emma3244's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
agenderberry335's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
4.25
isabellarobinson7's review
3.0
**I read this book for a 2020/21 library challenge, so it is not necessarily be my taste and I may be harsh because it's not my personal preference. Or it could be a total surprise and I ended up really enjoying it.
Rating: 3 stars
This book started out great. The only issues I had at the beginning were to do with the translation from Spanish into English. The tense was kind of strange, as even though it was told mostly in present tense, it would change to past, and even future ("he would do this" etc.), tense randomly in the middle of paragraphs, and a similar shifting was happening with view points. There's nothing I can do about that. It's not the authors fault that he wrote his book in the language he was most comfortable with (and it's only fair that he write it in his first language).
But then I started having real issues unrelated to the translation. I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz (not the The Librarian of Auschwitz; I've underlined the differing words because even I got mixed up) by Heather Morris in 2019, a book also set in Auschwitz (well, duh) and it wasn't really what I expected/wanted it to be (the majority of the pages were devoted to romance, too much for my taste, which seems to be a common complaint I have). During the first portion of the The Librarian of Auschwitz, I thought it would be everything I had wanted from The Tattooist of Auschwitz: it was getting into the nitty gritty detail about what life in Auschwitz was really like, and examining the choices prisoners had to make between remaining loyal to their people and doing what they needed to simply survive.
But then it got monotonous. It feels rude to say that, regarding the subject matter, but let me explain (briefly, this has gone on way longer than I intended it to already). The simple fact of being a prisoner means that you don't know what is happening on the outside. Yes, some people know more than others, but generally, you don't have enough information to, well, tell a story in three parts. Ok now I need to shut up (I am starting to splutter and aggressively gesture as I type this) and that's as far as I can articulate my thoughts. There. Done.
Rating: 3 stars
This book started out great. The only issues I had at the beginning were to do with the translation from Spanish into English. The tense was kind of strange, as even though it was told mostly in present tense, it would change to past, and even future ("he would do this" etc.), tense randomly in the middle of paragraphs, and a similar shifting was happening with view points. There's nothing I can do about that. It's not the authors fault that he wrote his book in the language he was most comfortable with (and it's only fair that he write it in his first language).
But then I started having real issues unrelated to the translation. I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz (not the The Librarian of Auschwitz; I've underlined the differing words because even I got mixed up) by Heather Morris in 2019, a book also set in Auschwitz (well, duh) and it wasn't really what I expected/wanted it to be (the majority of the pages were devoted to romance, too much for my taste, which seems to be a common complaint I have). During the first portion of the The Librarian of Auschwitz, I thought it would be everything I had wanted from The Tattooist of Auschwitz: it was getting into the nitty gritty detail about what life in Auschwitz was really like, and examining the choices prisoners had to make between remaining loyal to their people and doing what they needed to simply survive.
But then it got monotonous. It feels rude to say that, regarding the subject matter, but let me explain (briefly, this has gone on way longer than I intended it to already). The simple fact of being a prisoner means that you don't know what is happening on the outside. Yes, some people know more than others, but generally, you don't have enough information to, well, tell a story in three parts. Ok now I need to shut up (I am starting to splutter and aggressively gesture as I type this) and that's as far as I can articulate my thoughts. There. Done.
motivoslobos's review against another edition
5.0
"Si el hombre no se emociona con la belleza, si no cierra los ojos y pone en marcha los mecanismos de la imaginación, si no es capaz de hacerse preguntas y vislumbrar los límites de su ignorancia, es hombre o es mujer, pero no es persona; nada lo distingue de un salmón, una cebra o un buey almizclero."
La bibliotecaria de Auschwitz es una novela basada en hechos reales que nos relata la historia de Dita, una niña checa de catorce años que junto a sus padres fueron enviados hacia Auschwitz donde ella se encargó de manejar y dirigir una biblioteca clandestina en el bloque 31 del campo pues los libros estaban prohibidos y era un motivo suficiente para ser ejecutados.
La estructura narrativa la encontramos compuesta por vasos comunicantes, es decir historias paralelas con aparentemente inconexos entre sí pero en conjunto se va desarrollando, alterando y finalmente lograr una cohesión. En esta ocasión lo vemos por medio de historias que van entrelazadas en diferentes tiempos y que nos van mostrando una faceta diferente de cada personaje. En lo personal no estoy muy familiarizado con esta técnica pero al final logré entender que era la mejor forma de desarrollar la historia y logró esa cohesión de forma espectacular hasta conmoverme tanto.
Como es habitual, encontramos horrores que acaecían en el campo, los sádicos guardianes, los hornos, las cámaras de gases, doctores realizando experimentos humanos, castigos severos y maltrat0 en todas las formas que el ser humano puede experimentar. Un lugar donde la supervivencia era lo único que podía importar, en medio de traiciones, delatores, pero al mismo tiempo historias de valentía, amistad y heroísmo que te harán conmover las fibras más sensibles.
La obra también es un homenaje a los libros, la importancia de humanizarnos a pesar de encontrarnos en las situaciones tan extremas que no vemos una salida, pero el amor por lo que hacemos y nos gusta siempre estará presente.
