lails_x's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
susana82's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
One expects to read some dreadful things in a book like this. And I did. I mean: WWII, Jewish Ghetto, death camps, you name it... You know this is not a happy story. It is a story of horror, about monsters, about lack of empathy, about death. But it is also a story about perseverance, will, and life. I was expecting to have my heart totally torned apart, but the story wasn't moving for me to that point. Many things that are happening are described in such an analytic manner for me, that I ended up not relating enough with the characters, although I wanted. It is very obvious all of the research behind this book, which is very commendable, but the way the story was written makes it look like an essay, or a published work, at times. I did enjoy the plot, and I like some of the characters, and more importantly, I enjoyed their relationships. I also liked the going back and forth with the characters. This sort of story always makes me feel sad, of course. The amount of harm and evilness that happened those days, the amount of suffering people endured (Jews, soldiers, poor folk, families sending their young men to war, etc.) it is something I try to imagine, but it goes beyond my imagination. I never ever experienced anything like this, no war, no real hunger, no real cold, no persecution. And for this reason, I always find myself thinking how lucky I am, how grateful I should be. And I also wonder what I would have done if I lived in that period, what would have been my point of view. Would I have been against the Nazi ideology? Would I be helping secretly persecuted people? Would I have been afraid and side with the "bad guys"? One likes to think "If it was me, I would have done better, I would have been good", but would we? Would we be better, and good? It makes you think. Or at least, it should.
More...