Helpful Score: 3
After reading another review here, I did expect this book to be a masterpiece of words. I did read the whole thing, but I really dont think I want to read this author again.
Sappy Happinstance, tied up with a bright pink bow, and we all find true happiness, and the real meaning of Christmas. wait there was not any Christmas in this book, but it sure seemed like it was a hallmark Christmas movie. The problem with this story is that it wasnt all that new. I cant say much more or I give away all the secrets the grandma needs to reveal.
But lets look back to WWII, and the Jews are being rounded up, and exterminated. War is horrible. Lives are forever altered, as people make choices. Now in the present, we all get reunited, and find the true meaning of life. Gag! I hate sappy books like that.
But it really might make other readers very happy. or sappy or want to watch the Hallmark channel on TV. There are better WWII fiction books out there.
Sappy Happinstance, tied up with a bright pink bow, and we all find true happiness, and the real meaning of Christmas. wait there was not any Christmas in this book, but it sure seemed like it was a hallmark Christmas movie. The problem with this story is that it wasnt all that new. I cant say much more or I give away all the secrets the grandma needs to reveal.
But lets look back to WWII, and the Jews are being rounded up, and exterminated. War is horrible. Lives are forever altered, as people make choices. Now in the present, we all get reunited, and find the true meaning of life. Gag! I hate sappy books like that.
But it really might make other readers very happy. or sappy or want to watch the Hallmark channel on TV. There are better WWII fiction books out there.
Helpful Score: 2
This book has just qualified as my favorite read of this year...From the first page I was caught up in this totally absorbing story and there was not a thing about this book I didn't love: the theme, the characters and their development, the story itself was so life-affirming...and the writing was lovely. This book is a definite keeper for me!
I absolutely LOVED this book, it is the best book I have ever read. I have told everyone and even bought extra copies so I could share it. I was profoundly moved and thought of this book constantly for days afterwards, it just stayed with me. It was not all joy and sunshine and I cried through major portions of this book but it was all good, the story kept me reading until the early morning hours because I could not put it down, I just had to know what happened next. My only regret is that I had it for a very long time before I read it.
Just when you think it can't get any better than The Winemaker's Wife,or the House on Rue Amalie-THIS!
The present day story of a woman, living on Cape Cod(I love the setting), who recently buried her mother, trying to del with an obnoxious ex husband ,and contending with a 12 year old daughter going through teenage rages. And her Grandmother, Mamie, who's story is also told, from her beginnings in France to her current situation battling Alzheimer's in an assisted living home. So many stories are weaved spanning a seventy year period. I just want to mention, I was about three chapters from the end,when the tears started falling, while I was reading by the pool, alone, luckily.Oddly, the same page has what looked like tear stains rolling down it!
The present day story of a woman, living on Cape Cod(I love the setting), who recently buried her mother, trying to del with an obnoxious ex husband ,and contending with a 12 year old daughter going through teenage rages. And her Grandmother, Mamie, who's story is also told, from her beginnings in France to her current situation battling Alzheimer's in an assisted living home. So many stories are weaved spanning a seventy year period. I just want to mention, I was about three chapters from the end,when the tears started falling, while I was reading by the pool, alone, luckily.Oddly, the same page has what looked like tear stains rolling down it!
This is the first book that I've read in a long time that I cried at the end. The book was well written and the end was beautifully concluded.
It's about families and how they dealt with the terrible deeds and losses during and after WWII. It also is about how different faiths helped each other during the German occupation of France.
I highly recommend this book.
It's about families and how they dealt with the terrible deeds and losses during and after WWII. It also is about how different faiths helped each other during the German occupation of France.
I highly recommend this book.
This was a wonderful book. With understanding the history of why someone might make the choices the grandmother, how family traits follow and what happens because of choices. This book made me cry several times.
In this stirring novel, Hope McKenna-Smith moves back home to Cape Cod following her divorce in order to take over the running of her family bakery. Her French-born grandmother suffers from Alzheimer's disease, but manages to share a mysterious secret in a moment of clarity. With very little to go on, Hope embarks on a journey to find out the truth about her grandmother's past and her family origins. This is a beautiful story with plenty of twists and turns.
