Book Review: Maybe you loved the house, but I sure didn’t!

While Rose, the protagonist in Tatiana De Rosnay‘s most recent novel The House I Loved, may have loved a house, I HATED this book.

Maybe hate is a strong word, but let me elaborate:

I LOVE France. I am a self-proclaimed francofile. I love all things French – except my dad’s companion whatever she is – I love the wine, the music, the food, the culture, the history, the architecture, the clothing, the people – you get it: I love FRENCH THINGS. So, I thought I would love the book – especially after reading this:

Paris, France: 1860’s. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, moulding it into a “modern city.” The reforms will erase generations of history—but in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.

…….Tatiana de  Rosnay’s The House I Loved is both a poignant story of one woman’s indelible strength, and an ode to Paris, where houses harbor the joys and sorrows of their inhabitants, and secrets endure in the very walls……

Um, not quite. This book disappointed me to my core. I loved her book, Sarah’s Key and figured that this one woudl be just as good. It. Was. Not.

The unending prose that said relatively nothing didn’t help matters. It was choppy and convaluted. It didn’t discuss architecture or anything of interest …. which is hard because, as I’ve said, I LOVE ALL THINGS FRENCH. The characters were overly under-developped, if that even makes sense.

I can’t even really write about it because it was so bad I’ve already forgotten most of it….on purpose.

Very disapointed – I was hoping for more. Tant Pis. (oh well – french style!)

A tout a l’heur mes amis.

Rachael’s Grades:

Writing: C-

Character Development: C

Plot: D

 

Related articles

• The House I Loved by the author of Sarah’s Key (nochargebookbunch.com)
• SARAH’S KEY by Tatiana de Rosnay (nessamorris.com)