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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

World War II

The castle stole the show: Review of Tangled Ashes by Michele Phoenix

October 10, 2012

I have a thing for castles. Maybe it was the college semester I spent here or all the fairytales I read as a kid. Whatever the reason, I like castles and manor houses and vicariously traveling to places I might not see for a very long time, if ever.

In Tangled Ashes, author Michele Phoenix takes us on a trip to northern France–Lamorlaye, to be exact–where a Renaissance-era castle is in need of renovations. A wealthy British entrepreneur has plans to turn the aging château into a hotel, and American architect Marshall “Beck” Becker is the man for the job.

Beck is an interesting character who brings with him more baggage than would fit on a jumbo jet. We know he’s battling some demons from the past and his chosen weapon is alcohol. A brilliant and talented artist and architect, Beck’s personal life cripples his professional life. Entering into the mix is Jade, the nanny of the castle owner’s children. She consistently lets Beck have a piece of her mind and challenges his beliefs about his past and his present coping methods. Woven into the present-day story is the account of two young girls working at a Nazi-occupied manor near the castle in the 1940s, toward the latter end of World War II. The stories converge as secrets are uncovered.

Tangled Ashes was an enjoyable read, though I was slightly disappointed by the ending. I’m a happy ending, tie-it-all-up-with-a-pretty-bow kind of girl, most of the time, and that’s not exactly how this book ends. It’s appropriate for this story, though, because Beck is battling an alcohol addiction, and from what I’ve learned about addiction, there’s nothing pretty or tidy about it. So to end the book in any other way would have been misleading and unrealistic. Along those same lines, Beck disappointed me in his many failings. You want to root for the guy, but he’s so messed up, he fails again and again. I wanted to give up on him. Maybe that says something about my expectations for people. Thank God, He doesn’t give up on us, and Beck heads toward that conclusion as he’s confronted with the God he’s been trying to cut out of his life.

I had a minor issue with Beck’s spiritual transformation as the author implied that the traditions of the liturgical church were inadequate for bringing about change and true spirituality. I don’t know if it was intentional or a byproduct of her involvement with an evangelical church her parents helped found in Lamorlaye, but it didn’t sit well with me. I would hate for someone to walk away from this book thinking the ancient Christian traditions and liturgies were useless. I have been learning otherwise, of late, but that’s a different story for another day.

Jade has her own issues, but she’s a good complement to Beck’s brash and aggressive behavior. The castle, however, is the star, and I have a feeling that words and pictures don’t do it justice. At least, not in its heyday. View Phoenix’s photo album here. The castle could use some love. Makes me wish I had lots of money and a good reason to move to France.

Overall, I liked the book. Phoenix grew up in France, in the shadow of the Lamorlaye castle, and I’m glad she took the time and effort to write a story that shares her experience in that part of the world.

Check out the first chapter here.

—————————–

In exchange for my review, I received a free copy of Tangled Ashes from the publisher.

Filed Under: Fiction, The Weekly Read Tagged With: addiction, alocholism, architecture, castle renovation, history, lamorlaye castle, new fiction, occupied france, travel, World War II

Saturday smiles: birthday edition

May 5, 2012

Now that I have your attention … welcome to the birthday edition of Saturday Smiles. It’s been a great two days. Here are some of the highlights.

This is my cake. Boston Cream Pie. Homemade. From scratch. By my husband.

I’ll let that sink in for a minute. I mean, he used cake flour and everything to bake the cake, and he made pudding from scratch. I am so impressed. By the way it was tasty. Isabelle even licked her plate. I didn’t get a picture of that.

We do have a picture of this.

Flattering, I know. What’s funnier is after all that effort I appear to be putting in to blowing out ONE candle on the cake, it remained lit. I was too far away. Or so my husband said. I leaned in and gave it another try. Nevermind that our son nearly blew it out before the family started singing. Good thing there was only one candle and not significantly more.

I commissioned my own homemade cards from the kids yesterday. They used “project paper” — Corban’s term for construction paper — and scissors and pens. Isabelle cut and folded. Corban stuck stickers on and scribbled. I was not allowed to be in the room while they worked but I did hear Isabelle composing her messages out loud. It sounded something like this:

“Dear Mommy, I love you as much as you love me. You make me sooooo happy. Love, Izzy and Corban.”

Heart melted? Check.

Later her cards contained messages of concern: “Who will help you celebrate your party? Who will say ‘happy birthday’?”

Though it was a small, private party, I did receive lots of love in the mail and from a couple of visitors who dropped by with gifts and cards. It’s nice to be remembered on your birthday.

By sheer coincidence, I got to share my birthday with the entirety of the kids’ storytime group. The theme was birthdays, and when the leader asked if anyone had a birthday recently, Isabelle piped up: “My mommy does!” I think one of the cutest things was another little 4-year-old girl telling me “Happy Birthday.” The kids made “cakes” out of homemade modeling dough for the craft. They brought it home and haven’t stopped making cakes.

Corban can be very serious about his art. He was singing “Happy birthday” until I turned the video camera on. (Of course.)

Today, we went to a book sale at the library and came home with a box full of books and a good deal on the HBO World War II series DVD of “The Pacific.”

One of the best things about birthdays in the Bartelt family is getting to choose all your meals for the day and having someone else prepare them. At least, it’s the best for me. Even though I like to cook, I appreciate a break now and then.

We started the day with these yummy yogurt parfaits and eggs Benedict. The kids were happy to help with the fruit and granola.

Pay no attention to the girl licking her fingers while dishing out the yogurt. It was a mess and it was totally worth it. We may not be too many years from the kids making breakfast. I offered to let Isabelle make me coffee but she wasn’t interested. She’s watched me do it enough times, she probably could.

These were the things that made me smile most this week, in addition to my husband finishing his seminary coursework. We’re one week from graduation. (Can you guess what I’ll be smiling about next week?)

Here are a few more smile moments from the week, in picture form.

Both kids got new bike helmets this week, Isabelle because she needed one and Corban because he may not necessarily need it yet but he likes to do what his sister does. He loved the helmet so much, he wore it around the house. Reading can be dangerous, I guess, so make sure you wear a helmet!

And the kids have taken a liking to marching with sticks. Phil and I agree: they remind us of Hobbits. I hope no one mistakes our house for an on-location filming of any Hobbit-related movies.

Thanks for reading! I hope your smiles are as big as the supermoon I’m seeing out my window right now!

Filed Under: Children & motherhood, food, holidays, Saturday smiles Tagged With: bicycle helmets for kids, birthday celebrations, boston cream pie, cooking with kids, graduation, hobbit, homemade birthday cards, homemade modeling dough, The Pacific, used book sale, World War II, yogurt parfait

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Photo by Rachel Lynn Photography

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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