Sarah's Key (6/30)

Sarah's Key
-Tatiana De Rosnay

This was a book that I had passed several times before I actually picked it up to see what it was about. It centers around the Vel'd'Hiv' round up of Jews in Paris on July 16, 1942. Sarah is awoken in the early hours of the morning by the French Police pounding on her apartment door. She is eleven years old. It is just her, her four year old brother and her mother as her father has gone into hiding. The police tell them to pack a bag and to come with them. Her brother hides in a secret cupboard and Sarah locks him in, thinking she'll be back soon to let him out. Her father comes out of hiding to so the family can stay together. With more than 13,000 Jews, Sarah and her family are packed into the Velodrome d'Hiver stadium for several days without food or water. Those that survived were then shipped to Drancy internment camp outside of Paris. There the men were immediately sent to Auschwitz. The mothers and children were later separated - the children left in Drancy to fend for themselves. The children were then shipped to Auschwitz and immediately sent to the gas chambers. Sarah manages to escape from Drancy and is taken in by an elderly couple on a farm in Orleans.

The driving character of the story is Sarah but you actually don't spend much of the narrative specifically on her story but rather how her experience during WWII changes the life of Julie Jarmond, an American Journalist living in Paris sixty years later. Julie has a unique connection to Sarah and her family that she is completely unaware of until she is assigned a story of the anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv' Roundup. Sarah's story is absolutely tragic as are most Holocaust survivor stories but it's how Sarah's life and the mystery of her life affect Julia and her family that is interesting. Julia is completely changed by what she learns about the round up and Sarah specifically and it sends her life on a completely different trajectory. It's as if de Rosnay is saying that no one who truly understand the horror, despair and tragedy of the Roundup could ever possibly be the same again.

De Rosnay uses the uncertainty and mystery surrounding Sarah as a beautiful and tragic metaphor for the thousands of nameless Jewish children that were rounded up that night, separated from their families and later shipped to Auschwitz and immediately sent to the gas chambers. No one knew who Sarah was - not even her husband or son. She died crippled under the knowledge that her parents were killed in Auschwitz and her younger brother starved to death in Paris. When her son finally discovers the truth about his mother and his heritage, he, just like Julia, is completely changed.

It was wonderfully written and beautiful in it's tragedy.

Please explain this to me...

I have moved a lot in my life. I have moved 8 times with my parents, 4 times on my own, plus moving out of my dorm room at the end of every year in college. I am not a stranger to moving and yet this time it all seems far more daunting and stressful and I'm not entirely sure why. We're moving two weeks from today. The apartment is in shambles, boxes everywhere, empty bookshelves and half empty closets. The apartment always has the faint (or not so faint) smell of paint permeating the air. This place has always been a bit of a refuge for me. It's always been a place where I can just relax and veg. Not anymore. I'm sitting in my living room with my life backed and stacked in boxes and I am fighting the urge to just yell or scream. The clutter and mess are driving me nuts. I was going to be productive today and paint my room and finish up packing all non essentials but I woke up this morning and just couldn't do it. I can't paint or pack anything else today. Partially because we're running out of places to put boxes but also I just don't want to. I wish we were moving today or even next Saturday. The thought of living in this chaos for another two weeks makes me want to run for the hills!

Change is a commin'

I am sitting in my living room surrounded by boxes. Everything is pushed to the center of the kitchen and the fan is going full blast to help the newly painted walls dry. My hands have small splatters of paint primer all over them and I have even managed to get paint on my pants. I'm tired and overwhelmed. Lisa, Shannon, DeLayna and I signed a new lease this morning. We'll be moving in May 1st into our new place. It's nice - lots of space and light - but it's different from our current place. Since we painted our current apartment we have to paint it back and because life is hectic right now we decided to get a jump start on it. With the help of Lisa's parents we have managed to get a coat of primer done in the kitchen and the bathroom and we'll hopefully finish the kitchen tonight. We've boxed up the nic-nacs in the living room along with the DVDs. I honestly wasn't expecting to be as emotional about it as I am. I mean, I'm not sitting here in tears or even near tears but there is definitely a little pang. This has been my first real 'home' in such a long time. It's not going to be as easy to leave as I thought it would be. Now, don't get me wrong. I am happy about our new place. It's a lot bigger, it's in a nice neighborhood and it's closer to school. As far as personal space goes...it's kind of a step down. Both Lisa and I are in the basement and our rooms are considerably smaller. Both Lisa and I think the change will be good but I'm surprisingly attached to my current place.

The next month is going to be stressful - work, moving, school. I feel myself slowing down whether or not I should. sigh....

