I know I said I would share the books I read in July almost 2 weeks ago, but honestly life’s been crazy! I just moved into my new apartment, and I’ve basically been trying to prepare for the semester that starts in 2 days! I was so busy trying to find new classes for this semester + really trying not to freak out that I hadn’t figured out a new schedule yet. Suffice it to say that God provided for me once again and I’ve got everything figured out for now!
I almost decided to just skip this post altogether (because it’s the middle of August), but these books are too amazing to keep to myself!
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY – MARY ANN SHAFFER//
Despite its tongue-twister of a name, Guernsey was one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time. I completely fell in love with it. Written in the form of letters, it tells the story of an author, Juliet, who’s trying to write a book and is inspired by the quirky and sweet people who live on the once German-occupied island of Guernsey in the English Channel. It’s a heart-wrenching and all together lovely story. READ IT.
THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND – JOJO MOYES //
By a complete coincidence, all three of these books take place during or shortly after one of the World Wars, which are my very favorite periods of history to read about. The Girl You Left Behind first tells the story of Sophie, a young wife struggling to survive in a German occupied village in France while her husband is fighting at the front. In their home, a portrait of Sophie lives that seems to catch the eye of everyone who sees it, even a German officer. He soon develops a strange obsession, one that forces Sophie to make a terrible choice. A century later, the same portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston. A coincidence reveals the painting’s worth and a battle for ownership of the painting soon ensues. I’ve loved JoJo Moyes’ books for a while now, but this one is definitely my favorite, because it has the ability to make the reader really think and wonder “what would I do in that situation?”. Those are my favorite kinds of books!
SUITE FRANCAISE – IRENE NEMIROVSKY //
The sad background of Suite Francaise is what originally drew me to the novel. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, was a Jew who lived in France with her family during World War II. She saw the horrors beginning around her and immediately realized their significance. She started to write a novel about them, a vast work that she planned to contain five parts. Sadly, Irene only finished two of them before she was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Auschwitz, where she died in 1942. Suite Francaise is a remarkable novel, which contains characters so lifelike in their greed, love, desire for self-preservation, and despair that shows the astute observations of the author. It is an utterly fascinating novel.
What have you read recently?
