With a 6 hour bus ride to and from Pittsburgh, this was the perfect page turner to pass thetime. Needing the distraction, I found myself willing to overlook the less than stellar writing. The historical aspect of the novel took me away to pre WWII in both the US and Europe. Taking place in New… Continue reading The Muralist by B. A. Shapiro (2015)
Tag: WWII
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper (2015)
Though I haven't posted a review in um...9 months, I have been reading. I just haven't found time to read AND write about it. I'll start with my most recent book, and then I'll pick and choose a few others. I think the days of blogging about every book are probably over. This is a… Continue reading Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper (2015)
The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht (2011)
I have so many pages dog-eared in this beautifully written book, it’s hard to decide which ones I want to reread. Were I to write a book about the art of constructing a sentence or the art of making sense of war, I would certainly include Tea Obreht’s prose. I'm not sure… Continue reading The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht (2011)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2007)
After my daughter read this book, she repeatedly told me that I would love it--and I did. It took a while, though, to pick it up, and by the time I did, she had read it one or two more times. I think a part of me wasn't sure I was ready for another Holocaust… Continue reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2007)
*Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (2010)
I was mesmerized by this story, reading most of it in a day on our way back from Colorado where I kept staring out the window of the airplane trying to imagine Louie and the rest of the crew flying over the Pacific in their B-24 bomber. Just as she did with Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand… Continue reading *Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (2010)
**Great House by Nicole Krauss (2010)
I still think of the writing in History of Love, Krauss's previous book, whenever I'm asked about beautiful prose. And she's done it again in Great House. Though her novels are not short, they read like prose poetry--something few authors can pull off page after page for 300 pages. I read countless sentences three or… Continue reading **Great House by Nicole Krauss (2010)
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (2007)
Sarah's Key is a good read and an important Holocaust story from a perspective I was not aware of: the French police rounding up Jews and holding them in inhumane conditions at the Vel' d' Hiv' in Paris before sending them off by train to concentration camps. Most people, and most Parisians, picture German soldiers… Continue reading Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (2007)
