jof's review
4.0
No mínimo surpreendente, provavelmente já tinha lido algumas reviews, mas a vantagem de ter memória de peixe é que já não me lembrava, por isso quando comecei a ler o livro era só sobre uma pastelaria e um segredo de família, não imaginava as voltas que a história ia dar!
A história não é credível de todo, a começar pelo facto de que em França todos falam inglês, digo -vos eu que lá vivo há 7 anos, não é de todo verdade. Mas é um bom romance, e arrancou-me muitas lágrimas. Não sei se propositadamente ou não, mas fica muito patente o desconhecimento dos americanos sobre a história, em particular a segunda guerra mundial, que provavelmente muitos pensam que só começou em Pearl Harbor, só que não... acaba por ser uma boa forma de introduzir o tema, de forma mais leve que a moda de agora de pôr o nome Auschwitz na capa. Gostei também da componente inter-religiosa que desconhecia e a qual me despertou a curiosidade para explorar mais.
A história não é credível de todo, a começar pelo facto de que em França todos falam inglês, digo -vos eu que lá vivo há 7 anos, não é de todo verdade. Mas é um bom romance, e arrancou-me muitas lágrimas. Não sei se propositadamente ou não, mas fica muito patente o desconhecimento dos americanos sobre a história, em particular a segunda guerra mundial, que provavelmente muitos pensam que só começou em Pearl Harbor, só que não... acaba por ser uma boa forma de introduzir o tema, de forma mais leve que a moda de agora de pôr o nome Auschwitz na capa. Gostei também da componente inter-religiosa que desconhecia e a qual me despertou a curiosidade para explorar mais.
vickysbooknook's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
daybreak1012's review against another edition
3.75
If there's one thing that drives me bonkers as a reader, it's a book that gives me reactions that are not just conflicting but diametrically opposed. I bet it's clear where I'm going with an opening statement like that, huh? The parts that were good in this book were really really good, but... then there were some other parts that were categorically painful. Let's get down to brass tacks, then, shall we?
What I liked about The Sweetness of Forgetting:
Ms Harmel's ability to set a scene - Good gravy, can she paint word pictures. When she laid out any sort description of a location, I hung on every character of every word. The beautiful. The terrifying. The heartbreaking. It was all masterfully created for my mind's eye and I just relished it. Both Cape Cod and Paris were brought to vivid life for me, and I especially appreciated the role of Paris in this story. So often, when you get the Holocaust in historical fiction, it's set in Germany, and this truly expanded on the horrors that were inflicted on the Jewish people throughout Europe.
Three characters I absolutely adored - Honestly, I don't think it is possible that I could have loved Gavin, Alain, and Jacob more than I did. I love to see strong, decent men celebrated, rather than to have all the guys be either a) next-level jerks you have to hate, b) so perfect that you cannot engage with their flawlessness, or c) weak in character and/or intelligence. I simply appreciate seeing men of good character despite their flaws represented.
I learned some new history - Expounding on the conclusion of my first point, something that rates very high with me in regard to historical fiction is when I actually get to gain knowledge, even though I'm intentionally reading fiction. I am well familiarized with the French Resistance, but I had absolutely no idea how the Muslim population of France played a role in that. The Author's Note at the conclusion of the book made me really curious on the subject and I appreciated her giving it a spotlight.
Second half pace - I could not put it down from about the point that Hope arrives in Paris.
What I didn't care for:
Sometimes the writing felt truly juvenile - I hate this. I especially hate this because I also praised the writing. But the way Annie spoke made me want to light my hair on fire. I get that she's a pre-teen. However, while her sassy attitude may have been a reasonable response to her family life, some of the ways she acted and spoke felt forced to the point of trite, almost caricature-ish. I've known a fair number of pre-teens, and exactly zero of them use(d) the words 'whatever' and 'like' with as much dedication as Annie does in this book.
Hope and Rob - Every time they interacted, they felt like cardboard cutouts of a cliché. It was so predictable, I could have spelled out their entire storyline from open to close. Right down to the 22-year-old, inappropriately-dressed bimbo named Sunshine.
