Review: Poignantly written...brought reality vividly to life
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 25, 2013
THE RIVIERA IS BURNING is a poignantly written memoir that pulled me emotionally into an experience that I hope to never encounter. If I do, however, my read of this memoir has me better prepared to cope with not just the ordeal itself but, more so, for the emotional impact that will most assuredly occur.Ms. Edelheit titillated me initially with a picturesque view of their 1950's villa and gardens set in The Riviera - I wanted to be there. When the fire erupted in the Esterel Mountain Range above them, however, her descriptions of water-carrying planes, `rainy fire,' coastal road traffic snarls and pervasive smoke brought reality vividly to life.Throughout my read, I smelled the fire and tasted the fear - especially when the smoke filtered through minute cracks in the windows, under the door and into the house.  I became emotional, caught up in the author's indecisiveness: to evacuate or not. The author made it clear that either choice involved attempts to discern a safe answer from "the unanswerable." Even when a choice was made, evacuating brought on its own brand of fear - more of the unknown as to which direction was the safe one.Ms. Edelheit described the experience as, "a rat's nest of fear-driven chaos." She weaves her words masterfully, which enlivened my own senses throughout my read.