30 Books Before I'm 30: Suite Francaise

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

"She remembered the defeated soldiers of the French army who a year before had fled through the town, dirty, exhausted, dragging their combat boots in the dust. Oh, my God, so this is war... An enemy soldier never seemed to be alone-- one human being like any other-- but followed, crushed from all directions by innumerable ghosts, the missing and the dead. Speaking to him wasn't like speaking to a solitary man, but to an invisible multitude..."

"Suite" refers to an ordered set of orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert rather than as accompaniment. Nemirovsky planned to write a five-piece novel, but only finished the first two parts before she was detained in a concentration camp and killed. Previous to her death she was a successful writer in Paris. Her daughters kept her notebooks but they weren't read until 1998. 

This novel starts on the evening of the German occupation of Paris and follows a series of people whose lives intertwine. The first part ("Storm in June") is about the people leaving the city and coming back, and the second book ("Dolce") is about the German occupation of a small town. 

Things I Liked: I got into this book almost right away. It's short (okay, 367 pages but it felt short), quick, and offers a view of WWII that is very relatable in a way that stories about concentration camps are not for me. The terror and horror of a concentration camp-- the threat of being found (like The Diary of Anne Frank) or living in one (like a play I was in during college-- Playing for Time) is so blindingly scary, it's hard for me not to turn off immediately and not allow myself to be emotionally involved in the stories (additionally, I've been told more than once [and I am not kidding here] that I have a perfect Aryan face and would have survived the holocaust). But I can relate to this book. I can imagine myself fleeing from bombs, and while the characters were choosing which possessions to bring with them as they fled, I mentally listed the things that I, also, could not leave without (Josh, cats, pictures, maybe my good china). 

Things I Didn't Like: There are a lot of characters in this book. A lot. Some of them make multiple appearances, some of them are only meaningful for a couple of pages. I did a lot of flipping back to try to remember who did what and where (there's a particularly bad guy who I kept confusing with a different, similarly bad guy). The second part pretty much stays on the same people, though, and was a much more engaging read.

I also didn't like that the book is unfinished, but I guess I can blame the Nazis for that.

This Book Would be Best if Read: During a long car ride (if you don't get carsick), on a beach, before bed. The chapters are short, though if you take too long to read it you might forget some of the characters who make reappearances.

I Would Recommend this Book to: Anyone and everyone. I'm not sure how stereotypically "manly" it is, but there are plenty of soldiers, lots of action, and more than half the characters are male. There are a few "kind of" love stories that are slightly sappy, but it takes place during WWII, so you know there won't be a happy ending.

If You Liked This Book, You Might Also Like: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer, the movie Swing Kids (yeah, I'm recommending it).

Up Next: I really have no idea what I'm going to read next. Does anyone have suggestions from this pre-selected list of books? 

I'm 11 down, with 19 and a little more than 6 months to go. Unfortunately, I've been sneaking in some books for pleasure, as well as dissertation articles and textbooks, so it's been going a lot slower than I thought it would. 

We took down our Christmas tree today...

... and it reminded me that I neglected to post about our new ornaments this year. Josh and I like to collect ornaments from the various places we visit, and then at the end of the year we get to reminisce about the fun trips we've taken during the year.

Since the last time we put up our tree, we have visited:

 Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX

The U.S.S. Texas (also in Houston)

NYC, NY

 Ellis Island

 The Empire State Building

 Salem, Mass.

 Pearl Harbor

 Disneyland

We also acquired some decorations:

 Last year, Christmas 2009, my sister Abby gave me these nativity ducks. SO CUTE!

We also got to hang out with my family at Hoodoo for NYE:

 with my nieces Alice and Katie

Josh showed up too

Everyone was being pretty freaking cute

There were also fireworks, which is my absolute favorite part of NYE. You can't beat fireworks over snow.

Ducks in the Desert

We didn't just go to temples while we were in Arizona, we also did things like eat a lot of food (you can look forward to a post about that later), laze in the lazy river at our hotel, and hike Piestewa/Squaw Peak. The hike is a lot harder than it looks because it is mostly straight up, on rough terrain, and is like climbing a very steep staircase. As with most things, I figured that if kids could do it then I could too. 

Halfway through, we were still smiling, despite the sweat:

The view of Phoenix was amazing!

This gives you a little idea of what the hike was like (very rough!):

The "stairs":

Josh had an unfortunate encounter with a prickly friend:

But it turned out he was a Duck fan too:

 Because Piestewa Peak is so popular, we had to park pretty far away. Sadly, in the time that we got to the peak, parked, hiked, and got back to the car, this happened. We spent much of the next few days watching the news.

 Then we went to a little event...

... where we got to dress up...

... and watch the team we love...

... and the marching band...

... come REALLY CLOSE to winning a National Championship!

The experience was totally worth it, even though I thought Josh might cry.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Josh saw this at the basketball game last night:

Look familiar? 

The ShepAlders have apparently started a trend. 

When we were in Disneyland (for Halloween)...

... this happened:

Still wonder why we had to get married?

Mesa and Snowflake Temples

Temple #36

Mesa, AZ

Some temples (Vegas, Reno, Bountiful, Oquirrh Mt, Manti, etc) are built on hills and others (San Diego, Portland, DC, Boise, etc) are very visible from highways or major roads. The Mesa temple is on flat land, and since it’s a flat temple it kind of blends in and is a little easy to miss. It is absolutely gorgeous, however, with huge grounds full of fruit trees.

