Beginning ~ with a strange, ominous rumble

The House I Loved ~ by Tatiana de Rosnay, 2012, fiction (France)

My Beloved,
I can hear them coming up our street.  It is a strange, ominous rumble.  Thuds and blows.  The floor aquiver under my feet.

Here's a synopsis of the novel.

Paris, France: 1860's.  Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, moulding it into a "modern city." The reforms will erase generations of history—but in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.  Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home until the very end; as others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer and closer each day. Attempting to overcome the loneliness of her daily life, she begins to write letters to Armand, her beloved late husband. And as she delves into the ritual of remembering, Rose is forced to come to terms with a secret that has been buried deep in her heart for thirty years. This story is an ode to Paris, where houses harbor the joys and sorrows of their inhabitants, and secrets endure in the very walls.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.