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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
WARNING This book is about a young Jewish woman who goes to Europe to find out about her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor. The book gets quite gruesome, and some of this is touched on below.
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I started reading this one a little at a time, because that was the opportunity I was allowing myself, and got dragged in about halfway through and finished it all in a rush.
The story starts with the grandmother of the story, Gemma, being asked to tell the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose to her three grand-daughters - the practical older sisters Shana and Sylvia, and the more willing to believe Rebecca. The telling of the tale is scattered through out the book, in snippets, along with little details of the family life as it had been, and the interactions between the sisters, and between grandmother and grand-daughters.
This is interspersed with the 'modern day' section of the story, which starts with the three young women coming to say goodbye Gemma, and follows through the funeral, and so forth. Fairly prosaic story line, sparingly used to develop further the characters of the sisters, and to pave the way for where the story goes.
After the funeral, and the well-wishers have gone home, Gemma's treasure box is opened, and found to contain an assortment of bits and pieces - entry papers for the US, newspaper cuttings, other pieces - with little to link them. 'Becca becomes caught up with the 'need' to know what it all means, which leads to her travelling to Poland, and trying to track down where her grandmother had come from, any of her story.
The initial section in Poland is the weakest of the book - the characterisation is less believable, and the coincidences that lead to Becca, and her Polish guide Magda, meeting with the one person who can tell them what happened were a bit much for me.
However, this is followed by another story within a story, that of the wartime experiences of Josef Potocki, one time 'internment camp' inmate, escapee and resistance member. The story is harrowing at times, far more detailed than I wanted, although a part of me suspects that it was much less than it could have been.
When I go back and look at how much of the book is taken up by the story that Josef tells, I am surprised at how little there actually is - in my mind it has taken over the rest of the story, which is sad, because much of the rest has as much meaning, as much to say as this section. There is not as much horror in the interactions between the sisters, but there is much potential for pathos, for exploration, and this is there, in the story, it is just that it has not had the impact. Which, on one hand, means that that section of the story has come across, but on the other hand, the importance of being a survivor, not a victim, of living a full life, which I have found stressed in other works about the Holocaust, didn't come across in the same way. And I wonder if that is a lack in the text, or a lack in the reader
----||----
I started reading this one a little at a time, because that was the opportunity I was allowing myself, and got dragged in about halfway through and finished it all in a rush.
The story starts with the grandmother of the story, Gemma, being asked to tell the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose to her three grand-daughters - the practical older sisters Shana and Sylvia, and the more willing to believe Rebecca. The telling of the tale is scattered through out the book, in snippets, along with little details of the family life as it had been, and the interactions between the sisters, and between grandmother and grand-daughters.
This is interspersed with the 'modern day' section of the story, which starts with the three young women coming to say goodbye Gemma, and follows through the funeral, and so forth. Fairly prosaic story line, sparingly used to develop further the characters of the sisters, and to pave the way for where the story goes.
After the funeral, and the well-wishers have gone home, Gemma's treasure box is opened, and found to contain an assortment of bits and pieces - entry papers for the US, newspaper cuttings, other pieces - with little to link them. 'Becca becomes caught up with the 'need' to know what it all means, which leads to her travelling to Poland, and trying to track down where her grandmother had come from, any of her story.
The initial section in Poland is the weakest of the book - the characterisation is less believable, and the coincidences that lead to Becca, and her Polish guide Magda, meeting with the one person who can tell them what happened were a bit much for me.
However, this is followed by another story within a story, that of the wartime experiences of Josef Potocki, one time 'internment camp' inmate, escapee and resistance member. The story is harrowing at times, far more detailed than I wanted, although a part of me suspects that it was much less than it could have been.
When I go back and look at how much of the book is taken up by the story that Josef tells, I am surprised at how little there actually is - in my mind it has taken over the rest of the story, which is sad, because much of the rest has as much meaning, as much to say as this section. There is not as much horror in the interactions between the sisters, but there is much potential for pathos, for exploration, and this is there, in the story, it is just that it has not had the impact. Which, on one hand, means that that section of the story has come across, but on the other hand, the importance of being a survivor, not a victim, of living a full life, which I have found stressed in other works about the Holocaust, didn't come across in the same way. And I wonder if that is a lack in the text, or a lack in the reader
Thought it would be a lot more interesting. Enjoyed the story of Josef's life more than Gemma's, but I loved how the author combined it with the real Sleeping Beauty. I would have liked to know more about the life of Gemma when she arrived to the US, how she did it... Becca is a little bit lame to me and her way to feel awkward in front of Stan, childish.
I wish the writing in the first half was a little better but the second half was so much better
The first 3/4 of this book was excellent...once the twist occurred the rest of the plot had more holes than swiss cheese. It left me wanting more, particularly with the theme of generational trauma and it’s importance with the fairytale.
Unfortunately, this was assigned reading for school, and I did not enjoy this book at all. I found the writing very boring, it was trying to be something it wasn't and that didn't create an enjoyable experience. I found the characters very flat, bland, and annoying at times, and nonsensical at others. I also found the Holocaust portion of the novel in bad taste, it felt added on for shock value and could've been developed well, but it wasn't. This was a theme throughout the novel, there was an idea that could've been great, but was just executed poorly. That frustrated me because I think it had potential to be a great book, but it just wasn't.
Spoiler
How does a character who can barely say simple phrases with correct grammar say things like "A mausoleum dedicated to the 360,000 men and women and-she told us-even children of our own ages who were murdered and discarded, like animal carcasses."??
