The Invisible Bridge

 

This book is for the serious reader only. I listened to it on audio and it was 22 disks. When I looked it up on Amazon, it said it was over 600 pages. Normally I would not attempt a book like this during the school year, but I think I can tackle any book on audio. It took me a good month and a half to listen to it. Now that's over, I find myself missing the characters before and after work. I spent a total 28 hours with them!

The story starts off in 1937 when Andras Levi, a young Jewish man from Hungary, sets off for architecture school in Paris. Prior to his departure he is asked to carry a letter to a woman named C. Morganstern, but is not allowed to mention it to anyone. Soon after meeting C. Morganstern (Clara) he falls in love with her and learns about her mysterious past. She is living in Paris under an alias and Andras is determined to find out why. They have a whirl wind romance in the midst of Andras's first two years of school.

As the years go on, Andras and Clara's relationship continues. As 1939 and war approach, Andras learns that he must return to Hungary to renew his Visa. Clara has to decide whether or not to return with him... a very difficult decision considering her past (I'll leave the rest of this up to mystery).

Once Andras returns to Hungary, the war is almost in full force. He is sent to a labor camp with many other Jewish men. He is worked almost to death, given very little food, and is infested with lice. War devastates Andras's family and the rest of Hungary. The author did a fantastic job of developing the characters of the entire Levi family as well as the supporting characters throughout the story. I felt like I knew every one of them. I learned about being a Jew in Hungary during WWII... and how Hungary was an ally of Germany. I enjoy historical fiction based on WWII, so this book definitely held my interest and taught me many things I did not know about Hungary.

For those who enjoys historical fiction, beautiful and thorough character development, and a thick plot, this book is for you. I give this book 4.5/5 stars. My only complaint is that I wish there was more dialogue about some of the most interesting and heightened plot points. The author talked about many of the events in the past... I enjoy reading about events as they actually happen.

Mudbound

 

My latest read is Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. You might recognize this author from my previous post about the book When She Woke.  These two books could not be more different in their themes or setting.

Mudbound takes us to 1940s rural Mississippi. Henry and Laura McAllen move to Mississippi from Tennessee in order to fulfill Henry's dream of being a farm owner. Along with them comes their two young daughters and Henry's father, who is nothing but mean and nasty to everyone. Laura is less than thrilled to be leaving her fancy city life in Tennessee to a farm house in Mississippi without indoor plumbing or any of the common luxuries she took for granted. 

After the war, Henry's younger brother Jamie returns from the war and goes to live on the farm. Once he enters the scene, the plot thickens. Jamie becomes friends with another ex-solider, Ronsel Jackson, a tenant on Henry's farm. Ronsel's parents are sharecroppers and his mother is Laura's housekeeper. Ronsel was one of the first black men to serve on the front lines in the Army. When he returns to Mississippi, he soon realizes that racial prejudices have not changed. He isn't allowed to use the front door of public buildings, ride in the front seat of the car with a white person, or be friends with white people. Ronsel and Jamie bond about the war and the difficulties of being back in Mississippi. They break all of the rules and Jamie's father, Pappy, is less than thrilled about it. He threatens Ronsel and forbids their friendship. One day, Pappy finds evidence that Ronsel has been with a white woman and violence ensues. 

Laura, alone and unhappy, begins to fall in love with her husband's brother, Jamie. She lusts after him and her husband may or may not notice. She sticks up for Jamie's recklessness  and drinking problem that developed as part of PTSD from the war. He begins to notice Laura's unhappiness with living on the farm...

This book was a very quick read. I enjoyed the story and recommend it to everyone who enjoys this genre. The only thing that I would have liked better was more character development. That is also something that I was missing in Jordan's other book. There are many things that I was left wondering about the characters... I was left craving more descriptions about their thoughts and personalities. I give it 4/5 stars for plot. It was a very entertaining book and a must read. 

City of Thieves

So the first quarter of the new school year is over at my new job. I am loving my new district and my kids. This job is much more demanding than my last job, so I am sleeping less and working more. My part time job is keeping me busy, too. I get home at 7pm 4 days a week and am literally falling asleep on the couch by 9:30. So lame, I know. So I am getting through books I am actually reading pretty slowly, but I'm still listening to audiobooks quickly because I am in the car so much. This next book actually helped me to get in the car earlier each day before work because I couldn't wait to hear what was going to happen next.

