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jo961blue's review against another edition
5.0
I don't give many 5/5s but this really deserves it. It is such a quiet book, quick to read, but like the cooking of the meal it describes, it is savoured for it's perfection. It is full of understated emotion and detail. I was there with my fingers frozen, my lungs full of smoke, tasting salami and wondering how to prevent my friend's son from taking up smoking.
kahn_johnson's review against another edition
3.0
This is a much-loved book it seems, garnering much praise and plaudits here on Goodreads.
Which could mean I'm missing something.
Telling the tale of three German soldiers who, in trying to get out of doing a terrible task, volunteer for a slightly less terrible task, A Meal In Winter is light on pages and character development.
Neither of which make it a bad book, but it's lack of substance and depth means the weightier themes get a little lost.
It's not a bad book, sure, and it does provoke much thought. It's a book about humanity and hindsight, about reflection and regret, about doing the right thing - depending on your perspective.
And it's a story told with a light, delicate touch, counterbalancing the darker material beneath the surface.
But it still lacks a certain heft.
I actually read it twice - and it certainly benefits from being read in one sitting (it's certainly short enough) - and it improved second time.
First impressions were of a meal that left me wanting more. The second serving helped fill me up, but you're still left wanting another couple of servings.
(Yeah, OK, I'll stop now).
Which could mean I'm missing something.
Telling the tale of three German soldiers who, in trying to get out of doing a terrible task, volunteer for a slightly less terrible task, A Meal In Winter is light on pages and character development.
Neither of which make it a bad book, but it's lack of substance and depth means the weightier themes get a little lost.
It's not a bad book, sure, and it does provoke much thought. It's a book about humanity and hindsight, about reflection and regret, about doing the right thing - depending on your perspective.
And it's a story told with a light, delicate touch, counterbalancing the darker material beneath the surface.
But it still lacks a certain heft.
I actually read it twice - and it certainly benefits from being read in one sitting (it's certainly short enough) - and it improved second time.
First impressions were of a meal that left me wanting more. The second serving helped fill me up, but you're still left wanting another couple of servings.
(Yeah, OK, I'll stop now).
bkowalczik's review against another edition
4.0
Perhaps, "A (bitterly cold depressing) day in the life of three Nazi soldiers," representing us mere mortal men, no strong guiding principles, other than trying to survive an impossible, immoral situation in war.
I appreciate seeing life through another's eyes, trying to understand a bit more.
Sometimes we make decisions in life and then, as fate takes its course and life presents itself around the next bend, realize it was for naught, what were we thinking, we should have taken the other course.
Don't read any further, I am going to write down some thoughts that will give away the plot. Bauer and the narrator become "uncles" to Emmerich's son. The jewish prisoner represents Emmerich's son and the uncles, by not going along with Emmerich, in a sense, sentence both boys to death. Although, it is not Emmerich's son who will die.
I appreciate seeing life through another's eyes, trying to understand a bit more.
Sometimes we make decisions in life and then, as fate takes its course and life presents itself around the next bend, realize it was for naught, what were we thinking, we should have taken the other course.
Don't read any further, I am going to write down some thoughts that will give away the plot. Bauer and the narrator become "uncles" to Emmerich's son. The jewish prisoner represents Emmerich's son and the uncles, by not going along with Emmerich, in a sense, sentence both boys to death. Although, it is not Emmerich's son who will die.
jjayld's review against another edition
5.0
Just a fantastically absorbing story. Started reading and forgot it’s a story. I got anxious about what was going to happen to them! I will look for more by this author
larka_fenrir's review against another edition
1.0
Lasciamolo andare, questo qui.
Una perdita di tempo. Oltre ad avere uno stile che, personalmente, non mi ha fatto impazzire, il libro in sè è stato una delusione.
La premessa è interessante, tre nazisti che si ritrovano in una capanna polacca mentre, per sfuggire alle fucilazioni, cercano (o fanno finta di cercare) la loro prossima vittima. La trama poi ci anticipa che penseranno se lasciarlo andare o meno... quindi ci si aspetta un dibattito, di qualsiasi tipo... morale, filosofico, umano. Tutto quello che otteniamo sono 100 pagine del terzetto dei nazisti, a cui si aggiungerà un polacco, che preparano una zuppa. Va bene, in tutto quel tempo arriviamo un po' a capire le loro personalità, anche se è troppo poco (o l'autore troppo inesperto) per fare scattare la connessione, per affezionarci ai protagonisti (che in alcuni momenti, aspettandomi un minimo di considerazione verso il prossimo, data l'idea del libro, ho detestato). Poi?
Spoiler
Beh, esattamente a pagina 102, la questione viene sollevata. Quando ormai non ci speravo più. Viene comunque liquidata in fretta, poche battute e un solo concetto per i pro e uno per i contro... e via, l'ebreo viene comunque riportato alla base.In poche parole, una perdita di tempo.
rustedbox's review against another edition
2.0
Insustancial, plana; desprovista de emoción ninguna. Al menos es corta.
lonelypigeon's review against another edition
5.0
A Meal in Winter caught my eye in a book shop and after reading the blurb on the back I decided to go ahead and pick it up. I got home and began reading it, and was finished within a few hours of short reading bursts. It's a novella, fairly short at 138 pages, but in that time it does so much.
Author, Hubert Mingarelli, brings about a poignant, moving and terrible tale, filled with winter, with concern and with the brutal nature of the holocaust. It is written in a way that feels poetic yet simplistic, and it doesn't beat around the bush as far as getting right to the "nitty-gritty". We learn about our characters and their backgrounds, the journey they are on and the decisions they are forced to make, as we witness a moment in time within a moment in time, bringing "the good modest things in life" to the forefront of one of the most horrific times in human history.
I loved it. It moved me, made me smile and made me feel a little sick in the pit of my stomach, and I'd read it again, and again. I recommend it, and don't be put off, thinking it might not be for you because you don't like "war" books, because this isn't really that, this is more a book about humanity, about taking a deep breath during a tense moment that rarely allows one to be made.
Brilliant.
Author, Hubert Mingarelli, brings about a poignant, moving and terrible tale, filled with winter, with concern and with the brutal nature of the holocaust. It is written in a way that feels poetic yet simplistic, and it doesn't beat around the bush as far as getting right to the "nitty-gritty". We learn about our characters and their backgrounds, the journey they are on and the decisions they are forced to make, as we witness a moment in time within a moment in time, bringing "the good modest things in life" to the forefront of one of the most horrific times in human history.
I loved it. It moved me, made me smile and made me feel a little sick in the pit of my stomach, and I'd read it again, and again. I recommend it, and don't be put off, thinking it might not be for you because you don't like "war" books, because this isn't really that, this is more a book about humanity, about taking a deep breath during a tense moment that rarely allows one to be made.
Brilliant.