I like to start at the beginning of a series). Hope I like it.
And on the subject of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - I read they've cast the part of Lisbeth Salander. I've never heard of the actress - Rooney Mara, but she has a huge job ahead of her, taking on the role of possibly the coolest fictional character ever! I really like the casting of Daniel Craig and Robin Wright. In the Swedish movie, I didn't think the person playing Erika was attractive enough. I loved the person playing Lisbeth, but I had quite a few issues with the movie. They changed several things from the movie. I'm looking forward to the new version.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
I bought a copy of this book last year, after I returned from a trip to Paris. When I take trips, nice trips, I tend to want to continue living them. Several people on a travel forum recommended this book so I went and bought a copy, not knowing much about it. Honestly, with regard to extending my time in Paris, it wouldn't have been effective. This is more about the effects of World War II on Paris and France. I didn't get around to reading it last summer though because I suppose school started and once I realized it was about the war, I was afraid it might be a bit heavy and emotional for escaping the classroom stress - which is why I read books during the school year.
This summer, I packed the book in my suitcase before my trip to Paris. I had another book to read, and was carrying this as my "backup" book. I didn't start the book until I got on the plane leaving Paris. It's divided into two parts and I read the entire first part on the plane from Paris to Boston. Then I set the book aside and didn't return to it for a few weeks.
In order to fully appreciate the book, it's important to know a bit of background about how this story. It's unfinished and is only two parts of the author's intended five. The story wasn't published until almost sixty years after it was written. The notebook in which it was written was in a suitcase belonging to her daughters, and it traveled with them for years as they hid from the Nazis. Her daughters assumed it was a journal, and they didn't read it, thinking it would be too painful. When they did finally read it, they discovered what became Suite Francaise, as well as notes about how the author wanted the story to progress.
The story takes place in occupied France. The first part, Storm in June, is the story of people fleeing Paris as the city is claimed by the German army. The city is in a complete panic. Nemirovsky introduces several different characters, from various backgrounds, with different interests. She doesn't paint a very flattering view of the people in her city. There are the rich people more concerned about their possessions than they are their neighbors. They're driving around with a vehicle loaded down with dishes and bed linens while people are walking along the roads, with no other means to escape. Some of the people are quite horrible, arrogant and cruel, others kind and generous, doing all they can to assist those in such a desperate situation.
I thought some of the stories were a little strange and melodramatic, which I assume is the result of the story being the author's first draft. (At the end of the book, it describes her writing process, how she'd write everything she could think of, then go back and edit. Even in her notes she mentions not liking an event that I found a bit too awful.)
One thing to keep in mind about this is that the author wrote these stories as she was living the experience. This is not a case of a someone writing a story based on history or family stories. Nemirovsky was in Paris as this was happening. She saw the people around her going through this.
The second part, Dolce, takes place in a village occupied by the German army. Again, this story is based on the author's experience of living in an occupied village. I think what's most interesting about the story is the way she objectively views the French and the German citizens. She paints a very sympathetic view of the Germans, pointing out that these soldiers are in some ways in as dire a situation as the people who's homes they are occupying. She describes them as young men, far away from home, in a place where they don't speak the language, living among people who hate them. Also, it's clear that she is not especially proud of the way the French behaved during this time, so eager to tell on each other if they thought it would benefit themselves.
The story ends with the German army leaving the village and moving on to fight in Russia.
I liked the second part of the book better than the first. There was more of a continuous storyline. The characters were more developed and more likable.
She never finished the story, and in her notes even mentioned that she wasn't entirely sure how it would end, that it was in God's hands. Because, of course, she didn't know how the war would end.
Before she finished the book, she was taken to a concentration camp, where she died.
Knowing that made me so sad, because here she'd written this story in which she clearly didn't hate the German army. She seemed to understand that it was a war, they were only following orders. And yet, these men that she portrayed so kindly are the same ones who took her from her family and led her to her death.
My copy of the book had notes in the back and a series of letters from her husband to others, trying to get her returned to her family. It's clear that the family didn't know the full horrors of what was happening at the camps. He kept writing and trying to find her, long after she'd died. He eventually met the same fate, never knowing what happened to her. It says that after the war their children would go meet the trains that had the survivors on it, hoping to see their parents return.
