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cheryl6of8's review against another edition
3.0
I have a hard time summing this one up. Heavy topic --the disappearances that occurred under the different military regimes that governed Argentina in the 50s and 60s. Add to that father-son conflict based on intellectual vs blue collar views of life, and a man who lives on the fringes of the fringe of society. Plus the silent undercurrent of the Holocaust. Not a happy book - although that is made obvious at the beginning when the protagonist is named Kaddish (the Jewish prayer of mourning).
The story was both compelling and off-putting, and the characters were ones you are both attracted to and repulsed by. And you are able to understand perfectly why the characters take up the stubborn positions they do even while wanting to smack them for holding on to them. Those conflicting thoughts are appropriate since the book is about the fog of paradox that the characters (including Argentina itself) live in.
The story was both compelling and off-putting, and the characters were ones you are both attracted to and repulsed by. And you are able to understand perfectly why the characters take up the stubborn positions they do even while wanting to smack them for holding on to them. Those conflicting thoughts are appropriate since the book is about the fog of paradox that the characters (including Argentina itself) live in.
schadenfreudes's review against another edition
4.0
This book is very heartbreaking. It means so much to me, as Indonesian, we do have a similar tragedy that happened back in 1965. It was a genocide of our own because of junta military.
msjoanna's review against another edition
2.0
Another reviewer said that this book is less than the sum of its parts, and that's about the best description I can come up with for this jumbled novel. I've enjoyed the short stories by this author and I think this is the author's strength--cool ideas, quirky scenes, humor tinged with seriousness. In this novel, select scenes would have been great short stories, but they didn't string together into a satisfying whole.
The book tells the story of a Jewish family in Argentina during the "dirty war" where there's a change in government. During the first half of the book, this read as a light, sort of crazy book with scenes like a debt being repaid through a dubious rhinoplasty. But then, the book takes a dark turn when the family's son is taken by government police and disappears. Circulating through various police stations and government offices (including the titular Ministry of Special Cases), the parents search for their son, search for answers, and question everything. The seriousness and gut-wrenching reality of this never penetrated though because of the continuing unreality of the characters and the slightly jokey tone of the beginning of the book.
The narrator for the audiobook was fine, but not memorable. I think the format of this book probably works better as text than audiobook, but maybe my dissatisfaction is just that I didn't like the book much.
I think I'll wait for this author to write more short stories. I highly recommend his collections--[b:What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank|12233866|What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank|Nathan Englander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333577294l/12233866._SY75_.jpg|17207709] and [b:For the Relief of Unbearable Urges|29788|For the Relief of Unbearable Urges|Nathan Englander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236876l/29788._SY75_.jpg|80586].
The book tells the story of a Jewish family in Argentina during the "dirty war" where there's a change in government. During the first half of the book, this read as a light, sort of crazy book with scenes like a debt being repaid through a dubious rhinoplasty. But then, the book takes a dark turn when the family's son is taken by government police and disappears. Circulating through various police stations and government offices (including the titular Ministry of Special Cases), the parents search for their son, search for answers, and question everything. The seriousness and gut-wrenching reality of this never penetrated though because of the continuing unreality of the characters and the slightly jokey tone of the beginning of the book.
The narrator for the audiobook was fine, but not memorable. I think the format of this book probably works better as text than audiobook, but maybe my dissatisfaction is just that I didn't like the book much.
I think I'll wait for this author to write more short stories. I highly recommend his collections--[b:What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank|12233866|What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank|Nathan Englander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333577294l/12233866._SY75_.jpg|17207709] and [b:For the Relief of Unbearable Urges|29788|For the Relief of Unbearable Urges|Nathan Englander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388236876l/29788._SY75_.jpg|80586].
adamvolle's review against another edition
5.0
A personal favorite for its unique combination of humor and melancholy.
lindsey2020's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mgreer56's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.25
wordnerdy's review against another edition
3.0
This novel, about a Jewish family in Argentina during all the crappy political unrest of the 1970s, has been garnering a ton of rave reviews. I was all excited to read it . . . and then I couldn't get into it at all. Seriously, it starts all in media res going on about Jewish cemetaries and things. It did pick up after that, but just as I'd get into it, it would start to drag again. And we're talking about a story involving the disappeared! But the problem is, there's so much bureaucracy and corruption in the book . . . it's easy to feel the frustration of the protagonists, b/c I as a reader was frustrated reading it. The ending was appropriate but I just can't give this book above a B.
neilfein's review against another edition
2.0
The story of Kaddish Poznan, a Jew living in Argentina during the Peron years, Mr. Englander's first novel follows his wonderful debut, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges. Uncertainty, dictatorship, and persecution are to be expected in such a setting, but the author chooses to focus further on the themes of class rivalry and government-sponsored kidnapping that none dare question or even acknowledge.
The Poznan family is, in typical Englander fashion, a complex of unshared obligation, interdependent rebellion, and guilty familial affection. Unlike previous Englander characters, the Poznans are not particularly observant. Another new theme for the author is the relentlessly useless bureaucracy of Peronista Argentina.
The Ministry of Special Cases is less focused than the short fiction that preceded it, but that's to be expected. It's not as easy of a read as his previous work, nor is it as thoughtful. But these comparisons diminish the achievement of this debut novel, since they're more of a comment on For the Relief of Unbearable Urges than on this book. Mr. Englander has produced a worthwhile and thoughtful addition to the body of literature that includes the Jewish narrative.
The Poznan family is, in typical Englander fashion, a complex of unshared obligation, interdependent rebellion, and guilty familial affection. Unlike previous Englander characters, the Poznans are not particularly observant. Another new theme for the author is the relentlessly useless bureaucracy of Peronista Argentina.
The Ministry of Special Cases is less focused than the short fiction that preceded it, but that's to be expected. It's not as easy of a read as his previous work, nor is it as thoughtful. But these comparisons diminish the achievement of this debut novel, since they're more of a comment on For the Relief of Unbearable Urges than on this book. Mr. Englander has produced a worthwhile and thoughtful addition to the body of literature that includes the Jewish narrative.