Reviews

Mano vardas - Marytė by Alvydas Šlepikas

ieva13's review against another edition

4.0

Prieš skaitydamas šią knygą nežinojau apie „vilko vaikus“, todėl buvo įdomu sužinoti daugiau.
Tikriausiai autorius nebaigė veikėjų istorijų ir neatskleidė, kas jiems nutiko, nes daugumos žmonių istorijos iš to meto liko nežinomos. Visgi, baigus skaityti knygą, labai norėjau sužinoti, kas nutiko Renatės šeimai.
Knygą skaityti buvo sunku – dažnai turėjau daryti pertraukas dėl joje aprašyto žiaurumo. Vietomis buvo sunku įsijausti į knygą dėl nuolat šokinėjančių istorijų. Nepaisant to, knyga sukėlė daug emocijų. Labai sunku įsivaizduoti, kiek daug reikėjo ištverti vaikams vien tam, kad išgyventų. Labai rekomenduoju!

Highly recommend this book - in the shadow of wolves, about german wolf children that fled to Lithuania for food and survival. It's harrowing but worth to read it.

ellavanvlo09's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

emselilly's review against another edition

4.0

I picked this book up as the only Lithuanian book I've ever seen in an English bookstore, it tells the story of the German 'wolf-children' who fled to Lithuania after the end of the second word war trying to survive.
It's a distressing read, but very well written and it's important that these children's stories are told.

astrid111's review against another edition

1.0

Help i feel bad for my extremely bad rating, but man do i find reading these sort of books so draining and confusing. 

aliceinreadingland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

lorees_reading_nook's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

4.75

“Everything rises up from the past, as if through fog …… All is distant, but not forgotten.”

This book is based on the ‘wolfskinder’ - wolf children - German children who went to Lithuania after WW2 in an attempt to survive. They did not always find kindness across the border. Many were cruelly exploited and some never saw their natural family again. It is a dark episode of European history that few people (and I was one of them) are aware of and, to this day, is a subject that both Germans and Lithuanians shy away from.

In The Shadow of Wolves is not a book about WW2. It is a book about the consequences of war and how it is always the weakest and most innocent who suffer most. Needless to say, parallels with current conflicts come to mind and the uppermost feeling I came away with is that 80 years have passed since the events described in this book, and we have learnt nothing.

Though simply written, perhaps mirroring the thoughts of Renate and her siblings whose lives we follow, this book is evocative in its delivery. INTSOW is a disquieting, harrowing and brutal read but does end on a note of hope.

“The cold was everywhere; it was in the blood. Hunger was gnawing at them from the inside like an icy fire that could not be assuaged. The children could no longer remember a time when they hadn’t been hungry.”

Actual rating: 4.7

km_jenn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

illustrated_librarian's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

3.5

thebookeer's review against another edition

4.0

"Minu nimi on Maryte" on raamat saksa perekonnast, kes on oma kodust Ida-Preisimaal pagendatud puukuuri võimule tulnud venelaste poolt. Meesliikmetelt pole enam oodata sõjast naasmist ning pere noorsandidele on pandud vastutus sõita Leetu, et suures näljahädas midagi hamba alla saada. Näljast tüdinud peretütar Renate otsustab minna sama teed, kuid leiab end hoopiski keerulistest olukordadest.
Lugu on karm, lausa halastamatu. Ma ei ole varasemalt hundilastest kuulnud ning selle raamatuga avanes minu jaoks uus maailm ning kujutan ette, et tegelikkuses on täna sarnane Vene ülemvõimu ja kohaliku rahva väljanäljutamise olud ka Ukrainas. Sellele mõtlemine tegi mind väga kurvaks ning seda enam tunnen, et raamat oli väga ehedalt kirja pandud - põhineb ta ju siiski tõestisündinud jutustusel!
Kui oled empaatiline inimene, siis see raamat arvatavasti sobib su südametunnistusele.

annetjeberg's review against another edition

4.0

Great fast read which introduced me to the Wolfskinder of Lithuania. Even more horrifying once you learn that this novel is based on true accounts of Wolfskinder, and it makes you wonder how many children (and their stories) have disappeared, and are disappearing in the shadow of conflict.

Recommended.