I think this book is especially valuable in the way that it provides a unique perspective of the war and its effects on the people. This isn't a history book or a tale of famous leaders and soldiers, but rather a picture of the lives of the people who suffer as the result of these leaders' actions.
This summer, I packed the book in my suitcase before my trip to Paris. I had another book to read, and was carrying this as my "backup" book. I didn't start the book until I got on the plane leaving Paris. It's divided into two parts and I read the entire first part on the plane from Paris to Boston. Then I set the book aside and didn't return to it for a few weeks.
In order to fully appreciate the book, it's important to know a bit of background about how this story. It's unfinished and is only two parts of the author's intended five. The story wasn't published until almost sixty years after it was written. The notebook in which it was written was in a suitcase belonging to her daughters, and it traveled with them for years as they hid from the Nazis. Her daughters assumed it was a journal, and they didn't read it, thinking it would be too painful. When they did finally read it, they discovered what became Suite Francaise, as well as notes about how the author wanted the story to progress.
The story takes place in occupied France. The first part, Storm in June, is the story of people fleeing Paris as the city is claimed by the German army. The city is in a complete panic. Nemirovsky introduces several different characters, from various backgrounds, with different interests. She doesn't paint a very flattering view of the people in her city. There are the rich people more concerned about their possessions than they are their neighbors. They're driving around with a vehicle loaded down with dishes and bed linens while people are walking along the roads, with no other means to escape. Some of the people are quite horrible, arrogant and cruel, others kind and generous, doing all they can to assist those in such a desperate situation.
I thought some of the stories were a little strange and melodramatic, which I assume is the result of the story being the author's first draft. (At the end of the book, it describes her writing process, how she'd write everything she could think of, then go back and edit. Even in her notes she mentions not liking an event that I found a bit too awful.)
One thing to keep in mind about this is that the author wrote these stories as she was living the experience. This is not a case of a someone writing a story based on history or family stories. Nemirovsky was in Paris as this was happening. She saw the people around her going through this.
The second part, Dolce, takes place in a village occupied by the German army. Again, this story is based on the author's experience of living in an occupied village. I think what's most interesting about the story is the way she objectively views the French and the German citizens. She paints a very sympathetic view of the Germans, pointing out that these soldiers are in some ways in as dire a situation as the people who's homes they are occupying. She describes them as young men, far away from home, in a place where they don't speak the language, living among people who hate them. Also, it's clear that she is not especially proud of the way the French behaved during this time, so eager to tell on each other if they thought it would benefit themselves.
The story ends with the German army leaving the village and moving on to fight in Russia.
I liked the second part of the book better than the first. There was more of a continuous storyline. The characters were more developed and more likable.
She never finished the story, and in her notes even mentioned that she wasn't entirely sure how it would end, that it was in God's hands. Because, of course, she didn't know how the war would end.
Before she finished the book, she was taken to a concentration camp, where she died.
Knowing that made me so sad, because here she'd written this story in which she clearly didn't hate the German army. She seemed to understand that it was a war, they were only following orders. And yet, these men that she portrayed so kindly are the same ones who took her from her family and led her to her death.
My copy of the book had notes in the back and a series of letters from her husband to others, trying to get her returned to her family. It's clear that the family didn't know the full horrors of what was happening at the camps. He kept writing and trying to find her, long after she'd died. He eventually met the same fate, never knowing what happened to her. It says that after the war their children would go meet the trains that had the survivors on it, hoping to see their parents return.
I think this book is especially valuable in the way that it provides a unique perspective of the war and its effects on the people. This isn't a history book or a tale of famous leaders and soldiers, but rather a picture of the lives of the people who suffer as the result of these leaders' actions.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Prospect Park West by Amy Sohn
As I was walking to the checkout desk in the library, I noticed this on a shelf.
I've never been to Park Slope or Prospect Park. But I've heard of the area, haven't we all? The place where people like to take strollers into bars -- because all babies deserve to be exposed to alcohol! Weird. Also, I know of a guy who got married, moved to Park Slope and disappeared. He was a bit of a jerk, and a liar, so it amuses me greatly to picture him, overweight and sloppy (he sort of already was) walking through the park with his frumpy wife, pushing a stroller with a screaming, messy kid in it -- just like the people in this book.
