من عند Sânger 547540، رومانيا
This was a quite entertaining book, and some of the characters and scenes were, I think the phrase is, 'beautifully observed'. In fact I wrote a review of it for work so if you are seriously contemplating whether to read it or not this may well help you. Or of course you could always just read my review instead - it's quite lengthy. Firstly, I liked this as a book: it was wittily and amusingly written, but quite simple and not particularly demanding to read. The story kept me interested and wondering about the end, although I wouldn’t say that I was gripped. Its story was an analogy to do with Nazis during the post-war era which I must say wasn’t obvious to me – I would put this down to the book having dated given that a lot of people in the 21st Century are not particularly au fait with the social implications following the demise of Nazism. Having said this it provided a mirror to what happens to a lot of countries and people after war. However, I would not say that this not being obvious was much of a problem, being unaware of it just shaves off an element from what is otherwise an entertaining story. The plot centres around Lorry Widdenberg – a princess whose full name is Lorelei Ulrike Maria von und zu Boschkampf von Widdenburg - who starts the story at a Swiss finishing school at the age of 13 with various other titled and grand girl friends, although none as aristocratic, beautiful or charming as her. Lorry is vastly intellectually-developed, socially-aware and a thoroughly rebellious young girl, who, outraged at the injustices meted out to the Baader-Meinhof-Esslin group during the Second World War, forms the Himbeere group with four of her friends. Himbeere’s main aim is the destruction of fascism thereby putting an end to worldwide social and sexual inequality. They call this period the Raspberry Reich, and their emblem is a raspberry with blood coming from it, secretly worn underneath their uniform printed on t-shirts. Their activities culminate in a screeching and offensive punk number performed at their end of term concert – following on the heels of Bach recitals, upper-crust mummies drop their caviar canapés etc., and the girls are subsequently expelled. Fortuitously, Lorry’s mother dies in a car crash with her latest ‘fabulous’ young man, leaving Lorry an orphan. She is shipped off to stay with her grandfather, with whom her long-dead scientific genius of a father had fallen out before her birth, as a result of his defection to the America after the war. Against her will, Lorry is mesmerised by the fairytale castle, deer-populated grounds and her dignified magical grandfather, Von Widdenberg. Lorry becomes Lorelei, and fits in to the lifestyle of a princess in terms of dress, language and decorum. The levis and Mickey Mouse trainers are stuffed to the back of her new wardrobe. However, after a few weeks of getting along ‘divinely’ with her grandfather, cracks start to appear when he goes back to spending time with his mistress the Countess Stephanie, and soon the precocious, cynical and lonely Lorry reappears: the Lorry who has been shunted between boarding schools, missing her dead father and in denial of her glamorous but absent mother’s recent death. She decides to invite one of the Himbeere gang over, the large-breasted and sexually-voracious Clio Hankey-Heymann, and while exploring they discover her grandfather’s secret bank office, hidden behind a moveable bookcase in the castle’s library. There they find a photo of her beloved grandfather shaking hands with Hitler, a case of swastika-embossed daggers, and equally-incriminating war medals. Lorry is deeply shocked, and the discovery obviously has dire repercussions for her new-found security with the only remaining member of her family.
I was looking for a good children's book to explain breastfeeding to my 4 year old and 2 year old, so that they weren't surprised by it when we bring baby #3 home. This book was great! Very matter of fact with good info that was simple enough for them to understand. The liked the funny pictures too.
Reminded me of a Jodi Picoult book. Good read.