First half pace - It felt like for...ev...er to get to the meat of the story. So long that the story almost lost me. I'm grateful the tides turned when they did so that I didn't miss out on the second half.
Overuse of certain words/phrases - It seemed like 85% of the time, when someone spoke, they muttered, murmured, or spoke softly. I am certain that I'm blowing it out of proportion, but it was a lot. Enough that I noticed it and felt strongly enough about it to jot it in my notebook where I gather thoughts and impressions for my review. Additionally, Hope's stomach seemed to churn pretty frequently, and while I agree with the things that elicited such a reaction, I wish the phrasing had been changed up from time to time; perhaps instead of churning, it might have ached or clenched, or maybe she would have felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, or a punch to the gut. What I am saying is her stomach churned so often, I was starting to feel seasick.
What left me conflicted:
Rose's story - I loved how each little nuance of it was woven into this final tapestry that made sense. You could see how each piece fit together by the time you turned the final page. However, I kind of felt like I saw all the big bombshell twists coming almost from go. I am not sure if they would be obvious to everyone, maybe it was just me, and while I didn't need them to be surprises, I did kind of feel like perhaps they were intended to be.
Hallmark-ish-ness - I felt like the home life stuff with the divorce and the angry pre-teen and the unnoticed guy in the wings and the bank calling a loan on the bakery (sorry, that isn't a spoiler, it happens right away) somehow felt like an unnecessary add-on that distracted from the depth of the rest of the story. Love was certainly a main component of the plot, and I think with the story being told, it was a valid plot point, but the way the past love story was tied into the contemporary one just was not a good fit for me.
The theology - While I would not call this Christian fiction, religion plays a major role in this story being told. That's unavoidable when you're talking about the Holocaust which was based on religious and ethnic persecution. And while I appreciated some of the sentiments Rose shares about religion and how humanity superseded religious differences, there were also some aspects that I had a hard time syncing with, theologically -- as in, it's beautiful in theory, but I don't know that I fully align with Rose's point of view, though I can certainly agree that it isn't one's religion that determines whether they are good or evil at heart.
Worth noting:
Relatively clean - If this is something that holds the potential to be a deal-breaker for you, there was a scant bit of language (I can only recall one specific instance off the top of my head) and for a book that had a strong romantic thread, there were no bedroom scenes at all.
There are some heavy topics at play - Dementia plays a large role in this story, as well as addressing the Holocaust in some heart-wrenching ways. These are some hard subjects to immerse in head-on, but they are handled respectfully.
Full transparency: I struggled with how to rate this book. There were parts of it that flirted with high-4 if not 5-star quality. There were also parts that were maybe 2 stars at best. While I don't want to penalize the outstanding parts of this book, neither do I want to mispresent the overall impact of the 2-star material. Ultimately, I went with 3.75 stars because the parts of this book that were good blew me away, but I spent more time than necessary rolling my eyes until I got to the heart of the story. I will also offer this caveat: If you enjoy Hallmark-movie-romance, then this is the sort of historical fiction that can deeply move you, while also giving you that romantic device, and you may end up rating this higher than I did.
jen2499's review
5.0
I love Kristin Harmel’s writing. Her books flow so well you get lost in reading her books.
I enjoyed the story of Hope finding out her grandmother’s story & her relationship with her daughter.
I enjoyed the story of Hope finding out her grandmother’s story & her relationship with her daughter.
kateconley_'s review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
hannahjf's review against another edition
5.0
This book is incredible! Looking at the cover, I presumed it would be a light-hearted holiday type book, I could not have been more wrong. This book is beautiful and will stay with me for a very long time.
alycille's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 rounding up. Super easy and enjoyable read. Could’ve used a little more of the historical fiction than modern time.
paperlove's review against another edition
4.0
Eine schöne und empfehlenswerte Geschichte, die aber dennoch ein paar Schwachpunkte hat.