Book 15 – “The House I Loved” by Tatiana de Rosnay

In the mid nineteenth century central Paris was rebuilt to the planned and beautiful city we know today but that involved the destruction of the ancient houses and streets thathad existed for centuries. Tatiana de Rosnay’s book The House I Loved is the story of Rose who owns a house scheduled for demolition and who is determined not to leave the place where she lived with her beloved husband.

This is a short novel but it is beautifully crafted. The author introduces us to the other people who live around Rose and who are also affected by the demolition and rebuilding plans. As more and more people leave the area is inhabited only by misfits and those with nowhere to go. Rose has many friends and has lived a fulfilled life as a widow but that life is now over for them all.

Rose also reminisces about the house and her married life there. The story is written as a series of letters from Rose to her dead husband where she celebrates their life together but also shares with him things that he didn’t know in life. She loves the beauty of the area and resents the planned nature of what is proposed but she had also promised her husband that she would look after the house and is determined to honour that promise.

A short but rewarding read.