emmasophierund's review against another edition
3.0
A wonderfully different look on Germany post WWII. I loved the wide range of experiences she touches on. That being said, it seems like it’s a fictionalization non-fiction, and I’m not quite sure why she didn’t just write a nonfiction book. I almost wonder if it is kind of nonfiction but she fictionalized it to protect privacy? Idk.
jennms_qkw's review against another edition
4.0
This is a little more literary than I usually read. The author is first person as The Visitor, conducting a series of interviews on summer in Berlin. There is not a lot to connect the stories on the surface and it is a bit disjointed. Apparently, there was an East German-Cuban connection - that is one common theme connecting many of the stories. Of course the post WW2 fallout is another. So it was like peeking in a bunch of living rooms or sitting next to someone in a bar and overhearing the stories.
I chose this book because it was featured at the MillCreek Library. Additionally, I like to group books. A history set in Berlin. A biography partially set in Berlin. A fiction involving Berlin. Etc. (I don't do this all the time, but sometimes). Also I rely on featured books at MillCreek a lot too.
Overall, this book showed me a new part of Berlin I was clueless about. Filled in some pieces and gave me a more comprehensive view of the city and the events that happened there.
I chose this book because it was featured at the MillCreek Library. Additionally, I like to group books. A history set in Berlin. A biography partially set in Berlin. A fiction involving Berlin. Etc. (I don't do this all the time, but sometimes). Also I rely on featured books at MillCreek a lot too.
Overall, this book showed me a new part of Berlin I was clueless about. Filled in some pieces and gave me a more comprehensive view of the city and the events that happened there.
nickknack's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5 - The short stories felt very abrupt and jerky. The characters kind of bled together and I had a hard time distinguishing a unique voice for each. I really enjoyed the setting and themes though.
anneliesb's review against another edition
What I liked:
-The language. Cristina Garcia has a very pleasant style and the German words and phrases thrown in gave the text a nice couleur locale.
-The setting. It's been a few years since I was last in Berlin and it felt like a little visit there.
-It is good to be aware that for a lot of ordinary German people the war wasn't much fun either, not to mention the aftermath.
What I didn't like:
-The construction. The book consists of almost 40 chapters. Each chapter tells the story of one person. These chapters are so short, they're more vignettes than short stories. This makes that you don't have enough time and information to get involved or interested in the characters. Some of the characters show up in each other's chapters, but since it is all so fleeting, I couldn't be bothered to pay special attention to this.
-It felt like the chapters were all pitches for possible future novels, just ideas for what could potentially become interesting novels.
-It's fiction. The whole thing would be more interesting if it were actual historical accounts. I felt that these are the type of stories you don't need to make up, especially if you're not going to elaborate on them.
What I didn't get:
-The narrator. The stories are gathered by 'The Visitor' who makes a point of not being named. I didn't see the point of this secrecy. The Visitor barely plays a part other than listening to the stories , yet we do get some glimpses of her private life and daughter.
I'm not star-rating this one, because it doesn't feel like a high rating, yet I guess a low rating would be unfair in some way. Maybe I just don't get it despite the notes provided by Cristina Garcia and Pagehabit.
-The language. Cristina Garcia has a very pleasant style and the German words and phrases thrown in gave the text a nice couleur locale.
-The setting. It's been a few years since I was last in Berlin and it felt like a little visit there.
-It is good to be aware that for a lot of ordinary German people the war wasn't much fun either, not to mention the aftermath.
What I didn't like:
-The construction. The book consists of almost 40 chapters. Each chapter tells the story of one person. These chapters are so short, they're more vignettes than short stories. This makes that you don't have enough time and information to get involved or interested in the characters. Some of the characters show up in each other's chapters, but since it is all so fleeting, I couldn't be bothered to pay special attention to this.
-It felt like the chapters were all pitches for possible future novels, just ideas for what could potentially become interesting novels.
-It's fiction. The whole thing would be more interesting if it were actual historical accounts. I felt that these are the type of stories you don't need to make up, especially if you're not going to elaborate on them.
What I didn't get:
-The narrator. The stories are gathered by 'The Visitor' who makes a point of not being named. I didn't see the point of this secrecy. The Visitor barely plays a part other than listening to the stories , yet we do get some glimpses of her private life and daughter.
I'm not star-rating this one, because it doesn't feel like a high rating, yet I guess a low rating would be unfair in some way. Maybe I just don't get it despite the notes provided by Cristina Garcia and Pagehabit.
kbuchanan's review against another edition
3.0
While Garcia's considerable beauty of style is still on display here, I'm not sure that this milieu serves her quite as well as the longer-form novel. Though still deemed a "novel," this work is more like a string of tiny vignettes strung together loosely by the concept that all of these stories are being told to a "visitor" to Berlin. While some of these are lovely little well-constructed jewels, some feel too rushed to ever really develop, and I found myself missing the rich magical realism present in Garcia's other novels. Some of this may also be my own bias, as I feel that the field of literary fiction is so saturated by WWII material that I was hoping for something a bit different from this. Beautiful writing; subject matter I feel like I've seen before.
sweetpealsd's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It provided a good look at how everyone sees the same event differently and only when you put all accounts together do you get an accurate picture of what happened. In this case how people in Berlin perceived WWII. I tend to dislike books that switch POV often but I really enjoyed the different voices given to the characters.
onecrab's review against another edition
3.0
I seem to be reading books regarding WWII lately. An enjoyable collection of stories. But best book of 2017? Hm. http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20171213-the-10-best-books-of-2017
kgoody's review against another edition
5.0
Quick read of interesting stories from East Berliners. The stories were written without being very sad or awful, but when I try to explain them to someone, they sound upsetting.