Scan barcode
jgtruesdell's review against another edition
2.0
Loved Sarah's Key and was just not impressed with this one. I found Rose selfish and not really likable, so I just couldn't feel for her and her situation.
shareen17's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of a quiet story about a woman's life in 19th century France. She loves her neighborhood and home in Paris and isn't willing to leave, even when it's been acquisitioned by the government to make way for a new boulevard.
ashleysilver7's review against another edition
3.0
It was a good book, but a little dark for my tastes. Tatiana de Rosnay is obviously a very talented writer, and she does her research. A lot of the novel was very enjoyable, and I feel llike I learned a lot by reading this novel, which is always a plus. However, the time frame was at times confusing, and I found it hard to relate to the main character, which is why I only gave this book three stars.
mmseitz822's review against another edition
3.0
This book was pretty depressing. It was a decent read but, overall, left me feeling sad. I also felt like I couldn't really relate to the main character. I understand that her house means so much to her because she lived in it so long and it represented her relationship with her, now deceased, husband and son but I still felt like her attachment to it - to the point that she would die for it - was just peculiar. Maybe that's because we are taught that material things (homes included) shouldn't be what matters most to us in our lives. However, she had lost the people who she loved the most so probably felt like the home was the last thing she had left. I can kind of understand that but I still don't feel it was the right thing to do. She still had friends left who loved her and would have made the rest of her life as happy and comfortable as possible. All in all, I do recommend this book, but be prepared to feel melancholy while reading it and afterward!
lcoverosey's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting history of the rebuilding of Paris. Epistolary form is a nice change of Novell writing form. Very personal.
barbaraskalberg's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 I wanted to love this bc I remember how visceral my reaction was to Sarah's Key, but sadly, I just didn't. In fact, I almost gave up early on bc I was so bored. As it turns out, I'm glad I didn't quit bc I did end up getting into the story after all, but overall, it was just "okay."
kehdee's review against another edition
3.0
de Rosnay has a very eloquent writing style, but I found this story to be a bit flat and I had a hard time getting through the book.
jaklyn_heath_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I loved Tatiana de Rosnay's "Sarah's Key" so was really excited to read another of her books. Unfortunately, I was not a fan.
This book was not for me. I didn't connect to the main character and actually found her kind of whiny and melodramatic which was not the author's intention.
It is historical fiction set in Paris in the 1860s about a woman's resistance to Emperor Napoleon III's "renovations" to modernize the city. Rose is determined to save her house from being torn down. Told in a series of letters she writes to her deceased husband.
I thought the premise was interesting and I love a good historical fiction but I just could not get into this one.
This book was not for me. I didn't connect to the main character and actually found her kind of whiny and melodramatic which was not the author's intention.
It is historical fiction set in Paris in the 1860s about a woman's resistance to Emperor Napoleon III's "renovations" to modernize the city. Rose is determined to save her house from being torn down. Told in a series of letters she writes to her deceased husband.
I thought the premise was interesting and I love a good historical fiction but I just could not get into this one.
retiredbookaholic's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an easy read told from one point of view through letters. I do like the vehicle of the letter in relating a story. It always seems more intimate. Especially if the writer is a good one, as is de Rosnay. 'The House I loved' is a story about home, memories and staying in control of your life. A story of "if these walls could talk" and all that happens in the 4 walls of house and home. We all have that one house, don't we, that we don't want to see destroyed. We might not choose to inhabit it, but we don't want to see it destroyed. Now imagine, a house that has been in your family for generations, centuries even, always inhabited by a member of the family. This house IS a member of the family. But now, it is set for demolition. What would you do? This is Rose's tale.
expatally's review against another edition
1.0
An interesting setting and time period that never seemed to get off the ground. An irritating narrator and stilted dialogue. I loved Sarah's Key, but this was a disappointment.