I thought this book was hilarious. It's about four women, all mothers living near Prospect Park. They're obsessed with their addresses, and more importantly, their school zones. There's Karen, the crazy mom who puts knee pads on her kid before he plays on the playground because, you know, children should never have skinned knees. (Parents like this are why kids are so messed up -- I'm a teacher, I've seen the damage first hand.) She's obsessed with finding property in the "right" school zone and she's trying to get pregnant again. She's also stalking one of the celebrities on the block.
Melora was a child star, now married to a handsome Australian actor and raising their adopted child. She's also a drug addict, and struggling to hold onto her career, and not all that interested in being a mom. And yet, I probably liked her a bit more than some of the other women in this story.
Lizzie was a lesbian -- a hasbian is what she calls herself -- until she married a guy in a band. He's always on the road, leaving her alone with their son. She's not as status conscious as the other moms and doesn't seem to fit in with the crowd at the playground. But she's so happy when she thinks she meets a normal mom - Rebbecca.
Rebbecca hasn't had sex since her one and half year old daughter was born, and that's pretty much all she thinks about. She's so self absorbed. Her husband won't go near her because she's mean and insanely jealous of the attention he gives their daughter. She's a horrible person and gets worse as the book continues.
These women are all messed up in some way. There's women are pathetic and damaged. But reading about their troubles was amusing to me. In fact, it gives me a sense of superiority to read this and be so very glad that I don't have their problems.
I liked the book. Granted, it's not great literature, but it was entertaining. I got through the book quickly, not wanting to put it down at night. As I described it to someone, I equate reading things like this to watching Real Housewives on Bravo. I know it's wrong, but they make me laugh. Sometimes, it's okay to indulge in our guilty pleasures.
I've never been to Park Slope or Prospect Park. But I've heard of the area, haven't we all? The place where people like to take strollers into bars -- because all babies deserve to be exposed to alcohol! Weird. Also, I know of a guy who got married, moved to Park Slope and disappeared. He was a bit of a jerk, and a liar, so it amuses me greatly to picture him, overweight and sloppy (he sort of already was) walking through the park with his frumpy wife, pushing a stroller with a screaming, messy kid in it -- just like the people in this book.
I thought this book was hilarious. It's about four women, all mothers living near Prospect Park. They're obsessed with their addresses, and more importantly, their school zones. There's Karen, the crazy mom who puts knee pads on her kid before he plays on the playground because, you know, children should never have skinned knees. (Parents like this are why kids are so messed up -- I'm a teacher, I've seen the damage first hand.) She's obsessed with finding property in the "right" school zone and she's trying to get pregnant again. She's also stalking one of the celebrities on the block.
Melora was a child star, now married to a handsome Australian actor and raising their adopted child. She's also a drug addict, and struggling to hold onto her career, and not all that interested in being a mom. And yet, I probably liked her a bit more than some of the other women in this story.
Lizzie was a lesbian -- a hasbian is what she calls herself -- until she married a guy in a band. He's always on the road, leaving her alone with their son. She's not as status conscious as the other moms and doesn't seem to fit in with the crowd at the playground. But she's so happy when she thinks she meets a normal mom - Rebbecca.
Rebbecca hasn't had sex since her one and half year old daughter was born, and that's pretty much all she thinks about. She's so self absorbed. Her husband won't go near her because she's mean and insanely jealous of the attention he gives their daughter. She's a horrible person and gets worse as the book continues.
These women are all messed up in some way. There's women are pathetic and damaged. But reading about their troubles was amusing to me. In fact, it gives me a sense of superiority to read this and be so very glad that I don't have their problems.
I liked the book. Granted, it's not great literature, but it was entertaining. I got through the book quickly, not wanting to put it down at night. As I described it to someone, I equate reading things like this to watching Real Housewives on Bravo. I know it's wrong, but they make me laugh. Sometimes, it's okay to indulge in our guilty pleasures.
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