Based during the siege of Leningrad, David Benioff, the author, takes us on a week long adventure with two unforgettable characters. Lev, the story's 17 year old insecure and virginal narrator, comes across a dead German body in his hometown of Leningrad. The army catches him looting the dead German's belongings and arrests him. While in jail he meets Kolya, a 20 year old deserter of the Russian army. Kolya is a romantic, mysterious, and confident womanizer. The unlikely pair form a bond as they are forced to find a dozen eggs for a Russian general in time for his daughter's wedding in exchange for their lives. 

Throughout the mission, Lev and Kolya discover the devastation that the war has brought to Leningrad. They find rooms draped with human body parts, homes inhabited by Russian girls living as German sex slaves, and they endure brutal cold and intense hunger. I literally wanted to close my eyes during the brutal and gruesome descriptions of what the Russian girls lived through. I gasped out loud as I learned what these German soldiers were capable of.

On the surface this story appeared to be a serious novel, however, it was one of the funniest books I have read in a while. Kolya's accounts of his past sexual encounters left me laughing out loud. Lev's reactions to Kolya's endless stories were hilarious. Because he was a horny virgin, Lev was furious with Kolya. He was jealous of Kolya's vast experience. The relationship between Lev and Kolya was what made the book the most memorable for me. Now that the book is over, I find myself missing Kolya.

For those of you you enjoy historical fiction, sexual humor, and adventure this is a book for you. Men and women alike will be sucked into this fast paced story.

The Piano Teacher

This book was recommended to me by, can you guess? yes, Erin. She gave me quite a few books and I read some of them and others sat on my shelf. This was one of the books that sat on my shelf for a while. To be honest, I was not thrilled with the cover of the book. I judged it and thought that it was going to be cheesy, so it was not on my priority list of books. I brought it with me to Montana as a back up in case I got through the books I had planned to read. I finished my other books so I decided to read it, and I am so glad that I did.

The internet would not let me copy and paste a picture in my blog, so here is a link to a New York Times book review. Also, here is the author's website. Below is my review:

Will Truesdale, a life loving, easy going British man moves to Hong Kong and falls madly in love with exotic and outgoing Trudy Liang. She is a beautiful Eurasian (half Chinese, half Portuguese) socialite. The two of them go to parties, social events, and the beach constantly. Life could not be any better for these two. Their relationship is threatened when World War II starts and Japan invades Hong Kong. Anyone who is not Chinese is forced to go to POW camps which are separated by nationality. People on the inside of the POW camps are treated like criminals and people on the outside are witnesses to terrible crimes committed by the Japanese; lynching, rapes, and looting. Can their relationship survive the war?

Ten years later, Will is still in Hong Kong. Something happened to Trudy and Will will never be the same. He is no longer the man who loved life. He works as a driver for Trudy's cousin as opposed to running around in the same social crowd. He lives his life remorseful, regretful, and completely full of sorrow until he meets Claire Pentleton who also works for Trudy's cousin. Claire moved to Hong Kong from England with her husband that she did not marry for love. She is a young girl who is dying for opportunities and wants nothing more than to be "someone."  They begin an illicit affair and Will begins to show some small signs of happiness again, although he mostly remains miserable. Throughout their affair, Will begins to bring up the past and what happened during the war. Secrets are revealed and pain is brought back to the surface. 

I enjoyed this book because I am a fan of historical fiction. The story was also deeply layered. The author intricately revealed information at just the right time to make the entire story come together in the end to reveal a breath taking and shocking secret. My only negative about the book is that I did not truly understand Claire, the piano teacher's role. She was important in the fact that many people chose to tell her information about the past because she was close to Will. If people told Claire things then they hoped that she would tell Will. Claire was a pawn in the story where Will was the main character. Overall it was a good book. On a scale of 1-10 I would give it an 8. It was a New York Times Bestseller and was worth the read! 

-Jacq

PS I am super excited about the next few books that I am going to post about. Stay tuned for some great summer reading!