Do not get scared by the super long (and a bit weird) title, this is a great read! It is in the format of letters between the main character, a 30-something english author, and the other characters. The story is set in 1946 after the war and does have a historical side (dealing with the Nazi occupation of the island of Guernsey) that makes it interesting. But the characters are the main reason why I would recommend reading this book! They are so lovable, witty and funny, to the point that you wish you could travel to Guernsey and meet them!
I kind of cheated on this one and decided to listen to the CDs rather than spend the time reading it. And in the end, I am glad to have chosen that path! Do you ever do that when you are not so sure you are going to like a book? It takes place in Paris and is mostly about a female american journalist who learns about and becomes obsessed by the deportation and the life of a little jewish girl during WWII. The subject is very interesting historically but I have to say that about halfway through the book, I was getting aggravated by this main character who was totally blinded by her obsession and her single track mind drove me nuts. This is a very popular book but I probably said "duh!" out loud a few times while listening in the car!
Even though the subject did not attract me at first, I was very quickly hooked by Hillenbrand's biography of Olympian and WWII POW Louis Zamperini. Hillenbrand manages to transport you to wherever Zamperini is at the time and the details of his life are sometimes unimaginable in the cruelty he had to endure and the resilience he showed through it all. It is not only a great read, it is also a great lesson in history. I highly recommend it!
So tell me, have you read any of those books? What did you think? Do you have any recommendations for me?
Je ne vais pas tout traduire car les livres concernés sont en anglais mais je vois que Le cercle littéraire des amateurs d'épluchures de patates (le premier livre) est disponible en France et je le recommande vivement! Le second, Elle s'appelait Sarah m'a un peu déçue même si il a beaucoup de succés ici. Et enfin, je ne trouve pas la version française du troisième livre... mais si il sort en français je vous le recommande aussi même si le sujet ne vous branche pas de premier abord. Et vous, qu'avez-vous lu récemment?
These all sound really good! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
ReplyDeleteThose books sound great, Nathalie ... I just finished up my latest book and was looking for another, so I'm going to have to check those out. My husband read Unbroken and was really impacted by it. I think I may have to make that one my next read!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society!! One of my all time favs! Have you read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand? The characters are also quite endearing and it's a wonderful novel.
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