All the light we cannot see - review for Paris in July

 

From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. (Good Reads)

I loved this... which is very unusual for me, as I dont usually enjoy historical fiction or war time novels. However, my love of Paris is for the whole of Paris - including it's difficult history. We all know that its through lifes knocks and difficult times that our character is built... and I believe that it the same for a complex city like Paris... it's rich cultural history is but one of the many influences on its character. War is another... 

Thank you to all my blogging friends, and local friends, who raved about this book.  

I have a very close friend who is blind. He lost his eyesight through a degenerative condition, which means he remembers things he once knew as a younger person. Im frequently astounded that he has such visual recall of our local surounds, and can (far more acuratly) describe things in our city which he has not seen for more than 20 years.. and if we describe changes to him, he will remember them also! 

Marie-Laure's ability to navigate her local surrounds in Paris, and then to learn her new surounds in Saint Malo is amazing.. and I can believe it. But what makes her an endearing character for me, is her curiousity, and stubbornness. She did not hesitate to join the activies of the resistance... blind, young and new to the village - she did not waver in her committment to the cause. 

Werner, the young german boy, was equally endearing. Clever, curious and somewhat emotionally intelligent, he navigated his postiong in the complexity of war with ellegance (in my opinion). I was also learning to appreciate the character of his colleague, Volkheimer. Depicted as a giant of a boy, Volkheimer paid attention to protect Werner throughout their wartime journey, and beyond. 

War, and many difficult events, does create conditions for lasting connections and friendships. 

I wont expose the ending - but I found myself so engrossed in this story, I spent a whole weekend paying attention, concetrating so I could reach the best part - the end of the war!  

Film Review for Paris in July - Little Jaffna

 I may have strayed a little from my ambitions list.... but I couldn't find Le Havre on my free streaming service, SBS.  I found Little Jaffna instead. 

Have you ever been to Sri Lanka? or have you heard things about the Tamil Tigers insurgency?  This occured during my lifetime, and I still dont fully comprehend it. 

This film, directed by the leading actor, is a powerful story of the challenges for displaced Sri Lankans in Paris. Little Jaffna being the suburbs in Paris where the Sri Lankans found refuge and community together. 

During the insurgency, 1983 - 2009, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, sustained their military capabilities through extensive funding from a global Tamil diaspora network, alongside extortion and illicit trafficking. The story told in this film is about the Killi'z gang, who is portrayed as a powerful and dangerous syndicate that extorts money from local Sri Lankan Tamil businesses to finance covert operations and resistance movements. 

The film evokes the gang culture, aspects of the homeland culture, and also a hope for assimilation in the new homeland. 

I did a quick search and found there are nearly 4 million Sri Lankan Tamils globally, nearly 3 million reside in Sri Lanka now, and another 1.2 million living in the diaspora. Major populations abide in Canada, India, Australia, the UK, France and Germany. 

I travelled to Sri Lanka in 2019, and thoroughly loved the people, the food and the incredibly diverse culture and history. 

While Paris in July feels like an invitation to explore all the aspects of Paris & France we love, this film brought to light for me, that immigrants who ended up in Paris, or choose Paris for their dreams, still struggle to make their dreams come true while the past holds them connected.  However, in the end, the young Tamil/ French Police Officer, graduates with his proud Tamil grandmother in the room....  one chapter closes, as his new life begins. 

French Composer, Claude Debussy - the girl with the flaxen hair

I learned this piece as a young music student, mostly on piano, but I also played the trombone back then. I loved the piece, however found it a challenge to learn.. but every time I hear it now, I am drawn right in... 

Apparently, Debussy named the piece after an 1852 poem by French writer Leconte de Lisle. The poem tells the story of an innocent Scottish girl who sings in the fresh morning dew.  What does it call to mind  for you?  I kind of think of waterfalls in a lazy river.. 

While I'm continuing with my Paris in July reading challenge, deep into All the Light We Can Not See,  I thought I'd offer this interlude... 

My ambitions for 2026 Paris in July

 

There's something quintessentially Parisian about a spiral stairway.. It calls us to explore the space around it, and it's destination. I imagine this library space invites us to be still, and to re-create the stories of the past, or invest time in creating new ones. This July, I want to enjoy sitting in the silent space around other's stories, but also to work in creating my own new stories. 

My ambitions for this years Paris in July, include: 

Reading

1. All the Light We Can Not See - Anthony Doerr
2. The Vexations - Caitlin 

Watching 

1. Le Havre (PG), France, Germany 2010.  Director - Aki Kaurismaki
2. Hunting & Gathering (2007) - Starring Audrey Tuatou, Guillaume Cannet

Enjoying

1. Le Tour De France

This might be very ambitions, but I'm keen to try,