Literary Rut (5/30)

I confess. I have been in a literary rut of late. I have gotten more than half way through Les Miserables and I just hit the proverbial brick wall. I couldn't bring myself to read more. Instead I went on a bad/cheesy/horrible chick lit spree. Yes, I know. It's shocking and disturbing. They were light, fun (sometimes), easy to read and best of all required absolutely no brain power. I finished several books in a matter of days. After reaching my fill of contrived plots and overly dramatic romantic climaxes, I tried to read something a little more stimulating. Animal Farm, The Secret Life of Bees, Me and Orson Wells....all to no avail. The stack of approximately ten books on my night stand in varying stages of readness (yes, I said readness) will testify to the literary stupor that has held me captive of late. I searched in vain for the book to break the spell. I spent far too much money at Barnes and Noble but still could not find the book that could capture my attention as well as engage the mind. It wasn't until I perused my bookshelves late at night in search of something that would catch my attention.

Lo and behold, there it was - hiding on a double-stacked shelf, out of site. Could it be that I have never actually read this book? I've had it for well over a year...the receipt inside can testify to that. Really? Never? I immediately crawled into bed and rejoiced in the delicious sound of a new book spine being broken, the smell of ink and paper inviting me into a new adventure. Let it be know that my Literary Rut has ended all thanks to Cokie Roberts and her book...

Founding Mothers: The Women who raised our nation.

As you can probably tell this book is about the women behind the men known as the Founding Fathers of our nation. Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Betsy Ross, Dolley Madison and Mercy Otis Warren just to name a few. Roberts thoroughly explores the maxim - behind every great man is an even greater woman. By using excerpts of letters to each other, family members and their husbands, Cokie is able to paint a portrait of vivacious, intelligent, caring, ardent patriots that made the work of their more famous husbands possible. At one point Cokie states that if it hadn't been for their husbands, history would have forgotten or never known these women. Her point being, they didn't do anything out of the ordinary for their time and yet their lives were extraordinary. In a time when women were not expected to do much of anything by societal norms, these women and hundreds - thousands of women like them - defended their homes from the British, ran business, plantations/farms, supported the Revolution in spirit and physically in the form of donations of money, time, supplies and on more than one occasion by joining in the fighting. My favorite person is by far Abigail Adams. As her husband was off signing the Declaration of Independence, in Paris working on the peace treaty, being Vice President and then President, she kept the home fires burning. She managed their financial matters and often advised her husband on political matters. She often understood the political climate and events better than her husband (the President) and could predict quite reliably what would happen. She wasn't afraid to tell her husband what she thought and let him know she was upset with him. On more than one occasion in letters to anyone who would listen, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, her husband, she advocated the education and equality of women. She was feisty, independent and deeply loved her country and her husband.

If you have any interest at all in women's history or even early American history this book is a must read. Cokie's style of writing is easy to read and entertaining. It's more like talking to a good friend who happens to know quite a bit about early Revolutionary women.


PS. I didn't just arbitrarily skip to (5/30). I did read The Sari Shop Widow (3/30) and O, Juliet (4/30) but I am not going to review them as I didn't like or dislike them enough to make it worth the effort.

Conundrum...

I decided it's time to buy a new personal laptop. I got my financial aid award and I'll have some left over so I'll actually be able to afford a new computer. Here's the rub...I know absolutely nothing about computers. Nothing. Nada. Zip. I've looked around on different websites but all the specifications are just gibberish. I have no idea what makes one computer better than another. This is where all you folks come in...I need your help. This is what I need from a computer:

1. basic word processing - I'm going to be a student again soon and the majority of what I'll do is papers and projects and such.

2. Music...lots of music.

3. Reliable - few - if any -problems. Like I said, I don't know anything about computers and I'm not exaggerating. So if something goes wrong I won't have any idea how to fix it.

I guess that's it. I don't need too much but I really, really, really, really don't want a computer that is going to crap out on me all the time. I go back and forth on the Mac. I know they're really great for designing, music, photos all that stuff and they're totally hip but are they worth the money for just basic computer processing? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Viva!

Reason #86 why my roommate rocks...

Our Saturday morning conversation went something like this...

Me: Man, I really need a vacation.

Lisa: I know - me too.

Me: I think we should take a roadtrip...soon...before I start school.

Lisa: Well, I don't have anything to do next week....

Me:.....wanna go somewhere?

Lisa: Sure, why not.

The next couple of hours we looked at different options. Flying to California, taking the train to San Fransisco, Denver, flights to Boston, New York. Even looking at last minute cruise deals. We considered St. George - it's close and there's a possible free place to stay. But we decided on the city that never sleeps...Vegas. Lisa's cousin hooked us up with a major sweet deal on a nice hotel right off the strip. We're toying with the idea of renting a car (my car isn't that comfortable on long trips) and possibly going to see Lion King while we're there. We'll do a little shopping, touristy sight seeing and pool lounging...possibly. It's supposed to be low 60's and our hotel has a heated outdoor pool.

Yeah...I know. My roommate rocks.