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Showing posts with the label Jennie Fields

Blogging Anniversary - 10 years

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A while ago I checked when I did my first blog post, in order to celebrate with an anniversary post. Well, that day came and went without any reaction from me. Better late than never, so here a reminder of my very first blog post from 24 October 2012.  The book was New Finnish Grammar  by Diego Marani. Marani is an Italian novelist, translator and newspaper columnist. While working as a translator for the European Union he invented a language ‘Europanto’ which is a mixture of languages and based on the common practice of word-borrowing usage of many EU languages. It was a suitable book to start with, being a book about letters, languages and memories. With a beautiful prose, the novel went directly to my heart.  "One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. The doctor, of a newly arrived German hospital ship, Pietri Friari gives the unconscious soldier medical assistance. His new patient has no documents or anything that can ide...

The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields

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My first book read for  Paris in July 2015,  is Jennie Fields' historical fiction about Edith Wharton, The Age of Desire.  It is a fascinating read. I don't know much about her life and have only read The Age of Innocence  a long time ago.  This book is a good incitement to read more about Edith Wharton and more of her books. When I read historical fiction, I also want to read a biography of the person in question. Last year I read, The Paris Wife  (review here ) by Paula McLain, about Hadley Richardson, Hemingway's first wife. I continued with Michael Reynolds' biography Hemingway, The Paris Years, (review here ) reading it for Paris in July 2014.  The biography confirmed that the historical fiction was very well done. The book follows Edith Wharton through the years 1906-1910 with an epilogue in 1916. At this time Edith Wharton spent the winters in Paris with her husband and governess Anna, now her secretary, and the summers in "The Moun...

Paris in July - in Brussels!

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Paris in July, hosted by Tamara at Thyme for Tea , has started. My first "French" activity was done yesterday by visiting a travelling French exhibition "Histoire en Brique" in Waterloo. It shows iconic symbols of French cultural heritage. Show cased are some famous French buildings like Arc de Triomphe, Malmaison and Dome des Invalides, as well as furniture and paintings. Included was also Napoleon's last HQ at Waterloo, parts of the battlefield and the Butte du Lion. And... it is all built up with Lego parts! Around 1 million lego parts in 48 different colours were used. Quite amazing and what a fantastic craftsmanship! Dome des Invalides, Malmaison and Arc de Triomphe Empress Josephine's harp built with lego bricks Lego portraits of Napoleon, Duke of Wellington and General Blücher A desk built with lego bricks. Maybe something for a handy person? Battle of Waterloo and the Butte du Lion The Wellington Museum in Wate...