It truly is luminous! (The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite - Beatrice Colin)

Member Name: xKatieeex

Product:	The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite - Beatrice Colin
Date:	10/11/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story, amazing history.

Disadvantages: None!

I purchased this book purely by chance, it was one of my recommended titles on Amazon and I thought the front cover looked really interesting. This is also a book recommended by the Richard and Judy Book Club.

This book is also published by another publisher and under a different name (Glimmer Palace) which I found out when I ordered it from Amazon thinking it was another book by Beatrice Colin, but when I started reading it, I had some strong feelings of deja vu. Just a little warning!

.::The plot::.

The book follows the a young girl called Lilly Nelly Aphrodite who is in an orphanage in Berlin, we stay with her throughout her life and through all the struggles she has to fight through. The story starts in pre-war Germany and we learn all about the the wars and the effect it had on Germany.

Lilly meets many people and is involved in many professions in an attempt to survive in Germany. It's a really interesting story; full of ups and downs, love and heartbreak, life and death.

.::The Chapters::.

At the start of each chapter, there are black and white postcards showing different things such as movie stars from the past and places in Germany. I really enjoyed these and thought it really added to the book. It helped take you back to that period in time and made you think about these people's lives and what they had to go through. It added to the whole atmosphere of the book.

At the back of the book is an index of the pictures telling you what they are, which is really interesting to find out.

Also at the start of each chapter was a little excerpt to do with the pictures. It wasn't really related to the story, but it gave an insight into the past world and people's lives.

.::Characters::.

Lilly - She is the main character in the book, the person's life we're following. A lot of tragedies happen to her, but she never really lets it get her down. Her attitude to life feels to me as though it represents a lot of people's during the wars. Just to get on with life and deal with things as they come and do whatever you can to stay afloat. I found her quite easy to relate to, especially because we knew her from such a young age. It was amazing to see her grow from a young, immature child to a grown-up woman who is able to look after her.

Hanne - She is Lilly's best friend who seems to drift in and out her life. To me, she seemed quite a bad influence although she did give Lilly ideas on how to get bye when times were tough but then she also leaves her in the lurch often. She seems selfish and like a bit of a hussy!

Other characters include Eva - a lesbian who manipulates people to her liking, Stefan - Lilly's first love, Ilya - Lilly's true love.

There are many other characters in the book that are often only have a fleeting appearance in the book. This can often seem pointless, but I think they represent the fragility of life back in those times - how easy it was to see someone one day and the next day for them to be gone.

.::Writing Style::.

It is written in third person, which enables the reader to see all aspects of Lilly's life. Even though there is little dialogue, we're still able to pick up on thoughts and emotions of the characters. Beatrice Colin is able to make such a huge impact in a few sentences with her writing. It is so easy to get completely lost in this story, it's so beautiful but so tragic.

There is quite a lot of information about the wars and although I do know about the first and second world wars, I'd never seen it from the point of view of those who were under the rule of the Nazi party. It was really interesting to see how much it actually affected them. I never realised how horrible life actually was in Germany and I know that's such a naive, ignorant idea.

I think there is a good a balance between the actual story and the facts of life then. It helps you get more involved in the story to learn more about the different aspects of things such as the war and the film industry. I found it really interesting and I felt it helped me enjoy the book.

I also found there was a good balance between the different sections of her life. A good amount of pages was dedicated to each stage in her life and it moved easily from her childhood to her growing up.

The novel is based on things that actual happened, although all the characters, events and films are made up.

.::Statistics::.

The book has 400 pages and costs £7.99. It's published by John Murray.

.::Overall::.

It's a great book and a real page turner. It's full of information that will shock you and events that'll break your heart. You find yourself getting taken back to the early 1900s and getting involved in life then. It's a truly amazing story and I would recommend it to everyone.

Summary: A beautiful story about a tragic life.