I Never Saw Another Butterfly edited by Hana Volavkova

When I signed up for Anna and Serena‘s War Through the Generations 2009 Reading Challenge, Jill from Fizzy Thoughts offered to send me her copy of I Never Saw Another Butterfly, a compilation of drawings and poems written by children detained in the Terezin Concentration Camp from 1942 – 1944.  I accepted her offer and I’m so glad that I did.  It has been the most meaningful read of the challenge for me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve been touched by some of the fiction I’ve read.  It just doesn’t have the impact that actual drawings and words from children forced to live at a concentration camp.  Adults have the capacity to grasp why things happen.  Innocent children do not, yet they see and understand what adults cannot.  This book reflects that.  It was haunting and beautiful.

If you’re curious of the impact of the Holocaust on children imprisoned, I cannot recommend this book enough.  I think it would make a great reference for students as well.

This is my sixth and final review for the War Through The Generations 2009 Challenge.  I’ve finished it!  Happy dance for me.  LOL!

During this challenge I have also read and reviewed:

Coventry by Helen Humphreys
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by  Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
The Mistress by  Philippe Tapon

The Mistress by Philippe Tapon

I signed up for the War Through The Generations 2009 Challenge at the beginning of the year, figuring that it would be easy to read six books about World War II.  When I went back earlier this month to see if I could manage to pull this off before the end of the year, I realized that I read four books (see list below).  That left two books to read.  I had wanted to read The Diary of Anne Frank, but I wanted to be realistic about reading another book as well.  One of the books I picked up this year through PaperBack Swap was The Mistress.  At 186 pages, I was certain I could breeze through, leaving plenty of time to read Anne Frank.  In the end, I never made it past page 56.  I had difficulty following the story for several reasons: The writing is choppy, the narration or at least focus shifts frequently (for example, the Emile is either referred to by name, as the doctor, or, by the narrator, as his grandfather), and sections seem to be missing altogether because I could barely follow along with a simple conversation.  The summary sounded so promising, but I couldn’t continue in hopes of what might come.  It isn’t often that I do not finish a novel, at least not without skimming my way to the end.  This novel was nearly incomprehensible word for word, there was no point in trying to skim.

This is my fifth review for the War Through The Generations 2009 Challenge.  I have also read and reviewed:

Coventry by Helen Humphreys
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by  Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer

I just got an email from her today letting me know that her novel has been picked up by a British publisher, Duckworth. It will be released in hardcover on July 23. I am so excited for Libby. She also sent me a this copy of the new cover. Isn’t it pretty?

I read and reviewed this before the beginning of the Serena and Anna’s War Through the Generations Challenge began, but I would highly recommend it to anyone else participating in the challenge.  The paperback version I read is no longer available, but you can sign up for an alert on Amazon.

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I am happy to be Jamie Ford’s tour host today as part of his Pump Up Your Book Promotion blog tour. I won a signed ARC copy of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet from Marcia at The Printed Page last year and have been looking for an opportunity to read it ever since. When Tracee asked if I would like to be a tour host, I jumped at the chance. I didn’t realize that today was a holiday when I committed, but in actually it’s the best possible date for this novel because today we remember those who fought for and served our country throughout the years.

Thank you Jamie and Tracee!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Henry Lee is an unassuming man in his 50s who has lived in Seattle most of his life. His wife Ethel has recently passed away from cancer and he finds himself free to reminisce about his life during the “war years.”  He was born to a traditional Chinese couple who, although they lived and supported the United States, were Chinese first.  What they wanted for their only son is what feels like being torn in half by so many first generation Americans – to grow up being totally American while being totally Chinese.  It is all that much more difficult during WWII, when he had to wear a button announcing his race so as not to be mistaken for being Japenese.  To make his parents happy, he goes “scholarshipping” at a caucasion school.  He never fit in, until a Japenese girl named Keiko started ”scholarshipping” with him.  Their friendship began while serving food to the other students and grew as they discovered a shared love for jazz.  Their world is torn apart after Keiko and her family are forcibly evacuated and Henry’s parents learn of his relationship with the enemy.  When, the Panama Hotel undergoes renevations in 1986, the new owner discovers a basement full of family mementos from Japenese families forced to leave the city.  Can what is found in there help Henry find peace in his decisions he made during and after the war and find a way to bridge the gap between him and his only son Marty?

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a story about men and their relationships.  You have Henry in his youth struggling in his relationships with his father, the bullies at his caucasion school, they way he should feel about his country, and the still steady influences from his father’s homeland.  He also has positive relationships with Sheldon, the black jazz street musician who teaches him how to survive as an American minority, with Keiko and her family, and Mrs. Beatty, the caucasion lunch lady who isn’t as tough and uncaring as she would make herself out to be.  The older Henry still has not come to terms with the outcomes of some of those relationships.  He doesn’t quite get over his differencess with his father until he realizes that through his son’s eyes that he is not that much different.  There was one thing I wish that I could have told Henry from the very beginning.  I would tell him not to feel guilty or less loyal to Ethel because he wants to move on by way of taking care of the past.  A man who so lovingly and carefully takes care of his wife as she dies of cancer has nothing for which to feel guilty.

