The Clover House (Henriette Lazaridis Power)

The Clover House, Henriette Lazaridis Power's debut novel, has been listed in the "If you liked Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key, then you'll love..." recommendation column.  However, with the exception of both being historical fiction books about World War II, I found little comparison.  While Sarah's Key is gripping and heartbreaking, holding your attention until the very end, The Clover House does so only in waves.  However, wartime Greece is thoroughly researched by Ms. Power to deliver a multi-generational, textured story.

Callie is a Greek American living in Boston with her fiance, Jonah.  She grew up in the United States, but her mother, Clio, took the first opportunity to move back to Greece after her husband passed away.  When Clio gets a call that her Uncle Nestor not only has died, but has left all of his earthly possessions to her, she heads back to the land of her heritage.  Clio is desperate to keep a secret from Callie, but Nestor seems determined to let the secret be known even in his death.

The book alternates between Callie's modern-day adventure and Clio's adolescence in Greece.  I felt like The Clover House would have worked better if the reader was able to experience what happened through Clio's eyes first, rather than hearing about it secondhand through Callie's chapters.  However, even though the book is a little dry and takes awhile to get going, I encourage the reader to stick with it for a fascinating look into Greek history.

MY RATING - 3

The House I Loved (Tatiana de Rosnay)

Paris was very different before the mid-1800s than it is today. Villages existed where everyone knew each other, and houses were in the same family for decades. It wasn’t illogical that someone would be born and die of old age in the same house. Flower shops, bakeries, and restaurants existed where everyone knew your name. Then Emperor Napoleon came to power, and he wanted a very different Paris. He hired Baron Haussmann to make it into a city that would be modernized and renovated. Some Parisians agreed with the plan, but others did not, especially those who would be forced to move when streets would run right through their houses.

The House I Loved, by Tatiana de Rosnay (she of Sarah’s Key fame, my all-time-favorite book), tells the story of Rose Bazelet, a woman still grieving the death of the love of her life and her young son many years before. She has the support of her community, including her flower-shop owner friend, Alexandrine, through her grief. All of her memories are in that house, but it is one of the houses Baron Haussmann will tear down. Even though her estranged daughter is expecting her to come live with her, Rose does not leave her house. She hunkers down in the basement, with food and visits delivered from another friend, waiting for the demolition crew to come.

The House I Loved is both heartbreaking and suspenseful. de Rosnay writes beautifully with flowing language, and her books always translate well into English. While Sarah’s Key will always be my favorite, The House I Loved is a worthwhile read based on some historical fact. How far are we willing to go for modernization?

MY RATING - 4

A Secret Kept (Tatiana de Rosnay)

Out of the books I have reviewed in my quest to reach 1,776, Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key has been my favorite bar none. I loved it so much, that I am very hesitant to see the movie. Movies are rarely as good as the books they are based on. I had such a profound experience reading Sarah's Key that I do not want the movie to change the images I have in my mind. Readers who think that A Secret Kept will be like Sarah's Key (even though the covers are very similar) will be surprised.

The narrator, Antoine Rey, takes his sister, Melanie, to a memorable place, Noirmoutier Island, for the celebration of her 4oth birthday. This island was a special place for them as children, as they spent summers there with their family. Even though they had not been back there since their mother's death, the weekend brings back memories, some welcome, some not. On the drive back home, Melanie is just about to tell Antoine something about a memory when she loses control of the car. Antoine escapes without a scratch, but Melanie is in serious condition. Will she ever recover? Will she ever remember what she was going to tell Antoine before the terrible crash? This is the "secret kept".

The problem de Rosnay (hopefully) knew she was going to face (along with Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help when she writes a second) is that the next book after such a moving one will bound to be compared to the first. This is unfair to de Rosnay because, as I said, the books are not similar at all. de Rosnay is a huge talent in the book world, and while Sarah's Key will always be my favorite, A Secret Kept is well written and worth reading.

MY RATING - 4

Sarah's Key (Tatiana de Rosnay)

Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that is so profoundly moving that the reader cannot begin to fathom it. "Sarah's Key" is that book for the early part of the 21st century. It is a work of historical fiction set in France during the terrible time of the Holocaust.

Sarah Starzynski is a 10-year old Jewish girl living in Paris in July 1942 with her parents and younger brother. In the middle of the night, the French police bang at the door to arrest them. In order to protect her younger brother, Michel, Sarah locks him in a cupboard, their secret hiding place, promising to come back to him in a few "hours" when all this is over. Michel goes into the cupboard bravely with some water and his teddy bear. After the historically accurate Velodrome d'Hiver roundup on July 16, 1942 and the fact that her parents were torn away from her and sent to Auschwitz, Sarah can only hope that somehow her brother escaped the cupboard. She is able to slip away from Vel' d'Hiv' to go back to Michel. Your heart will pound as you follow Sarah's trip back there.

The novel seamlessly intertwines the time periods of Sarah and a journalist reporting on the 60th commemoration of the roundup, Julia Jarmond. Unknowingly, Julia and her family are preparing to move into the apartment where the cupboard was located. de Rosnay skillfully weaves between the major characters and time periods, showing that why some want to remember the Holocaust in any way they can, some choose to forget.

I cannot recommend this book enough. How many of us are ashamed to admit that we did not know that 76,000 Jews were deported from France by the French police and sent directly to Auschwitz? What happened to the 4,000 children arrested on that day, who had their heads forcibly shaved and their earrings ripped out of their ears for money? Read this book. You will weep and wonder how this could possibly have happened in our world less than 100 years ago.

MY RATING - 5