Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • Leaderboard
    • The CBR Team
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Fiction > Meeting people unlike oneself does not enlarge one’s outlook; it only confirms one’s idea that one is unique.

Meeting people unlike oneself does not enlarge one’s outlook; it only confirms one’s idea that one is unique.

The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen

November 20, 2020 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

This is a 1935 novel from the Anglo-Irish writer Elizabeth Bowen. I know her primarily for her novel The Death of the Heart, which always reminds me of the Cure song “Pictures of You”, but I think she’s also as well known for The Heat of the Day. This novel takes place primarily in Paris at a house on a single day. Henrietta has been promised a trip to Menton, the last town on the southern coast before you get to Italy. It’s a seaside town, and she’s very excited. She’s 11. In the meantime, she must wait for the adults to get themselves together. She’s told to hang out with Leopold, a slightly younger boy who also seems to be waiting for something to happen. What we find out is that Leopold, an adoptee, is waiting to meet his birth mother for the first time ever, and needless to say Henrietta doesn’t really feel generous with her excitement.

The novel then jumps back in time to tell the family history that predates these children and leads us up to the present again. We close one last time in the present moment.

The novel is not quite as big M “Modernist” as a Virginia Woolf novel, but does seem to be influenced by her writing, especially I’d say To the Lighthouse. There’s a clear sense of the past being always overlaid on top of the present here. There’s also a very present and prescient narrative voice at play incisively scouring these figures. That voice is almost otherworldly and strange (in good ways) in the opening chapter of the “Past” section.

(Photo: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195993.The_House_in_Paris)

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: elizabeth bowen, the house in paris

vel veeter's CBR12 Review No:609 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: elizabeth bowen, the house in paris ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

About vel veeter

CBR13 participantCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/69444656-vel-veeter View vel veeter's reviews»

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • markabaddon on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy ChildhoodSame. Her interpretation of vampirism was soooo cool to me as a teenager.
  • esme on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy ChildhoodOMG- the Great Brain- I wonder if it holds up? I’ll have to see. I also used the love the Three Investigators. And Encyclopedia Brown....
  • andtheIToldYouSos on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy Childhoodalso- Louis Sachar's HOLES! it came out when I was in middle school and I loved it, and my current students love the movie, but...
  • andtheIToldYouSos on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy ChildhoodHOW DID I FORGET PINKWATER?! aggh! Lizard Music, Snarkout Boys, Worms of Kukimilia... I re-read that section of the library over and over again
  • Scootsa1000 on CBR Diversions – It’s Never too Late to Have a Happy ChildhoodOMG this thread is the best. I love reading about all of your favorites. I think this year I want to reread my favorite childhood...
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
  3. Google Pay
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in