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Review Date: 1/31/2010
Helpful Score: 1
This is Elizabeth Ironside's best yet. I am an avid fan of her other books, but found this work much more complex and well written. Set in occupied France at the end of WWII, this book brings to life the hardships and challenges endured by the innocent. It displays that sometimes we do what has to be done, even if it goes against our nature. Reminiscent of "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky.
Review Date: 10/18/2014
Helpful Score: 2
I loved this book! It deals with the truths of childhood memories - did things happen as we remember them, or do we make up our own truths to be the way we need them to be?
The narrator's memories of his 7-year-old self are of a world that takes magical realism to its max. His adventures revolve around his family and the neighboring Hempstock household, consisting of the Lettie (maiden), Ginnie (mother), and Granny (crone) - an altered version of the triple goddess. These powerful women seem to have the ability to transform reality. But are the magic and monsters really a child's coping mechanism to deal with the suicide of their boarder and his father's infidelity with the nanny - big things for a 7-year-old to be exposed to?
Also, loved the way that water is represented as a healing force. The water becomes a character in itself
The narrator's memories of his 7-year-old self are of a world that takes magical realism to its max. His adventures revolve around his family and the neighboring Hempstock household, consisting of the Lettie (maiden), Ginnie (mother), and Granny (crone) - an altered version of the triple goddess. These powerful women seem to have the ability to transform reality. But are the magic and monsters really a child's coping mechanism to deal with the suicide of their boarder and his father's infidelity with the nanny - big things for a 7-year-old to be exposed to?
Also, loved the way that water is represented as a healing force. The water becomes a character in itself
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