Book Review: The House I Loved

I don't remember where I heard about the Tatiana deRosnay's book, Sarah's Key.  I know I saw it once in Target and considered buying it (a rare thing, when I think I can secure a book from the library).  The story sounded interesting and I know that some other blogger plugged it, I just cannot remember who it was.

So, a few months ago, I found the DVD of the movie, Sarah's Key, available at our library and brought it home to watch.  First, I watched it alone and cried through it, loving every minute of the beautifully, sad story.  Then, I convinced my husband to watch it with me and he loved it just as much as I did.  I highly recommend the movie.  It caught you from the beginning and held you all the way along.

Thus, when I noticed The House I Loved, another book by deRosnay, I jumped at the chance to read it.  I cannot say that I appreciated it nearly as much as the movie version of the author's other book.

It tells the story of Rose Bazelet and her deep and abiding connection to her house, which is about to be torn down for the development of a new road system in Paris.  It is meant to be suspenseful, but the book took so long getting to the secret buried in the walls, that the secret ended up feeling anticlimactic and even a bit disjointed (the secret, in my opinion, would have lessened her connection to the house, rather than strengthened her resolve to remain in the house).

I suppose if you are a lover of all things Parisian, you would find enjoyment in this book.  It paints a picture of Paris in the 1860's.  I'm sure it was a troubling time for home-owners who suddenly found themselves expropriated out of their homes, the very canvas of their lives being altered around them. 

I can sympathize with their plight, but I just couldn't get connected enough to care all that much.  I kept wondering how many more pages it was going to take before we learned something other than her endless pining for her deceased husband and son and her affection for "the house".  At page 50, and then at page 100, I still held no more clues about the supposed secret.  Only something about an intruder, vaguely mentioned from time to time with the words "I cannot bear to speak of it yet."  By the time the secret was revealed, it was not only expected, but it seemed an unlikely thing to keep from someone who is supposedly your deepest love.

Anyway, I was not terribly impressed with this book.  I do think I would be willing to read Sarah's Key because I'm thinking the author probably did a much better job with that book.  If you haven't seen the movie, it is most definitely worth your time.  So, kudos to Tatiana deRosnay, even if I didn't particularly care for this book.