Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

By -

Those Who Save Us was not easy to read, but it was worth it. It's two stories, told in alternating sections, one about a young German woman living in Weimar during World War II and the other about her daughter 50 years later who's trying to figure out her past because her mother has never talked about it. It's hard to read because of the sometimes graphic war stories, not all of them about violence against Jews. Most of them aren't even violent; they're sexual, but they're still war stories. (That's my warning.)

It's also hard to read because the characters are so complex. There are no easy answers to why they make the decisions they make, but I think that's what makes this book outstanding. The answers aren't easy, but they're realistic and believable. After I finished the book, I dreamed about it all night and then told Jon all about it and why it was bothering me. His comment was "Life is messy." This book really captures that.

Our book club had a great discussion about it, too. It's a different perspective on World War II, and there's a lot to talk about. (See warning above, however! Having said that, I'm glad I read it.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

By -
What a fun book to read. We read this for book club and then watched the movie (which wasn't necessary since we've all seen it so many times we were quoting the whole thing). It is better to know from the beginning that Goldman wrote it all, there is no S. Morgenstern. You feel less duped. I thought it was really obvious that Goldman is the true author (his humor is the same throughout, there's no way the language is from the era Goldman claims it is from), but, I do remember thinking it really was an abridgment when I read it in high school or junior high. And a lot of the ladies at book club didn't know the whole thing is fake either. Some decided they didn't like the book just because they felt deceived by the author. It is so funny though. And you get all this background information about Inigo, Fezzik and Buttercup. I love the way he tries to place the book in time... "This was before Europe," then later he talks about Paris. Also, when he describes...
Read more

Arrested Development, Season One (2003)

By -
I really enjoyed this and even started to feel a little addicted to it by the end. I like watching TV shows on DVD—it’s great to have no commercials and to be able to watch as many episodes as you want. Although this can also be detrimental if you watch six or eight episodes and find it’s 1:00 am when you finally force yourself to stop. Anyway, “Arrested Development” is very funny. All of the characters are hilarious and well-acted, and one of them rides a Segue! Shouldn’t more people be making fun of Segues? I’m looking forward to seeing the second season, but I don’t know if we can bring ourselves to buy it. We like to leach off of other people for our DVD needs, especially when it comes to TV shows.
Read more

No shortage

By -
Image
Two things we don't seem to have a shortage of in our area at the moment. Orange juice (at Winco in Idaho Falls): I was really taken aback by the wall of orange juice options. And grateful! The other thing we're not currently lacking is baby chickens (15 baby hens about a week or two old, in our front yard):
Read more