the_bookworm's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jhowleywells's review
funny
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hotgirlsreadlots's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
pivic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
maiireadl's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
okkkkkkk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
ladyk8ie8's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
adventuresofabookworm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emilycornell1999's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first foray into translated Italian fiction, and I really enjoyed it! I was unsure about Ginzburg's direct tone when I started reading, but I came to love its wit and humour. I found myself invested in the character's lives and the everyday occurrences they experienced. I would highly recommend!
readingrinbow's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Despite a very spare prose style, Ginzburg’s characters are very real and she writes about the experience of living through war so acutely. Reading her biography, I can’t help but think how much of what she put on page was deeply personal, even through the guise of fiction. I couldn’t put this down and despite myself felt drawn to characters both main and peripheral as they struggled to make sense of their lives and push forward with the growing uncertainty and anxieties of war. Ginzburg displays that very human impulse to comfort and self delude so well here and with little judgment.
By the end of the story, the end of the war presents the weary survivors with the chance to remake the world and they look to it with bittersweet bewilderment. Their courage certainly had been acquired little by little, hard won and tested in the fire of inhuman acts of war.