I have to say that I freaking love this book. It's like crack for me: World War II history, two fascinating main characters, and beautiful, sensual writing. I seriously want to hump this book I love it so much. I'm going to try not to read it too quickly so that I won't feel like I've rushed my enjoyment or depressed that it's over too quickly.
Watch is have a really shitty ending.
So far it reminds me a lot of the Book Thief. It's very readable and fast-paced. I bet a group of my 8th grade ELA students would like it.
Okay, Okay, the question: Who are the main characters of this book and what do you think about them so far?
Well, there's Marie-Laure, who is the blind French girl who has fled from Paris with her father and is now trying to get through the American attack on the walled Brittany city of St. Malo. I admire how much she loves stories and how much she cares for the people around her. I also appreciate how the author describes her existence -- emphasizing smells, tastes, her inner thoughts, movement through the world. I'm impressed by how he describes how a blind person can "see" colors.
She stresses me the fuck out though. God, can you imagine being a teenager in a war-torn area . . . and you can't freakin' see and the adults in your life keep disappearing? And if Isla ever goes blind, I'm sorry, there's no way I'm making her a miniature Mechanic Falls.
The other main character is Werner . . . and I love him. There's nothing like a good Horatio Alger story. I love it when a character is at the bottom of the barrel and because of some inner curiosity, drive, and tenacity . . . he pulls himself up. It's so Harry Potter of him. . . but like Harry Potter in an even shittier, more depressing situation. I love all the descriptions of his fixing radios and surviving day in and day out in his psychopath school. I'm also very intrigued by being placed in Germany at the beginning stages of the war. My grandfather's family came out of southern Germany -- Bavaria -- Nazimania -- and he went on to fight, along with his brother, for the Americans. He still had cousins and tons of other family members in Germany, yet he never expressed any kind of regret or wistfulness about it. He bombed the hell out of a bunch of other German cities too. Had his family never made the move to the US, though, would he have been one of the many young men fighting for the Reich? Probably.
Reading your post has helped me with a few pieces that are messy for me. Maybe you can clarify some more. Where exactly is Marie-Laure? She isn't in Germany right? Werner is in Germany. And I am interested in the aspect of the other boys at the orphanage joining Hilter's army. I've read quite a few Holocaust fiction books, but never seen this angle, I am excited. I won't summarize the characters, since you did so well. However, I LOVE M-L's dad. How awesome is he building her those puzzles where she gets a chocolate when she solves. And the miniature city... I know he is going to die because of the first chapter when she is waiting for him... I think that was a flash forward, or I completely misread it. Anyway, I am not looking forward to his death.
Marie-Laure is living in Paris . . . and then she and her dad have to evacuate to St. Malo. This is a city that's west of the Normandy beaches (where the Allies invade on D-Day).
Is this the right place to submit my blog?
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I freaking love this book. It's like crack for me: World War II history, two fascinating main characters, and beautiful, sensual writing. I seriously want to hump this book I love it so much. I'm going to try not to read it too quickly so that I won't feel like I've rushed my enjoyment or depressed that it's over too quickly.
Watch is have a really shitty ending.
So far it reminds me a lot of the Book Thief. It's very readable and fast-paced. I bet a group of my 8th grade ELA students would like it.
Okay, Okay, the question: Who are the main characters of this book and what do you think about them so far?
Well, there's Marie-Laure, who is the blind French girl who has fled from Paris with her father and is now trying to get through the American attack on the walled Brittany city of St. Malo. I admire how much she loves stories and how much she cares for the people around her. I also appreciate how the author describes her existence -- emphasizing smells, tastes, her inner thoughts, movement through the world. I'm impressed by how he describes how a blind person can "see" colors.
She stresses me the fuck out though. God, can you imagine being a teenager in a war-torn area . . . and you can't freakin' see and the adults in your life keep disappearing? And if Isla ever goes blind, I'm sorry, there's no way I'm making her a miniature Mechanic Falls.
The other main character is Werner . . . and I love him. There's nothing like a good Horatio Alger story. I love it when a character is at the bottom of the barrel and because of some inner curiosity, drive, and tenacity . . . he pulls himself up. It's so Harry Potter of him. . . but like Harry Potter in an even shittier, more depressing situation. I love all the descriptions of his fixing radios and surviving day in and day out in his psychopath school. I'm also very intrigued by being placed in Germany at the beginning stages of the war. My grandfather's family came out of southern Germany -- Bavaria -- Nazimania -- and he went on to fight, along with his brother, for the Americans. He still had cousins and tons of other family members in Germany, yet he never expressed any kind of regret or wistfulness about it. He bombed the hell out of a bunch of other German cities too. Had his family never made the move to the US, though, would he have been one of the many young men fighting for the Reich? Probably.
Reading your post has helped me with a few pieces that are messy for me. Maybe you can clarify some more. Where exactly is Marie-Laure? She isn't in Germany right? Werner is in Germany. And I am interested in the aspect of the other boys at the orphanage joining Hilter's army. I've read quite a few Holocaust fiction books, but never seen this angle, I am excited.
ReplyDeleteI won't summarize the characters, since you did so well. However, I LOVE M-L's dad. How awesome is he building her those puzzles where she gets a chocolate when she solves. And the miniature city... I know he is going to die because of the first chapter when she is waiting for him... I think that was a flash forward, or I completely misread it. Anyway, I am not looking forward to his death.
Marie-Laure is living in Paris . . . and then she and her dad have to evacuate to St. Malo. This is a city that's west of the Normandy beaches (where the Allies invade on D-Day).
ReplyDelete