The strength of this novel for me were the scenes where Henry remembers history taking place.  I felt the great pain of those who believed the need to burn or otherwise destroy family pictures to keep themselves safe from coming under suspicion with the American govenerment.  I could feel the panic and anxiety experienced by the Japenese families being forced to leave behind their homes and belongings while their fellow citizens cheered.  Best of all were the feelings of relief and joy felt when VJ Day was announced.  After living through such a long period of war, the people needed that celebration.  Perhaps it would have been taking on too much, but I was surprised that the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were not mentioned. I would have liked to have seen the emotions that Henry experienced when he found out what happened, especially if he was told by his father.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet told a story about World War II I had never read before and it was set in a city I would love to visit.   I enjoyed this novel, but it didn’t engage my imagination the way that I had anticipated that it would. As much as I liked Henry, Keiko, Sheldon, and Marty the story felt like it was at an arm’s distance from me, as if I were sitting at the breakfast table along with Henry and his father. Jamie Ford has a unique voice and and he used it well in this debut novel. I felt the details of Chinese and Japenese culture were interesting and added depth to the story.  There were times when I was fully engaged, such as when Kenry and Keiko try to listen to Sheldon play with Oscar Holden at the Black Elks Club and when Henry visits Keiko at the internment camps.  Stll, I never got to the point where I couldn’t put it down.  I had heard such wonderful things about this novel and assumed that I would devour it ravenously.  I wonder how my reading experience might have been had I only gone by the description? Sometimes expectations and anticipation can put undue burden on a book.  Have you ever experienced that?

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This book was also read as part of my War Through The Generations 2009 Challenge.

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To buy this novel, click here.

The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer

Pearlie loves Holland. She has since they were growing up  in Kentucky, before he went into service during World War II.  Despite all odds, they run into each other in San Francisco after the war. Holland is hesitant to start a relationship, but eventually he gives in to Pearlie’s desire to take care of them. Very quickly they marry and ease in to San Francisco suburban life. She believes that she has found happiness and purpose in her life as wife and mother until Buzz, a man from Holland’s past, arrives and calls into question everything she knows about her life, her husband, and marriage.

This novel, which is the first I’ve read by Greer, is all about misconceptions and assumptions. The misconceptions and assumptions people have about each other, marriage, and family life, but also the assumptions and misconceptions readers bring to the stories that they read.  As I eased my way into The Story of a Marriage, I discovered that I assumed certain things about Pearlie and Holland simply because I wasn’t immediately told otherwise.  Coupled with that, I was quite wrong in what I guessed about thekind of trouble heading toward Pearlie and Holland’s marriage. Time and again I was shown that what I believed I knew about their story in advance was inaccurate.  Like Pearlie, I kept on assuming. It’s such a human thing to do.  Do we really want to know the truth about ourselves and others because we’re comfortable in reality that we imagine?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Story of a Marriage. It was as interesting as it was challenging. There is no question that I will read more of Greer’s work. I look forward to reading novels that take you places you didn’t see beforehand with characters who are as believable and as human as Pearlie Cook. Instead of using nearly unbelievable circumstances and larger than life plot twists to do this, Greer stays close to home. Close to where the real drama of life can be found. When you read The Story of a Marriage, you can put yourself in Pearlie’s place.  You might not face the same circumstances in your life and marriage, but you most certainly can fill in those areas. If you’ve ever made a decision about what is best for someone other than yourself instead of talking about it with everyone involved, you are Pearlie Cook and you should read this novel.

Behind The Review

I got the opportunity to read this novel when I was selected to participate in Picador‘s third Twitter book club.  The book arrived the Tuesday before the book club, so I’m glad that it was a quick read.  I really enjoyed my experience in using Twitter as a book club.  Andrew Sean Greer participated as well and we got a lot of insight into his characters and his writing process.  It was a really great experience and I enjoy following my fellow participants today.  I wish I had written down all of their user names so that I can share them with you.  I wasn’t the only book blogger in the group.  Jen from Devourer of Books spent the day with me talking about The Story of a Marriage, too.  It was a lot of fun for me to talk about the book with one of my book blogging buddies.  If you’re not following her, look her up – @devourerofbooks.

Thank you very much to Picador for this opportunity.  I enjoyed every minute of it.

Have you ever participated in a Twitter book club?  I’d love to do this again at some point.

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This book was also read as part of my War Through The Generations 2009 Challenge.

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To buy this novel, click here.

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Coventry by Helen Humphreys

During World War II, the city of Coventry was bombed during a long, terrible night of destruction. Coventry, a novel by Helen Humphreys, takes us through that night through the eyes of Harriet, a war widow from World War I and Maeve a single mother of a nearly grown son. That night of bombing wasn’t the first time that Harriet and Mauve’s lives intersect. They meet by chance on Harriet’s bus trip back from sending her husband off to war. They become friends quickly, but circumstances do not bring them back together again until the fateful night of the Coventry Blitz.

