Pre-numbered label used for registration.

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Stone Soup is located near Damon's, in front of Centre Furnance Mansion. Come see the new selections.

07/26/2005 Removed from Stone Soup bookshelf to make room. Will be available until either wild released or traded.

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Taking to Altoona gathering.

Holding for a secondary winner in my Anniversary RABCK.
09/12/2005 sent to bookmaniac in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The book arrived in Sofia. Thanks once again for choosing me to receive an additional RABCK and mailing the book overseas.

Taking with me on vacation.

I`m really sorry that this book was sitting for so long in my TBR pile....I started to read it once but didn`t finish it. So I decided to move it along and sent it to Lisa-B who has it on her wish list.I hope she will enjoy it!

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Sent to Lisa-B in Germany.

Thanks very much, bookmaniac70, for this kind RABCK!

"Claire Messud's piercing second novel asks questions most are too fearful to face. Moving between the South of France, the East Coast of the U.S., and Algeria, The Last Life explores the weight of isolation and exile in one French family. Of course, the adjective French is already inadequate, as at least some of the LaBasses still long for the paradise lost of Algeria. And Alex LaBasse's wife, Carol, try as she might with her Continental impersonations, will always be an American sporting a metaphorical twin set. The narrator, Sagesse, too, soon finds herself equally stranded. Only her autocratic grandfather, Jacques, is ostensibly comfortable with the identity he has wrought: successful owner of the Bellevue Hotel and head of his dynasty....." from amazon

This was not an easy read, and surely a book that I won't forget. A complex story, very believable, excellent dialogues. What was irritating me however were the long passages where the narrator - who is the main protagonist some years later - states her interpretations and philosophy about what happened earlier. Instead I would have liked more of the family's past in Algeria. Nevertheless a worthwhile read!

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In der OBCZ Früchteparadies.
I left this book in the first OBCZ of Darmstadt.
The "Früchteparadies" is a fruit and vegetables neighbourhood shop, also with some Turkish foodstuffs. There is a large university in Darmstadt, with students from all over the world, so I hope an English language book will find its next reader here.

Took this book from the OBCZ Früchteparadies shelf as I think it sounds interesting (and trying to ignore my Mount to-be-read...). Thanks for releasing the book in the OBCZ!

April 4th, 2008: Great book! I don´t want to say too much as not to spoil the interesting read... starts like a nice summer tale in southern France, narrated by a teenage girl whose mother is American and father is French from Algeria, the family owning a hotel somewhere at the French Mediterranean coast. Nice read until then for a summer´s day (or a sunny spring day as I had it). And than the problems reveal. Nothing too big, nothing unbelievable, just an accumulation of possible things happening in the history of a family.
I really enjoyed the book and hope, others will as well. I even orderd a German copy of it for my mother´s birthday. And I´m sure I´ll try some other Claire Messud books... this copy is going to be released @ work at the shelf of a collegue (I think until now not knowing of Bookcrossing - I hope you like it - the book and bookcrossing!).

I enjoyed reading this book, because it is very affecting although I had to look up some words in a dictionary.Ususally I do not do that, because it is not necessary to know every word to understand the plot. But this novel is so rich in detail and intense that I wanted to understand every single word. Great powerful book

May, 27th Darmstadt,

I found this wonderful book in my personal-stuff-box on a shelf at work and was quite surprised, because nobody could tell where it came from. (By now i know) Anyway, after I finally found some time to read, i could hardly stop.
Now that i know what bookcrossing is, I registered and will send this book on it s journey.

RELEASE NOTES: I left this book in the Bowling Alley of the Cambrai Fritsch Base in Darmstadt. I am sure somebody will find it there and take this great book to read.