kathischm's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Child abuse
andrew61's review
5.0
This small novella is a remarkable read on two levels, a domestic story about the tyrany of a brutal patriarch, but also as a metaphor for the German experience.
The story is about a mother and her two children, narrated by the older daughter, they wait expectantly for the return of their father and the announcement of his promotion. The mother is cooking a meal of mussels and fried potatoes, the mussels are both a feast but also in their preparation a horror.
As the family sit around the table their father fails to arrive and in their chatter we slowly find out what hides behind the closed doors and apparent respectability.
I devoured this book and put it down as if having feasted on the wonderfully told story but similarly disgusted by looking under the stone of hidden domestic abuse and for a book written pre fall of the wall the image of a paternalistic and oppressive state.
The story is about a mother and her two children, narrated by the older daughter, they wait expectantly for the return of their father and the announcement of his promotion. The mother is cooking a meal of mussels and fried potatoes, the mussels are both a feast but also in their preparation a horror.
As the family sit around the table their father fails to arrive and in their chatter we slowly find out what hides behind the closed doors and apparent respectability.
I devoured this book and put it down as if having feasted on the wonderfully told story but similarly disgusted by looking under the stone of hidden domestic abuse and for a book written pre fall of the wall the image of a paternalistic and oppressive state.
anaurrutia's review against another edition
4.0
Un ejemplo puro de machismo cotidiano en una familia "verdadera" jaja. Estoy segura que más de uno y una se verán aquí identificados. Es un libro de una sentada, con un estilo pueril y en el que la repetición juega funciones interesantes. Me gustó bastante.
1librarianspath's review
5.0
My heart is beating quite fast after finishing this book. Let me be clear though, nothing happens (and that isn’t a spoiler - it says it in the blurb). The book takes place over a 3-4 hour period. A family sits at a table waiting for the father to come home and the daughter’s memories flow like a tide coming in. The repetition of her inner thoughts allow little bits more of their history to be discovered, before running back and reiterating key points, then we travel a bit further, and a bit further. Initially I thought this prosaic tide was beautiful, then irritating, then genius and tense. A fantastic book, yet again, from Peirene Press.
nawij's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
liesunddas's review against another edition
2.0
Leider nicht meins... Die Kritik am Patriarchat fand ich zwar sehr treffend, aber der Schreibstil und Aufbau (keine Absätze und kapitel) haben es mir schwer gemacht...
alexandravp's review against another edition
5.0
“De fet, mai no vaig arribar a conèixer ningú que tingués una vertadera família.”
Un llibre que no et deixa indiferent, que parla d’una família però també de l’Alemania de l’època.
“Molts dies la meva mare havia d’emmotllar-se més d’una vegada, i per a cada situació tenia una cara diferent.”
No paro de donar-li voltes a "una condició necessària, però no suficient."
Un llibre que no et deixa indiferent, que parla d’una família però també de l’Alemania de l’època.
“Molts dies la meva mare havia d’emmotllar-se més d’una vegada, i per a cada situació tenia una cara diferent.”
No paro de donar-li voltes a "una condició necessària, però no suficient."