Reviews

Als Deutschschülerin, ich fand dieses Buch ein bisschen oben mein Niveau (B2.1/B.2). Die Vokabeln war überraschend vielfältig, und das bedeutet, dass ich viele Zeit mit meinem Wörterbuch verbringen musste. Deshalb läuft die Geschichte für mich nicht. Andererseits war die Geschichte wirklich toll, sehr spannend. Ich wünsche mir, dass ich darauf gewartet hätte, um dieses Buch zu lesen. Dann würde es mehr Spaß machen.

mat_tobin's review against another edition

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5.0

This is such a quick read and one that I adored from the get go. Kastner's story, written in 1931 has been translated from German with no loss in character or excitement. Emil is a wonderful, headstrong yet level-headed character who you cannot but help love (almost as much as his cousin, Pony). It is a very simple story of the young boy on a train heading to deliver some saving to his grandmother in Berlin. Whilst on the train he is robbed and spends the remainder of the book tracking down and attempting to bring the thief to justice.
What I find interesting is that both he and Hitler were drafted into the First World War yet the event would lead to Kastner becoming a pacifist and committed to anti-war movements unlike Hitler. When Hitler came to power, Kastner's stories were labelled 'contrary to the German spirit' and burned in public by the Nazis. (taken from the back of the book).

shonaholmes's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

3.5

Sehr lustig!

lady_mair's review against another edition

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5.0

Read/translated this book in its original language for German III class. It was a delightful challenge. My teacher (German native) brought history and backstory to bear on the novel that made the story come more alive.
Worth a read, for sure, especially in the original German.