bkish's review against another edition
2.0
The theme is interesting to me as a Jew however the writing is mediocre. Maybe the writer erred by his over focus on the brothers Atilla and Robert. I think this is story of Kertes' family jews who were forced out of Hungary by Russia in 1956. What was missing? Depth.
Robert's older brother has too much prominence in the book and to me he was off almost disturbed and his relationship with his younger brother Robert was strange.
the book was more about Atilla than anything else and yet he was to me a poor subject for that focus.
Judy
Robert's older brother has too much prominence in the book and to me he was off almost disturbed and his relationship with his younger brother Robert was strange.
the book was more about Atilla than anything else and yet he was to me a poor subject for that focus.
Judy
jenniefallis's review against another edition
2.0
Parts of this book were enjoyable, yet certainly not a must read. The title and the premise offer a lot of potential but I do not think this book fulfills the author's aims.
drstephm's review against another edition
2.0
The overly sexual parts of this book were very uncomfortable as we were reading from a 9 year olds point of view. I was hoping to learn a little about this time period and what it would have been like for refugees, but I unfortunately will mostly remember how obsessed with sex and breasts this 9 year old was.
quietrabbit's review against another edition
4.0
Uneven. At times the focus on poetic language retards the suspense. It is possible to have both in a novel, but often, in this book, the places the author chose to slow down don't feel real to the moment and impede the believability or even at times take away from the dramatic action.
linneahbt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was beautifully written but so so sad, hard to get through at times. Didn't love some of the rambles they went on but appreciate how they contributed to the rest of the story.
toryhallelujah's review against another edition
2.0
Disjointed, meandering, scattered, and to be honest, kind of pointless. Was Attila supposed to be bipolar or something? His incessant questions and philosophical confrontations became grating and signaled to me that it was time to start skimming the text. This is a book that didn't know where it was going and therefore didn't get there. I'm disappointed, especially after how beautifully it started.
smokeyshouse's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
While reading this book, there were times it got so boring, despite a fascinating setting and premise, that I considered dnf... but am glad I did not. The book increasingly got better after the arrival in Paris, as more of the family history was revealed, and as it headed toward its climax. Passages of brilliant writing interspersed with tedious prose.
teenage_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Europe is known as one of the most beautiful places on Earth. With its many countries, so close together, its rich history and amazing architecture. It is in Europe that human life had sprung into a modern world, where wars and deaths have taken place. Some of us may live in Europe, others it is a travel destination, but for most it is a place where you dream of catching a flight and going someday. Where in 2017 Europe might be the it place to be, in 1950s, it was a place many were fleeing. From the death of Hitler to the rise of Stalin, if you were against communism you were shot on sight. Some countries were and rebelled against the Soviet’s rule, creating revolutions across Europe.
Robert is at the grand age of 9.7 (they have just learned decimals in school). His older brother, Attila (13.4 years old), his mother (Lili), his father (Simon), and his grandmother (Klari), all live in a townhouse in Hungary. It was on October 24, 1956 when the Russians came to their house and told them they were to leave and never return. Not knowing what was truly going on Robert followed his family to the train station and left the country he was born in. Where Lili wanted to stay in Paris with Klari’s sister, Simon had other plans, determining to take his children out west to Canada. Along the way Robert sticks by the side of Attila, who asks too many questions, questions everything in life, and is determined to find out the truths for every single one of life's mysteries.
For those who do not know history (or did not Wikipedia it up) Joseph Kertes wrote this story during the Hungarian Revolution, which started on October 23, 1956 and ended on November 10, 1956. This book gives you a cultural taste as the Beck family travels across Europe as they flee from the Russians. A fascination factor is that although Kertes wrote this book in English, the characters are speaking Hungarian the whole time, where others around them spoke Russian, French and hundreds of other languages. The story also takes in the factor of what historical events are going on around them, as Hitler has been mention quite frequently when talking about past events, and Robert was raised to call Joseph Stalin, Papa Stalin. “You can’t have Handel without Hitler”. This quote along with this one: “You need that darkness – a few drops of darkness – to brighten the light” really tells how the people survived in these times. That yes the wars and deaths were going on around them, there were still some light and happiness around them. Kertes had an good writing style for this book, although it was confectioning at times, had an interesting historical plot that kept up with the times. Definitely a book read if you are looking for a cultural (as well as time) difference, or need a book to do a school paper on.
Robert is at the grand age of 9.7 (they have just learned decimals in school). His older brother, Attila (13.4 years old), his mother (Lili), his father (Simon), and his grandmother (Klari), all live in a townhouse in Hungary. It was on October 24, 1956 when the Russians came to their house and told them they were to leave and never return. Not knowing what was truly going on Robert followed his family to the train station and left the country he was born in. Where Lili wanted to stay in Paris with Klari’s sister, Simon had other plans, determining to take his children out west to Canada. Along the way Robert sticks by the side of Attila, who asks too many questions, questions everything in life, and is determined to find out the truths for every single one of life's mysteries.
For those who do not know history (or did not Wikipedia it up) Joseph Kertes wrote this story during the Hungarian Revolution, which started on October 23, 1956 and ended on November 10, 1956. This book gives you a cultural taste as the Beck family travels across Europe as they flee from the Russians. A fascination factor is that although Kertes wrote this book in English, the characters are speaking Hungarian the whole time, where others around them spoke Russian, French and hundreds of other languages. The story also takes in the factor of what historical events are going on around them, as Hitler has been mention quite frequently when talking about past events, and Robert was raised to call Joseph Stalin, Papa Stalin. “You can’t have Handel without Hitler”. This quote along with this one: “You need that darkness – a few drops of darkness – to brighten the light” really tells how the people survived in these times. That yes the wars and deaths were going on around them, there were still some light and happiness around them. Kertes had an good writing style for this book, although it was confectioning at times, had an interesting historical plot that kept up with the times. Definitely a book read if you are looking for a cultural (as well as time) difference, or need a book to do a school paper on.
eccles's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed this short novel, which must be at least partially autobiographical, mainly for its humour and gentle observations on the sublime amid terrible tragedy. I can’t help feeling that the decision to make the principal characters young - 10 and 14 - was a bit of a crutch as it operates in an obvious way as a vehicle for a wry, ironic commentary scattered throughout the book. The older brother is the focus of this device: the naive, wise child making penetrating observations of the confused and brutal world he’s moving through. Though when he dies, that role is picked up by the narrator, the younger brother, through whom you feel the author is speaking reasonably directly. The situation and story is about a piece of history that I was unfamiliar with, so it was an interesting journey to learn a bit about that part of the world at that time. I suppose I’m a reluctant reader of books about WWII: concentration camps, Nazi rabbits and so on; something to do with the pathos inherent in the setting and how so often authors employ the associated horror and guilt we all have had baked into us in support of their story. Obviously this book is not the same thing, but the underlying familiarity we have with the violence that continued in Eastern Europe after the war, and USSR’s treatment of these states, provides a similar ready-made emotional landscape and for me the same nagging sense of emotional exploitation. Exploitation’s too strong a word, but you know what I mean.
dentarthurdent's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Didn't really feel for any of the characters, and in fact I quite detested Attila. the time I had to spend listening to his rants I wish I devoted to something else, they were tedious like the pseudo intellectual ramblings of that stoner in university no one took seriously.