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It took me a long time to listen to this book on audio and it is not that long of a book. I had a little trouble getting into it. In fact for the first half of the book I was thinking I did not like it. The author spent a long time developing the characters which were not likable people at first. Everyone in the novel seemed to be failing and unhappy. But I had chosen the book because of it's unique concept of a book that revolved around a short story and I am so glad that I stuck with it. The second half of the book made wading through the first half completely worth it. And by the end I appreciated and liked all the characters. The book is about a group of friends who went to college together and kept in touch and are now thirty years old. They each are floundering in their specific situations. While attending a wedding of one of the old college friends, one of the guests, who is very depressed, is given the gift of a story by the mother of the groom who then dies shortly after the wedding. What follows is a trip to Normandy by the three main characters to find the truth of the story the women told along with the blending in of a famous short story called "The Necklace". Not only does literature play a part in the plot of the book but so does jewelry. The entire point of the book is summed up in a quote that is used toward the end of the novel:
"One sometimes weeps over one's illusions with as much bitterness as over a death."
~ Guy De Maupassant
The book is very much about coming to grips with the dissolving of one's illusions and expectations of life and embracing the reality of how life really is. It is a story about finally growing up. While it is not a novel that I would suggest to every one I know to read, it is a novel that I would recommend to reading groups due to the discussion that would springboard from the book. I would also recommend it to the more serious readers in my circle of friends. I would not recommend it to my friends who prefer fluff books.
Please click on the title and author's name above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.
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