Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, by Paul Gallico

I found this, and its three sequels, in the January book reviews section over at J.Kaye's. I recognized the title of the first book, for it was a made for TV movie starring Angela Lansbury. I love Angela Lansbury, and I loved the movie when I first saw it back in high school (and haven't seen it since, since there's no DVD).

This book was published in 1958, and a lot of the language used is very much 1950s England. Some of the customs I did not fully understand, such as the reference to the football lottery. However, as the novel progressed, I was able to overlook details such as this.

Ada Harris is a widow who makes her living as a charwoman, or as Gallico puts it, a "char." She cleans the flats in a wealthy section of London known as Belgravia. She lives very modestly, in a basement flat. Her best friend, Violet Butterfield, lives next door and is a fellow char.

Mrs. 'Arris (Gallico is very good at spelling out the Cockney accents) is cleaning the flat of the Lady Gant one morning when she starts to tidy up her wardrobe. She opens it up, and sets her eyes on the most exquisite creation she's ever seen: a red Christian Dior dress. She is so enchanted by the beauty of the dress that she resolves, that day, to own a Dior gown of her very own.

And so begins the period of scrimping, saving, and sacrificing. Mrs. 'Arris goes without her fresh cut flowers, she goes without her weekly pub visits, and even goes without her tea. (Well, she does keep some, but not as much as in the past). After nearly three years, she has enough money to buy her Dior gown.

So Mrs. 'Arris goes to Paris, thinking that the House of Dior is another department store like Marks and Spencer, or, in our country, Macy's. When her taxi cab drops her off at the famed style center, Mrs. 'Arris is a little bewildered. Where are all the racks of dresses?

At first, the employees of Dior don't know what to do with this London char who is not the typical figure to come and purchase a Dior dress. But as Ada 'Arris spends more time in Paris, they start to grow fond of her.

The relationships that Mrs. 'Arris forms with the employees is such an important part of the book, a part that transcends the original storyline. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris is about much more than the simple act of buying a couture gown. The determination of a poor London charwoman to buy something so luxurious, something that she never thought she'd possess, is really touching. But I was more moved by the compassion that the Dior employees showed this woman. This was human nature at its best.

All in all, it's a very charming book, a very quick read, but one that will stay with you for a long time afterward.

**This is the latest entry in my 100+ Reading Challenge, my 1st in a Series Challenge, and my Support Your Local Library Challenge. Get a look at my lists of books by clicking on the buttons in the sidebar!**

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

I wanted to hate this book.

In fact, I expected to hate this book.

However, after finishing it only half an hour ago, and only two hours after I had last been on my computer blogging away, I had to come back and write my review...

I friggin' LOVE this book!

I won't say that I'm a Twihard just yet, but about halfway through this book I can understand why millions of girls, and even women, are enraptured by Edward Cullen. Stephenie Meyer makes him so...seductive. So...so...well, I can't find the words to describe what I feel for Edward right now, but I truly get it now. I now understand what all the fuss is about.

I originally bought the book from BOMC2.com, eager to find out why this book has such a cult following. The teenage girls at church raved about this, and any time you get an adolescent girl to read a book that's almost 500+ pages, you know something's up.

It started off very slowly. Bella Swan had just moved to Forks, Washington, to be with her dad, Charlie, who was the chief of police. Bella moved away from Phoenix, away from her mom and her new husband, an aspiring baseball player. Meyer doesn't really fully explain the reasons behind Bella's move to Forks, after living most of her life in Phoenix. In fact, Charlie's position as police chief doesn't figure in pertinently to this novel (though I have a suspicion that it might in the sequels). Bella starts off her life at Forks High School in a state of misery, not wanting to make new friends, trying to fly as far under the radar as possible.

On her first day, she meets Edward Cullen, first in the cafeteria, then as her seatmate in biology class.

She is puzzled by Edward's behavior, not knowing why he shuns her, then is friendly to her, then shuns her again. She starts to become obsessed with Edward's behavior.

Finally, the novel starts to pick up after Bella makes a trip to Port Angeles with two of her girlfriends to buy dresses for the girls' choice dance. I started to read further, out of curiosity, now that Bella and Edward have started to fall for each other.

And then, once Bella met the rest of the Cullen family, I couldn't put it down.

I really wish I could go into more plot twists than that, but if I did, I would be afraid that I would be revealing too much. All I can say is, get a copy of the book. Read it. Drink it in. Stephenie Meyer is a wonderful author; her descriptions are incredibly vivid, her plot twists are masterful, her character development is amazing.

And now, for a trip to Borders, to secure my copy of New Moon.

***This is another post in my 100+ Reading Challenge, as well as the first post for my 1st in a Series challenge. Click on the buttons in the side bar for the latest updates!***

Kitten's 2009 1st in a Series Book Challenge

While I was over at J. Kaye's signing up for the 100+ book challenge, I found this one. I figured, since I've got Twilight on my reading list, that I may as well sign up for the "1st in a Series Challenge".

Here's the latest list, updated as of July 20, 2009:

1. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
2. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, by Paul Gallico
3. The Second Assistant, by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare
4. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
5. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

This counts towards my 100+ books...which, now that I've written this down, I need to go update my 100+ list! Later gators!