We started in the visitor’s center, which has vintage pictures from the groundbreaking, dedication, and construction. Heber J. Grant dedicated it. There was a picture of a temple in front of a window and Josh said, “Hey, it’s the Laie temple,” but then he looked up and realized that the view in the picture is the same as through the window. I had a good laugh. 

The temple has a reflecting pool between the visitor’s center and the (south side?) of the temple. We walked the whole way around. On the walls of the temple, toward the top, are friezes depicting the gathering of the tribes of Israel. I liked that detail. 

When we got to the front (which also has a reflecting pool) we saw a crowd of people just standing around. They were in jeans and t-shirts! I was astounded! Apparently, since there is nothing to do in Mesa, people come to the temple grounds and stand around. Bizarre.

Mesa is definitely one of the more unique temples in which we have been. It is built to resemble Solomon’s temple (though Josh and I had a huge fight about whether Herod's temple and Solomon's temple are technically the same design), and from far away I think it looks like a library. Inside, there is such beautiful woodwork. The session was super full, and Josh and I didn’t even get to sit down in the chapel! But everyone made it in, and they were very efficient. We stayed in the same room the entire time (I guess it used to be progressive until they remodeled) until the very end, right before the veil. It looked like the veil was really short, and I panicked since there were easily 200 people in the session, but then they opened it up further.

Temple #37

Snowflake, AZ

Snowflake is about three hours from Mesa, so on the way we read (on Wikipedia) about the town. Did you know it wasn't named after the snowfall? (Though it does snow there-- more on that later). Instead, it was named after town founders Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake. 

The thing is, when we first got there, it was bright, sunny, and kind of looked like this:

But when we woke up in the morning, everything looked like this:

Because we had gone to a later session, we didn't take pictures until the next day, which is why there is snow in all of our pictures.

I almost didn't get to go to this temple because I realized about half an hour before the session starting that I had forgotten my wallet (including my temple recommend) back at the house my sister had rented. We got it all sorted out (it may have involved a call to BishBrenn or the Stake President). I was glad, though, because the Snowflake temple is very unique.

The Snowflake temple workers are among the nicest I have encountered so far, and that’s saying quite a lot since temple workers are generally the nicest people I meet (which makes sense—the temple usually puts me in a good mood as well). One of them told me later that she was worried we wouldn’t make it on time and was so glad we came. We spent some time talking with the men at the front desk about the game (of course), but also about other temples we’ve visited and about the Snowflake temple.

I’ve been really impressed with the Arizona temples (though we still have more to see). One of the defining features of the Snowflake temple is a beautiful, three-paned, stained-glass window that depicts Christ teaching people. Apparently it was originally in a catholic cathedral but was bought by Deseret Industries through an auction and then donated to the church. It was hand-picked by President Hinckley to be in the Snowflake temple. Another defining feature is the staircase, which is unique for a smaller temple. To get to the ordinance rooms, you go up a staircase to the right and framed above the staircase are Native American, hand-woven blankets. This temple has various features (designs in the Celestial room, decorative pottery) that reflect the cultural heritage of the area. They also have a “Children of Lehi” session each month. Josh and I were debating about whether this meant the session was done in a tribal dialect or if it just meant that it was a time where Native Americans could be in the majority.

The ordinance room had, what I term, a “geography-specific mural,” which means that it was painted to resemble the surrounding nature. I couldn’t see it too well because I was in a back, far corner. I have to commend Arizonans on their temple attendance—both the Snowflake and Mesa sessions we attended were filled to capacity. I expected it in Mesa, but Snowflake is in the middle of nowhere.

I highly recommend visiting these temples if you can. It's totally worth it. 

30 Books Before I'm 30: The Blind Assassin

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

"Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off a bridge. The bridge was being repaired: she went right through the Danger sign. [...] I was informed of the accident by a policeman: the car was mine, and they'd traced the license. His tone was respectful: no doubt he recognized Richard's name."

I need to start out by saying that I loved this book, but I had a hard time getting into it. The book is set up both with chapters of the general narrative and also chapters from a science fiction novel entitled The Blind Assassin that one of the characters has written. It took me a few chapters before I got into the flow of it. The story is about two sisters from a wealthy Canadian family during the 1920s and beyond. There's a bit of mystery to it, but Atwood doesn't underestimate her readers by assuming the "reveal" will be a huge shock. There's love, there's death, there's evil and greed-- the whole gamut of human emotions. 

What I Liked: I became very invested in the characters and the setting and the storyline. I genuinely wanted to find out what happened, and even though I wasn't completely surprised by the ending, but there was something I didn't quite expect (I'm not going to give you a hint-- you need to read it for yourself).

What I Didn't Like: It was long (500+ pages). Also, as with any novel that addresses two storylines (in this case the narrative and the science fiction novel), it can be a bit jarring to go back and forth. 

This Book Would Be Best if Read: Over a long weekend, without breaks.

I Would Recommend This Book to: Anyone with an interest in the Depression and/or female protagonists. Although this is technically a love story, it isn't sappy, and the main focus is the relationship between the protagonist and her sister.

If You Liked This Book, I Would Also Recommend: Dancing Girls, also by Margaret Atwood. I've heard that The Robber Bride and The Handmaid's Tale are good, but I haven't read them. Atonement by Ian McEwan.

Up Next: Suite Francaise (because I'm already halfway done)

10 down, 20 to go