Hello globe dwellers :)
It's been a while since I posted a recent read.. not that i did not read any books but i have the bad habit of not finishing books :p I keep starting new books and then forget about them and then come back again much later and finish reading them :p Some I do not even finish because I truly believe if the beginning does not blow my mind then the end will probably be as rubbish.
So anyway, this one I finished in 3 - 4 sittings because it was that gripping ! It was really refreshing to read a story based in Amsterdam at the time of war. History is really something that makes me sleep unless my boyfriend is telling me about it or as i have just discovered is the backdrop of a fictional story. The fact that the author did not make the 'history' part up is mostly why this book will be added to my favourites. I got to learn about shitty situations in which Jews were living at the time, the power of Hitler and the cruelty that came with it, a lot about Amsterdam ( not that i was particularly interested but I would like to believe that I have few additional useful neurons added to my brain now XD) and about the pain of losing someone.
I bought this book purely because of the cover. Yes, the title does remind you of the girl on the train but the story, plot and genre are completely different. Also, this one is wayyy more interesting as i genuinely could not guess what was going to happen next. I was very much oblivious to many details just as the main character. The story is narrated by the latter and you kind of picture everything from her perspective. Monica smartly leaves a lot of cues which eventually contribute to the climax and ending of the story. I honestly was unable to pick all of them - i was blinded by what Hanneke describes, sees and feels. She is grieving her dead boyfriend and that somehow transcribes in all her actions and decisions. At one point I did get irritated by her lack of judgement but then what can you expect from someone who is in so much pain? She feels betrayed by her best friend and her overly worried parents do not make her task any easier.
The whole plot basically unfolds around Hanneke's search for that Jewish girl in the blue coat. Sounds boring yet it is the complete opposite. Bravery is a recurrent theme and so is grief. Not the depressing kind of grief; the motivating kind of grief, the inspiring kind - the kind which makes you get up in the morning and do things for people purely so that they do not have to go through the pain of losing someone.
The fact that Hanneke and her circle have to be camouflaging almost all the time and the fact that they always have to have a cover story kind of got to me. I understand how it feels when you have to hide a major chunk of your existence to :
1. your family
2. ennemies
3. strangers who behave like they are family
It was exciting to see the characters rebelling silently against the Nazis. I almost wanted to be a character in the book :p Almost.
Monica writes with such fluidity, it is an absolute pleasure to read. I would say it was easy to read but that would take away from the literary value of the language. It was also fun to know the meaning of words like : 'onderduikers'. I say words but onderduiker is the only one i remember right now XD
In a few words the books was: enriching, astonishing, inspiring and to the point !
Definitely recommend it !
Penning off,
A hungover Buslady ( hung over that book ! )
xoxo
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