Dakota County Library hardcover 391 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction
This was our October book club title, but I didn't get it in time to read it before the discussion. It is pretty new and I spent a month on four different counties' waiting lists! Ah well, it's a very good book and I enjoyed reading it despite the fact that I had already heard the conversation about it.
I made a cheat sheet for the characters (based on other readers' recommendations), but I didn't think it was too confusing . . . Part of the book is set in 1930s Austria and part in modern day Mount Vernon, Ohio. The main characters in pre-WWII Austria are Max (wealthy German boy) and his parents, Annika and her dad (caretaker for their castle), Luzi (beautiful violinist, Jewish) and her family (mom, Dr. Weiss, Marta), Hermann (helper to Annika's drunken dad), Ernst (nasty piece of work . . . Hitler admirer), and various others . . . I guess that is kind of a lot! In the modern part of the story, Calisandra Randall (Callie) and her sister Brianna (Brie) run the book store given to them by Charlotte Trent. Callie was dumped the day before her wedding to Scott a few years earlier, and she's still in "hiding" from the emotional pain. She's happy for her younger sister's happy marriage to Ethan and she dotes on their twin sons Owen and Oscar. There are various shop customers who come to hear "Story Girl" (aka Callie) on Saturdays.
Without having any spoilers here, "StoryGirl" stumbles on a mystery when she sees handwriting between the lines of text in an old edition of Bambi. (Wow! Never realized that the book Disney turned into the movie was originally written by a Jewish man as a kind of allegory of Nazi Germany! Must find and read a copy.)
Page 81 - "My sister and Charlotte are the only adults who don't wear me out after an hour. And they are the only ones who understand that I still adore them, even when I need my space. Family, I guess, is supposed to be like that." I love the idea that family just knows and loves us, even with all our idiosyncrasies. It's so good to have people like that in your life!
Page 84 is where she explains to some visitors to the book store her philosophy of books for kids - "Books are a lot like food . . . First is the healthy stuff that most parents want their kids to read. Some of it tastes great, others perhaps not so much, but it's good for the body and mind. . . . Next there's brain candy, the sugary sweet stuff that tastes good going down, but turns into a bellyache if you binge. . . . And then there's the poison. . . . Kids need to eat real food for their bodies to grow, not the pieces of poison left out for, say, rodents." She goes on from there. People in book club really liked this analogy, but I'm not sure I agree. Different readers like different genres. And their are Christian authors who write horror stories (Peretti) and fantasy (C.S. Lewis). It's an interesting idea to discuss, that's for sure!
Page 126 - "I should be thrilled to see everyone. I suspect I'll be feeling guilty a lot tonight." Ugh. This resonated with me because I do a LOT of "shoulds" and feeling guilty . . . it's not a pleasant way to live.
Page 160 - on a section break, the author has a page with a quotation. This one is from the Talmud - "Anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world." - Mishnah Sanhedrin, The Talmud. I'm curious why the author chose this. I wish we could have discussed it, but that's what happens when you don't read the book before book club!
Page 225 - "The evil that raged during that time . . . it still rages all over the world today. How can people be so cruel to others? This is one thing I don't want to ever understand." I worry sometimes that we're in danger of forgetting how awful Hitler's Germany was. I hope and pray that we do not return to a place of turning a blind eye to evil.
Page 269 - I should include the entire page here! (I added it later, below.) As Josh and Callie are talking about God, suffering, compassion, etc. there is so much wisdom and truth. "This purity, I think, often stings deep inside, but what freedom to know that God never forces anyone to love or serve Him. Even if it breaks His heart, He allows people to walk away."
Page 354 - "Whe'd prayed for his entire life that the only evil he and his siblings would ever have to fight was that which tried to infiltrate from the inside. And she'd prayed that each of them would fight with all their might." Praying moms make a difference!
Page 362 - "I think we can cling to the goodness we see in the world. To the beauty in these lakes and the laughter of those kids who come every Saturday to hear your stories." Yes! Cling to goodness! It's so important in the dark world to focus on the light!
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