Sarah's Key

Another book that I can highly recommend. I loved this book (right up until the end, but I'll get to that) - it was a great page turner and an easy read on a topic that still haunts and fascinates me - the holocaust.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay is the story about two women Sarah and Julia separated by sixty years. Sarah's story is based in Paris 1942 during the war - her story is compelling, horrifying, fascinating and haunting (I felt drained through each of her chapters, but couldn't stop reading). Her story is interwoven with Julia's story also based in Paris but 60 years later. Julia's story is much lighter and easier to read but I was disappointed in the ending of her story and its predictability and unlikeliness (I won't spoil the book for you).

"Paris, July 1942. Sarah, a ten-year old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door to door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard - their secret hiding place - and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released.


Sixty years later, Sarah's story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond, a journalist investigating the round-up. Sarah's Key is an emotionally gripping story of two families, forever linked to, and haunted by, one of the darkest days in France's past."


Although it was hard to read (bit reminiscent of 'Boy with the striped pyjamas' type of angst) it was a fascinating story of an event I knew nothing about - the great Velodrome d'Hiver round-up that took place on 16 July 1942, in the heart of Paris. The story highlighted the evilness of the human race along with extraordinary braveness, kindness and compassion. It still terrifies me that something this awful could have occurred only 70 years ago - and the people were capable of inflicting such misery on people just like themselves and more frighteningly, on children.


Julia's story was welcome relief between the chapters of Sarah's story  - a bit of a detective, drama and love story - but they didn't grip me in the same way and I felt really let down by the end of her story - I'm not sure what I expected but it was a bit too predictable and saccharine after the emotional roller-coaster of the rest of the book.


My better half tells me (and I've confirmed through the trusty internet) that they have already made a movie of this book and Kristin Scott Thomas plays Julia and Melusine Mayance plays Sarah. All the reviews I have read say the movie has stayed quite true to the book - which makes me wonder whether I could watch Sarah's story without dissolving into a mess of tears.

I do recommend you read this book as I thought it was brilliant and fascinating and its a story that we should not forget. "Sakhor, Al Tichkah. Remember. Never forget. In Hebrew."

The Sisters Antipodes

An Australian book, written by Jane Alison, The Sisters Antipodes recounts Jane's story of her childhood. When she was young and living in Canberra, her family met another that seemed like its mirror: a father in the Foreign Service, a beautiful mother, and two little girls, the younger two - one of them Jane - sharing a birthday. With so much in common, the two families became almost instantly inseparable. Within months, affairs had ignited between the adults, and before long the pairs had exchanged partners, divorced, remarried, and moved on.


I found many of the themes in the book really resonated with me - the difficulties Jane encountered moving schools multiple times and trying to develop a self (and self esteem) through bad choices in her teenage years. I felt that reading the book made me a bit too introspective and I felt on occasion that I was hosting my own 'pity party'. My growing up was nothing compared to this Jane's, but it brought back many memories that serve no purpose in dwelling on!


I think the story itself is fascinating, especially how all the individuals coped so differently. However, I kept waiting for something to happen. Once the split had occurred, it seemed to dwell on this and the mirrored lives for much of the novel. I realise that is what the book was meant to be about, but I kept expecting more.


Overall I found the book interesting but a bit depressing and non-eventful. Once again I may be tainting the book with my own childhood experiences and views, so would, as always, be interested to hear your views.

A little distraction

Whilst I have been spending this year in self reflection (or self indulgence?) I have also been nurturing a little creative idea I've had for a while.

Those who know me, know that creativity is not my forte - I am an accountant after all - but the idea would not leave me and I have now (as in, tonight) set up an etsy shop selling my idea!

Sadly, but not surprisingly, I used to collect postage stamps as a child. I have quite a collection. Now I'm getting on in years, so has my stamp collection to the point that many of them are deemed vintage. They are beautiful and unique (due to the postmarks) and I thought that maybe others would think so too.

We will see.

Have a look at the link - and then get prepared to be lost in the 'black hole' of etsy - you never know you may find Christmas present inspiration there while you are at it!

There are more to come so please look again soon.

A Gate at the Stairs

I've had a bad week. We were broken into and robbed again. This time during the night while we slept. Its an awful disturbing and frightening feeling - and also has made me feel a bit down and angry. Fortunately no-one was hurt and nothing of significant value was taken but it has left a bad taste in my mouth (and resulted in very light sleep!).

The events of the week coincided with me starting A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore. I often wonder about how much your mood or current situation impacts on your experience of a book (or movie or event) - do you think this too?

I found the book odd, maudlin, depressing and unsatisfying whilst admittedly beautifully written - the book was however, shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010 and also voted by the New York Times Book Review as Book of the Year - so what would I know!

With America quietly gearing up for war in the Middle East, twenty-year-old Tassie Keltjin, a 'half-Jewish' farmer's daughter from the plains of the Midwest, has come to university - escaping her provincial home to encounter the complex world of culture and politics. When she takes a job as a part-time nanny to a couple who seem at once mysterious and glamorous, Tassie is drawn into the life of their newly-adopted child and increasingly complicated household. As her past becomes increasingly alien to her - her parents seem older when she visits; her disillusioned brother ever more fixed on joining the military - Tassie finds herself becoming a stranger to herself. As the year unfolds, love leads her to new and formative experiences - but it is then that the past and the future burst forth in dramatic and shocking ways.


The story is narrated by twenty year old Tassie which I found difficult to believe. The language and thoughts used by Tassie just seem to me far too mature, intelligent and philosophical to make me really feel like she was truly a twenty year old and I found this an enormous distraction to me while trying to follow her story. Perhaps, this is once again a reflection of my shallowness, lack of intelligence and education at the age of twenty - I'm pretty sure I was just at university, drinking at the pub and hanging out with friends! Perhaps I am just being cynical and there really are twenty year olds that think and speak like this, I just don't know any.....


I found the story a bit weird and as I said before, a bit unsatisfying and I am struggling to think of an audience to recommend this to. Would love to hear anybody else's thoughts on this book if they have read it - particularly if you loved it and I have completely missed the point. Until then, save your money and I will continue to find another un-put-downable read.

A Reliable Wife

My new book arrived on Tuesday. It is now Thursday. What the hell happened to Wednesday? It went something like this...I woke bleary eyed from going to bed too late (started the book), got nothing done all day (reading the book), stayed up way past my bedtime (engrossed in the book) and now am writing about the book instead of working!

Wow - what a great story - it's passionate, gripping, sensual, exciting and beautiful. I couldn't stop reading it and when I put it down, I couldn't stop thinking about the characters. What a great way to lose a day of your life....

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick is the story of two people Catherine Land and Ralph Truitt and how their pasts have influenced the decisions they are currently making that will profoundly affect them both in ways neither of them have planned.

'He placed a notice in a Chicago paper, an advertisement for a 'reliable wife'. She responded, saying that she was 'a simple, honest woman.' She was, of course, anything but honest, and the only simple thing about her was her single-minded  determination to marry this man and then kill him, slowly and carefully, leaving herself a wealthy widow. What Catherine Land did not realise was that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own.'


The story is brilliant - it has intrigue, it has sex (yes, sex!), it has twists, it has sadness, brutality and death and it also has a gripping story line that I was instantly addicted to. I can't tell you too much about the story for fear of ruining its brilliance, but I would describe it as a mixture of a mystery and romance.


I like what the author has said about his four main characters - 'I think the only thing that matters in life is goodness. It is all we have to leave behind us when we go, all we will be remembered for. It is our soul's wallet. These characters are not good people.'


Read it.


Loved it.