Fountain of Wisdom  Posts: 5,054 Joined: Aug 2010 Thanked 5 times What I Read
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The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves is now open.
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb
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Keyboard Worrier  Posts: 903 Joined: Nov 2011 Thanked 22 times What I Read
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RE: Bookclub: The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves (contains spoilers)A couple of things caught my eye when I was considering buying this book: the thumbnail of the Kindle edition appears to have the author’s name wrong (Sarchez, rather than Sanchez); in the ‘formats’ box, when I hover over ‘paperback’ a window opens telling me that the publisher is Alma Books Ltd and that the publication date is March 2013, whereas this English edition was actually published in June this year. I had a quick look at the publisher’s website. I can’t say I was impressed: the first two pages I looked at carried contradictory information about the number of books published; the blog has only had three posts this year and the one I started to read had a typo near the beginning. None of which had anything to do with the book itself, which I enjoyed - with reservations. For me the structure worked very well, alternating contributions from the two central characters giving two accounts of the same meetings and letting us discover what each of them were doing/thinking in between. Given that the two were over fifty years apart in age, and with very different life experiences, I thought that the writer captured each very well. Julian, a concentration camp survivor and, in his younger days, a Nazi hunter, now struggling to cope with the physical problems of an aging body, is a well-drawn and sympathetic character holding on to memories of his wife and friends while determined to have this last attempt at seeking justice. Sandra is a solidly-drawn 30-year-old, unmarried, pregnant and wondering where she wants to take her life. The background is real enough. The town of Denia does exist and an enclave of former Nazis did make their home there, possibly supporting their lifestyle (like those in the book) by the sale of jewellery stolen from their victims so many years before. So, we have good central characters and a good setting for a powerful story: why didn’t it quite live up to expectations? Well, sometimes the language is so odd that it jars. I can only think that it must be down to the translation which may have been done literally rather than with a real feel for the appropriate English idiom. I had issues with aspects of the plot. The Nazis and their Brotherhood were never quite as dangerous as the author kept suggesting. When one of their number disappeared we were led to believe that they had bumped her off because she had become an unreliable member of their group – but then she turned up living comfortably in an old people’s home, and when they discovered what Julian was up to, they did nothing about him. The ‘magic potion’ they believed was keeping them young was just daft; Julian easily had it analysed – did none of them think of doing that? Sandra suddenly falling in love with one of the Brotherhood after minimal contact just didn’t ring true. Nevertheless, it's a good read and I did find the ending satisfying. |
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Posting Freak Posts: 853 Joined: Jan 2012 Thanked 8 times What I Read
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RE: Bookclub: The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves (contains spoilers)That bit did seem a bit strange, yet no more than her allowing herself to be completely taken over by the Norwegians so quickly = and if she hadn't allowed them to take over, then there wouldnt really have been any story at all. Then again, she is pregnant in the book, hormones all over the place - women do sometimes make very strange decisions when they are pregnant! |
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Keyboard Worrier Posts: 903 Joined: Nov 2011 Thanked 22 times What I Read
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RE: Bookclub: The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves (contains spoilers) |
Member Posts: 81 Joined: Apr 2012 Thanked 4 times What I Read
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RE: Bookclub: The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves (contains spoilers)I loved the character of Julian. He was very human with his thirst for retribution and love for his wife and daughter and caring about Sandra. The tales of the Nazi Hunting were very interesting and also the fact that some former Nazi did flee abroad and form groups. How interesting about the Spanish cover being more appropiate. I bet the person who chose the cover for the English version had never read the book. Happy Reader |
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Fountain of Wisdom Posts: 5,054 Joined: Aug 2010 Thanked 5 times What I Read
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RE: Bookclub: The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves (contains spoilers)I think Sandra got involved with the Norwegians because she lacked the warmth of her own family and here were two people - grandparent substitutes, who appeared to care for her and want her company. The slow build up to her realising that all was not as it seemed was also extremely well done, her gradual realisation that they were not the sweet old couple she had at first believed them to be. I did though, like others, find her falling in love with one of the young Brotherhood men very unrealistic. She started out thinking of him as a weasel and the next moment, she was madly in love with him. I was disappointed by the ending. Julian, who had spent his life hunting down Nazi war criminals, suddenly gives up and decides to spend the remainder of his life in a retirement home. To me, that was totally out of character for him. I would also have liked him and Sandra to have met at the end, but maybe that's just because I would have liked a "happy" ending. A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb
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Keyboard Worrier Posts: 903 Joined: Nov 2011 Thanked 22 times What I Read
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RE: Bookclub: The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves (contains spoilers) |
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Fountain of Wisdom Posts: 5,054 Joined: Aug 2010 Thanked 5 times What I Read
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RE: Bookclub: The discussion of The Scent of Lemon Leaves (contains spoilers)I did like the bit about him confusing the Brotherhood guy there, but is that really revenge? You may be right, that is all he now felt able to do. Somehow very sad. Isn't it? He followed these people and wanted revenge for what they had done and then ended up doing these little things to make them paranoid. And being old people, the paranoia somehow seemed part of their being old. A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb
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