Clara by Kurt Palka

Finished the book

This book's main characters are Germans stuck in Nazi Germany. On page 331, the modern day Clara says, "There is no explaining those things. An explanation would come close to justification, but there must never be one." She is referring to the horrific events of war and the Nazi's racial purification,

I am not highly recommending this book. I found the technological rants and the jumping back and forth in time tedious. They did not assist in making the plot line easy to follow. Maybe this book is your cup of tea but it is not mine.

Clara by Kurt Palka

Currently on pg. 328, chapter 33

Okay I have only 37 more pages to go. Now I have to finish the book. I am too close to call it quits now. On page 232, Palka refers to the documents that Clara had written and saved over the years, "She thought of them as useful for anyone who cared to find out how small fires ignored became infernos." This sentence really captures the story. Albert, Clara's husband, was a Colonel in Hitler's army. The book shows a human side to the Germans living in Austria and Germany during the time of Hitler's reign.

Clara by Kurt Palka

Currently on pg. 199, chapter 20

So, I am reading chapter 15 just cruising along when I read the word satellite and then cell phone. 'What? I guess we aren't still in the 1930's anymore.' I paged back a bit and tried to determined when Palka jumped to the present. 'Oh, forget it. I am going to just keep on reading.'

Clara by Kurt Palka

Currently on pg. 150, chapter 14

Now Palka is going into great detail about the tanks of the 1930's. I do not find this subject matter interesting. When he writes about the stuff that I care about like Albert having to travel from Germany with a foraged passport to see Clara in Austria, he spends little time. At this point Austria is still trying to resist Hitler and the Nazi's.

Clara by Kurt Palka

Currently on pg. 128, chapter 12

With 237 more pages to go, I am fairly certain that I will not be finishing this book. Last night I read the LUSH handmade cosmetic catalog instead of picking up this book. The story-line is hard to follow. I find Clara's life at college (who is lecturing and what is being taught) tedious. Perhaps this book is aimed at the psychology enthusiast. I will hang in there until the book I ordered from Amazon arrives.

Clara by Kurt Palka

Interest Level: Adult
Reading Level: Unknown

Genre: Historical Fiction

Currently on pg. 48, chapter 6

Yeah! Look at me reading a book written for adults as opposed to young adult literature. This story is set in the 1930's during the prelude to World War II. As of now, I am still trying to get all the characters straight. The jump back from present day to the 1930's was a bit hard to follow but I think I am caught up.

On page 18, Clara, a college student in Vienna, listens to a lecture on Thrownness (a philosophy referring to the circumstances that characterize a person's existence that are beyond the person's control) given by German philosopher Martin Heidegger. At some point in the lecture, Heidegger shares that "At the moment of birth, ... Life is an involuntary leap into existence, and by the time you are conscious, you know that all this is rather pointless and will end in oblivion. There is no other possibility. So why not just wait and enjoy the fall. There must be something interesting along the way. The view, perhaps. The flowers passing, designs in the rock-face as you fall. A kiss from some stranger. ... Knowing that may help. Help with what? Well, with making a game out of it. A game. Something to take your mind off the inherent randomness and pointlessness of the entire thing itself. A project, a coming-to-yourself, being in control of yourself as you plunge, which is the only way to survive. We must live as if life mattered, so to speak." I am unsure if I find this statement comforting or just interesting.

That Girl Lucy Moon by Amy Timberlake

Finished the book

SPOILER ALERT! - We have a Disney ending. They all live happily ever after. The sledding hill gets donated to the city. Lucy's mom comes home and asks for Lucy's forgiveness. Lucy and Sam tell each other that they "like" each other. Lucy and Zoe remain best friends. After a collective sigh, we return the book to the public library.

I recommend it.

That Girl Lucy Moon by Amy Timberlake

Currently on pg. 214, chapter 17

Do you like a book that makes you cry? If you do, this is the book for you. When Lucy's mom talks to her on the phone, she tells her that she "couldn't be a Mom this Christmas;" and Lucy's campaign to save the town's sledding hill lands her in trouble. Between community service, school, and homework, Lucy finds it easy to avoid her father and friends. She decides she doesn't "need anyone - a good bed and lots of homework serve(s) her just fine."

Now her community service has changed from cleaning to helping at the Grundhoffer House, which it appears is a museum containing the town's history. I am hoping that things are starting to look up for Lucy Moon.