The Kites

The Kites by Romain Gary
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The book start was quite promising - a boy from slightly extravagant family, a girl with an aristocratic air, lots of charm and a very capricious love.
And this was the end of the story. I am not joking, the story ended.
So what is going on for next almost 300 pages?
I have a problem to define it, basically there are some considerations about grandeur of France, which revolve around one object - a 3 star Michelin restaurant in Northern Normandy, the rest are just frills.
There are dozens mentions about French Resistance, many casualties listed, but there is no supporting story, just a name of a person executed by Germans.
Quite substantial part of the book relates to attitude of old Prussian aristocracy to Hitler, for me this was the a quite painful joke. I can hardly believe, that the author, with his Jewish-Polish background, could seriously discuss such an issue.
So, most than half of the book was upsetting for me.
So why I gave it any star at all?
Just appreciation of authors style and consistency.

View all my reviews