The House I Loved

The House I Loved

by Tatiana de Rosnay

Genre: Women's Fiction

Synopsis: Paris, France: 1860s. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, molding it into a “modern city.” The reforms will erase generations of history—and in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.

 Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home until the very end.  As others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer and closer each day. Attempting to overcome the loneliness of her daily life, she begins to write letters to Armand, her beloved late husband. And as she delves into the ritual of remembering, Rose is forced to come to terms with a secret that has been buried deep in her heart for thirty years

From the publisher

Review:  After reading Rosnay's book Sarah's Key, I've read 2 other books by this author in hopes that I like a book as much as I enjoyed Sarah's Key.  Unfortunately I have been quite disappointed.  The House I Loved is much better than the last one I read by Rosnay.  This book reads relatively quickly as it is written as letters to the main character's deceased husband.  One thing Rosnay seems to do (as I noticed this in A Secret Kept) is hint at a very large secret but not tell us about it until much closer to the end of the book.  She leaves hints dangling often and I found this to be quite annoying.  Just tell me the secret or don't keep dangling it in front of my face!  I did enjoy the characters in this book and it was an interesting story even though there was hardly any plot.  I was amazed at how much Rosnay could write about not much of a subject.

Rating: 3 stars