The way in which this novel is constructed is near perfect. Through shorter chapters, we get to know Harriet, how she became a widow, her afternoon with Maeve, and why she remained in Coventry after her husband’s death. The night that the city was bombed by the Luftwaffe is all told within a single, long chapter. This structure works extremely well. I felt the suspense and terror of each of the characters during that night, but I kept flipping through looking for the next chapter. It gave me the sensation of “When will this ever end?” It’s not that the story was creeping along. Not at all. I wanted to know when, as a reader, I would finally see the light of a new day. That is exactly what those people must have felt on that long night. That night felt like an eternity for those who lived through it. Controlling the story through the chapter lengths the way that she did, Humphreys created a similar literary experience.

The Remains of Coventry Chapel Today

Coventry created a sense of place well and it evoked the type of fear and pain experienced by those who suffered during the bombing.  It is hard to imagine what it would be like if your town was being bombed at  night by an enemy focused on your destruction.  I especially was horrified by the idea of being separated from my child, near adult or not, on a night where and no one is safe. Imagine every move you make might take you one step closer to your child or just out of his reach forever. On the flip side of that terror, there are your neighbors and other strangers experiencing the same thing.  How touching is it to offer someone a drink or some other small comfort in the middle of what can only honestly be described as a nightmare?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Coventry.  It gave me a look into a time and place that I wasn’t aware of beforehand.  Since reading the novel I’ve done research on that airraid and it’s impact on Coventry, England, and World War II.  Humphreys captured the feelings of that night and, through the way that life carried on after that devestating night, how time brings healings and helps us focus on what is important.  I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction, British history, or World War II history.

Many thanks to Erica at W.W. Norton & Company for providing me with the opportunity to read this novel.

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This book is one of the books I’ve read for the 2009 War Through the Generations Reading Challenge.  Check out the website for more information on great reads surrounding World War II.

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To buy this novel, click here.

Go with Me by Castle Freeman from HarperCollins
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo from Phenix & Phenix

I also bought a copy of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.  I am reading this as part of my War Through the Generations Reading Challenge.  I considered getting this from the libary, but I’m sure this is something that my daughters will be reading someday.

What goodies did you find in your mailbox this week?

In this novel, Shaffer and Barrows tell a story of chance encounters and destiny through letters mailed mainly between Juliet Ashton, a British author, and several citizens of Guernsey in the Channel Islands.  Relationships that begin as a fluke when Dawsey Adams finds Juliet’s contact information in a book by Charles Lamb grow to change the lives of not only Juliet, but many of the islands residents as well.  You never know what life has planned for you, but if you are open to any and all possibilities, it often leads to a deeper happiness than you ever imagined.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is another audio book that worked well for me.  After I got used to the different voices, I loved hearing the characters read their own letters.  As with The Sister, the readers were cast well.  I enjoyed the story of Juliet and her friends on Guernsey.  I distinctly remember thinking about how unusual and silly I found the title of this novel, but the story of its origins was delightful.  It is a sign of how imaginative and ingenious human beings can be when their freedom is taken from them by force.  I also found it very satisfying how freely people let others in to their lives when one only shows genuine interest in them.  First, Juliet let Dawsey in when he wrote about Charles Lamb Then Dawsey, and eventually many others in the Society, embraced her in return when she asked questions about the sad and painful events that took place during the Nazi occupation. Little did they know how much they would all end up meaning to each other.

I could imagine joy of receiving and reading such interesting letters.  In fact, that is what I took away the most from this novel – how letter writing has all but fallen by the wayside in this day and age of email, texting, Facebook, and Twitter.  Certainly we know more faster this way, but it is far from as personal or as detailed.  We’ve come to the point where we economize our communication to such a degree that we can’t bare to write complete sentences or even complete words.  When I transferred to another university after my sophomore year of college, one of my best friends, whom I would be leaving behind, said that she was happy about one thing – she would start getting some of my wonderful letters.  I loved to write letters then.  I usually wrote three or four a week.  Often I would read exerpts to Mary.  I had no idea how much this could mean to another person.  A good letter can not only inform the reader, but it carries a bit of your personality along with it.  I’ll never forget that she said that.  It’s been almost a year now since I wrote my last letter.  Before then, I can’t recall.  Reading this novel reminded me of what a lost artform letter writing is.   There is nothing like it.

I enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for its love of letter writing and for providing a feel for what it would have been like to live under Nazi occupation during World War II.  I enjoyed the characters of Guernsey and how Juliet interacted with them.  However, the first two thirds were much better for me then the last.  Because Juliet traveled to Guernsey, the islanders got lost in Juliet’s letters.  There was less and less back and forth communication at that point.  She would write to Sydney and Sophia, but rarely would she get a reply.  Once the love triangle entered the picture, I was certain of the outcome.  It was as predictable as I had expected.  As a whole, I found this novel interesting.  It was a good counterpart to War on the Margins, which is set on Jersey island.  If you enjoy reading a good letter, discovering a place you’ve never been, and don’t mind knowing the end before you get to it, this is a wonderful choice.  After all, sometimes it’s nice to sit down in the quiet and re-read an old letter.  Knowing all the details doesn’t prevent you from once again feeling welcome and special.

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the first novel I read for 2009′s War Through the Generations Reading Challenge.

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To buy this novel in audio, click here. To buy this novel in print, click here.