Everything was Goodbye – When all you’re left with are the memories

Hello dear readers - friends or strangers,

After I did my first review, on Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay it took me a few days until I picked up another book, even though at the moment I have lots of them lined up for me. I almost didn't start reading again. I felt lazy, but mostly, I think I didn't want to deal with the risk of starting a book I wouldn't feel drawn to. Fortunately, I have made this blog and all I kept thinking of was how I have to keep it going.

I started reading this book before but for some reason I put it down. So, this time I just picked it up and here I am, ready to tell you about it!

Everything Was Goodbye, by Gurjinder Basran is a book that takes place in Canada, 1990, in the house of an Indian girl. She has five sisters, her father died when she was very young and her mother tries her hardest to raise her girls under the Indian tradition. But Meena, the main character, is not a typical Indian girl. She is a rebel – but not to the fullest, she is a punk music listener, and she does not feel Indian - Meena is Canadian. Occidental.

Her best friend is Liam, a boy from school and neighbour. They have a special relationship, based on not knowing and not asking questions. Meena is a girl who constantly fights with who she is and who she should be. Years pass by, people come and go in her life, and she reaches a point where the only choice is to surrender to the life an Indian woman must follow.

I was very frustrated with her character, because whenever you thought she would put her foot in the door, she would only go half way. That’s why I said she wasn't a rebel to the fullest - because her mind was thinking all the right things, but she was lacking courage. I feel sorry for her, because I really believed she would step up for herself, and live the way she felt she should.

This book definitely has a topic that I enjoyed. I like reading about other cultures, especially Arabic and Indian. It is a sad story, as the title says it too, but it’s worth reading. It teaches you to choose at the right time, and yes, life gives you second changes, but they might be short. I recommend this book to all the readers who are interested in knowing how life is outside ours. The way it is in other homes, in other cultures…

Have you read this book before? If yes, I'd like to know what you think about it, and if you haven't, does it sound like something you might chose off the bookshelf?

Sarah's Key - a book about desperation and hope

Hello dear friends, and strangers,

 My name is Brigitte and I have created this blog because I love to read (even though I don’t do it much) and I thought that by having this little space of mine, I’d feel motivated to read more often, share with you the stories still full of dust that sit on my bookshelves , and hear about yours as well. I will start by telling you about the book I have read last, and which I am proud to say (for a non-active reader) I have finished in less than a week. Enjoy, and I hope to hear from you! 

 Brigitte

Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay, was a book recommended to me by a friend of mine, and what first drew me to buy it was the title. Most of the times, if I let myself led by the title, I don’t get disappointed. This time however, I can’t say that this book was nothing what I expected it to be, but there were a few things that I wish happened differently.

The readers’ biggest complaint about this book was the fact that the story is taking place in two different places, two different times eras, and it goes back and forth between two characters. For me, that was the part I most liked about the book. I probably would have hated it in a different book, but in Sarah’s Key this way of keeping the reader under suspense, and allowing the two characters’ stories to slowly come together worked very well. 

 

Part of the story takes place in 1942, during the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, when one night, French police knock on the door of Sarah’s home, taking her and her mother with them, without explaining a word. Sarah locks her younger brother in the cupboard, planning to come back for him.

They were Jews, and it was so sad to live those times through the eyes of this 10-year-old girl. She couldn't understand this term of Jew, and why it was considered such a bad thing. The innocence of this girl, the questions she kept on asking herself, but mostly the complete confusion she was going through were so well described, that I was able to live those times through her eyes. It was scary!

On the other hand, in 2002, with the up-coming 60^th anniversary of  Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, Julia Jarmond  is slowly discovering information about the event, and is getting herself involved in this story that has more to do with her than she can imagine.

What threw me off in this book, was the fact that after the two stories became one, the book suddenly lost something. And that was okay for a while. For a few chapters after this, the story was still interesting, and keeping me alert. However, it felt at some point that the story was just dragging, going forward very slowly. Also, I believe I was expecting a different ending, not only for the main character, Sarah, but also regarding other aspects of the book.

When writing the review for this book, I discovered that there was also a movie made in 2010, with Melusine Mayance in the role of Sarah, and Kristin Scott Thomas playing Julia. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I will watch it for sure. 

These being said, I totally recommend the book. The story will keep anyone interested, and some of you might not even be as picky as I was, and will actually enjoy it until the end.