A well-written, quiet metaphor of a story - very simply told, which works well here as the subject matter is so disturbing that any sort of gilding the lily would lessen the impact, I think. Becca's very relatable, and her family relationships, while not perfect, add a grounding touch and moments of recognisable humour. Her relationship with Magda was also enjoyable.
I didn't connect with Josef's story as much as Becca and Gemma's, though it was still interesting. But because Briar Rose was so clearly a fairy tale metaphor, the whole mystery of Gemma wasn't really a mystery at all, at least to me - it was clear what it would turn out to be. Still, I kept reading because I was interested in Becca's reactions to Gemma's story. That reaction was a little muted, but then I can't praise the overall quietness of the story and complain about it at the same time, so I'll take the muted reaction over melodrama every time.
I didn't connect with Josef's story as much as Becca and Gemma's, though it was still interesting. But because Briar Rose was so clearly a fairy tale metaphor, the whole mystery of Gemma wasn't really a mystery at all, at least to me - it was clear what it would turn out to be. Still, I kept reading because I was interested in Becca's reactions to Gemma's story. That reaction was a little muted, but then I can't praise the overall quietness of the story and complain about it at the same time, so I'll take the muted reaction over melodrama every time.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
You know, when I picked this up I don't know what I was expecting to be honest. Sleeping Beauty retelling ticked my fairytale obsession, Holocaust twist ticked my history and originality boxes and the fact it was well written and engaging just made everything better after the last few books.
Despite my positivity going in, I just didn't expect to get so wrapped up in this and to feel that bad at times, and that desperate for answers at others. The basic premise is that Becca makes a promise to her grandma 'Gemma' on her deathbed to find out about the princess that she had grown up being told about, Her grandmother had an obsession with the story Sleeping Beauty - and obsession that survived multiple tellings, her grand children's growing apathy with the tale and even dementia and through it all the facts of the story never changed. Briar Rose's castle was cursed by the evil fairy with the black books and the hat with the eagles on it, she was eventually rescued by the prince, she was kissed and no one else in the castle woke up afterwards.
I don't want to spoil anything, but the tie in with the Holocaust is harrowing and extremely well thought out. This is essentially a fairytale without a happy ending because of what happened, and as we watch Becca try and find out information on her grandmother and try and trace this information on so few clues, you can't help but think about how many stories like this there may have been.
There are mentions of events, what would happen in camps, that seem like the stuff of nightmares, but we all know they happened but even so you just think how relatively recently all that happened. I think of my own family, my grandmother who was interned at a 'work' camp during the war and I'm not going to lie, it actually makes me want to try and find out everything I can because it's something I want to know because even though you can't change what happened, I kinda want to understand it better and like Becca in this story, it reminds me that sometimes it's not the ending that matters, but the fact that there is an actual story there that deserves to be known.
Not everything is tied up in a nice little package in this book - not every question is answered, not every mystery is solved, but somehow, despite the fact you want to know it all, what you do learn feels enough.
I highly recommend this for anyone who has any sort of interest in either of these subjects. I know it's marketed as a young adult book - but it's really so much more than that.
Despite my positivity going in, I just didn't expect to get so wrapped up in this and to feel that bad at times, and that desperate for answers at others. The basic premise is that Becca makes a promise to her grandma 'Gemma' on her deathbed to find out about the princess that she had grown up being told about, Her grandmother had an obsession with the story Sleeping Beauty - and obsession that survived multiple tellings, her grand children's growing apathy with the tale and even dementia and through it all the facts of the story never changed. Briar Rose's castle was cursed by the evil fairy with the black books and the hat with the eagles on it, she was eventually rescued by the prince, she was kissed and no one else in the castle woke up afterwards.
I don't want to spoil anything, but the tie in with the Holocaust is harrowing and extremely well thought out. This is essentially a fairytale without a happy ending because of what happened, and as we watch Becca try and find out information on her grandmother and try and trace this information on so few clues, you can't help but think about how many stories like this there may have been.
There are mentions of events, what would happen in camps, that seem like the stuff of nightmares, but we all know they happened but even so you just think how relatively recently all that happened. I think of my own family, my grandmother who was interned at a 'work' camp during the war and I'm not going to lie, it actually makes me want to try and find out everything I can because it's something I want to know because even though you can't change what happened, I kinda want to understand it better and like Becca in this story, it reminds me that sometimes it's not the ending that matters, but the fact that there is an actual story there that deserves to be known.
Not everything is tied up in a nice little package in this book - not every question is answered, not every mystery is solved, but somehow, despite the fact you want to know it all, what you do learn feels enough.
I highly recommend this for anyone who has any sort of interest in either of these subjects. I know it's marketed as a young adult book - but it's really so much more than that.
This is one of those books where you're warned "you shouldnt reread books of your childhood, because they wont be as good"....yeah, not as good as I remember....I actually didnt care for it too much this time around. The story itself is amazing, but the way the author pieced it together was annoying and confusing.
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Sleeping Beauty as a metaphor for a survivor’s experience of the Holocaust.
Becca has grown up listening to her grandmother’s version of Sleeping Beauty, but she never imagined it was anything more than a story. When Gemma reveals on her deathbed that she is Briar Rose from the story, it sends Becca on a quest to find out the truth about her grandmother’s past using every journalistic resource she has at her disposal. Thorny briars become barbed wire, cursed mist becomes poisonous gas, and the kiss of life has nothing to do with true love … but all fairy tales start with a grain of truth.
It’s a very moving and haunting story that gave me a new perspective on fairy tales. Many of them probably started as harsh realities being told in a way that was easier to process.