Happy Friday! Today I'm participating in the TLC Book Tour for "All That I Am" by Anna Funder. Historical fiction books set during WWII are my favorite genre, so it was an easy choice to select this book from the list that my TLC contact sent me. This book was a bit different than other WWII books I have read as it was focused on around 1933, the time when Hitler was building his empire. Most of the books I have read were set during the 1939-1945 time frame so it was interesting for me to read about a different aspect of the war. It tells the story of a brave group of friends who tried to warn the world about the evils empire Hitler was building. Instead of looking the other way, they put their lives on the line and joined the Resistance Movement.The story is told from the perspective of two different characters. The narrators flipped back and forth from present day to the time of war which was a bit confusing at time. I think some date references during the chapters would have helped, but I quickly got a feel for the change in the time setting.
I really liked this book and gave it 3 stars on goodreads - I would have given it 3.5 if that had been an option. I thought that the writing was great and there were several sentences and passages that made me stop and think - wow, she said that well. I thought I'd share a couple with you:
"When you are in love with someone you cannot see around them, you cannot get their human measure. You cannot see how someone so huge to you, so miraculous and unfathomable, can fit, complete, into that small skin." (p. 150)
"But I saw then that everyone thought her so independent as to have no needs, or at least none that they, single-handedly, could met. This is the curse of the capable; it leaves them prone to pockets of aloneness, sudden elephant traps in the ground."(p. 285)
"Most people have no imagination. If they could imagine the suffering of others, they would not make them suffer so." (p. 358)
If you enjoy books set during WWII, I think this one is worth checking out.
When you read books, do you flag quotes that really speak to you? That is one thing I love about my nook - I can easily bookmark or highlight a passage. When reading physical books, I try to have post-its to flag pages with great passages/quotes, as my Grandma McDougall taught me from a young age that it was abusive to fold down the 'ear' of a book and that lesson has stuck with me for life!
I usually don't flag/highlight in actual books but I do highlight a lot when I use my Kindle. It's so convenient and I like having all my highlighted quotes in one spot to go back to. I always feel rather bad for writing in books! Ha. I guess all those times my teachers told me not to growing up!
ReplyDeleteI love books set in that era, too! It sounds like a pretty deep book by the quotes you listed. I, too, never dog-tag pages in a book because of the same person who taught that to you! I have purchased used books and the margins are filled with that person's comments! I do find that interesting, but have never done it. I haven't gotten into the habit of highlighting passages in my Kindle but really should!
ReplyDeleteI have been reading a lot on my Kobo, but have never tried to flag a passage or a page on it. Not sure how it works. Going to find you on Goodreads!
ReplyDeleteAgreed that dates would have helped me, too, though I figured it out after a few time period flops :)
ReplyDeleteThe last quote about imagination is so good and so true (I would like to think!).
Happy Friday!
I never used to flag quotes but I've started doing it a lot more lately. Or if I'm reading on my e-reader I take a picture of it with my phone. haha
ReplyDeleteI don't flag them, but I write them down - I often have a pen and paper with me when reading a book to make notes, etc..
ReplyDeleteI liked this book too- for many of the same reasons, not a huge fan of the characters though- not sure why. When I was younger I had a quote book that I would write down quotes I loved. Now, when it's in a book I've been "liking" them on goodreads. It's a fun way to keep track of my favorite quotes since even if I highlighted them I doubt I'd go back and look at it again (and also a lot of my books are from the library)
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a quote person, so I don't really mark quotes. Although if I did I wouldn't be folding down pages.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I'm not schedule to post my review till next week, I felt similar to you. I think I even went with a 3.5 too. Definitely an interesting book about a subject I hadn't read much before (not what I expected from the premise), but a little confusing and slow for me.
I love that this is based on a true story - WWII-era books with that particular element of truth really appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being on the tour!