Porque mientras existan los libros, existirá esperanza para la humanidad.
La bibliotecaria de Auschwitz es una novela basada en hechos reales que nos relata la historia de Dita, una niña checa de catorce años que junto a sus padres fueron enviados hacia Auschwitz donde ella se encargó de manejar y dirigir una biblioteca clandestina en el bloque 31 del campo pues los libros estaban prohibidos y era un motivo suficiente para ser ejecutados.
La estructura narrativa la encontramos compuesta por vasos comunicantes, es decir historias paralelas con aparentemente inconexos entre sí pero en conjunto se va desarrollando, alterando y finalmente lograr una cohesión. En esta ocasión lo vemos por medio de historias que van entrelazadas en diferentes tiempos y que nos van mostrando una faceta diferente de cada personaje. En lo personal no estoy muy familiarizado con esta técnica pero al final logré entender que era la mejor forma de desarrollar la historia y logró esa cohesión de forma espectacular hasta conmoverme tanto.
Como es habitual, encontramos horrores que acaecían en el campo, los sádicos guardianes, los hornos, las cámaras de gases, doctores realizando experimentos humanos, castigos severos y maltrat0 en todas las formas que el ser humano puede experimentar. Un lugar donde la supervivencia era lo único que podía importar, en medio de traiciones, delatores, pero al mismo tiempo historias de valentía, amistad y heroísmo que te harán conmover las fibras más sensibles.
La obra también es un homenaje a los libros, la importancia de humanizarnos a pesar de encontrarnos en las situaciones tan extremas que no vemos una salida, pero el amor por lo que hacemos y nos gusta siempre estará presente.
Porque mientras existan los libros, existirá esperanza para la humanidad.
bibliomaniac33's review against another edition
2.0
I'll be honest, the five-star reviews are leaving me a bit curious on this one. It is a translation to English that I read, so perhaps that has something to do with it, but I was not impressed with this book. At all. If I could give half starts, I think 1.5 would be a fairer rating. It was an underwhelming slog for the most part.
The character development was lacking. Sympathy was only wrought through setting (which was poorly described as well). I mean, they are obviously in Auschwitz, which would seem to guarantee sympathy in most cases, but had it not been for the fact that this was occurring there, the characters would have been unremarkable because they are so underdeveloped, and in some cases- Dita in particular- unlikeable. It's a shame since there were multiple subplots (Renee's and Viktor's for instance) that could have made an intriguing novel of their own. But they were so glossed over they all came across as unconnected afterthoughts. It all comes across instead as a shallowly written tale that in parts appears to even make light of the circumstance- not in a "let's make the best of things" sort of feel, but rather, "we're in an inconvenient motel, but it's not that horrible" until the final chapters. The first half of the book hardly even gives the impression they're in a concentration camp.
When you are dealing with this time, place, setting, and characters like Mengel, it's honestly pretty impressive to make a book as flat and uninteresting as this. As books concerning the Holocaust go, this is the least compelling I can remember reading. The last quarter of the book does pick up a slight bit, which is what kept me from 1 starring this. The only reason I didn't stop reading it was that I figured it HAD to pick up and become a page turner at some point. It never did. Although there should be, there is nothing remarkable about the story as it is told, which is unfortunate because the premise (which drew me to the book) is fascinating.
If you're interested in a novel retelling the experience of Auschwitz, you would do better to keep looking and invest your time in many of the other better-written tomes than in this translation of The Librarian of Auschwitz.
The character development was lacking. Sympathy was only wrought through setting (which was poorly described as well). I mean, they are obviously in Auschwitz, which would seem to guarantee sympathy in most cases, but had it not been for the fact that this was occurring there, the characters would have been unremarkable because they are so underdeveloped, and in some cases- Dita in particular- unlikeable. It's a shame since there were multiple subplots (Renee's and Viktor's for instance) that could have made an intriguing novel of their own. But they were so glossed over they all came across as unconnected afterthoughts. It all comes across instead as a shallowly written tale that in parts appears to even make light of the circumstance- not in a "let's make the best of things" sort of feel, but rather, "we're in an inconvenient motel, but it's not that horrible" until the final chapters. The first half of the book hardly even gives the impression they're in a concentration camp.
When you are dealing with this time, place, setting, and characters like Mengel, it's honestly pretty impressive to make a book as flat and uninteresting as this. As books concerning the Holocaust go, this is the least compelling I can remember reading. The last quarter of the book does pick up a slight bit, which is what kept me from 1 starring this. The only reason I didn't stop reading it was that I figured it HAD to pick up and become a page turner at some point. It never did. Although there should be, there is nothing remarkable about the story as it is told, which is unfortunate because the premise (which drew me to the book) is fascinating.
If you're interested in a novel retelling the experience of Auschwitz, you would do better to keep looking and invest your time in many of the other better-written tomes than in this translation of The Librarian of Auschwitz.
jessywolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
aravenclawlibraryx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Title: The Librarian of Auschwitz
Author: Antonio Iturbe
Genre: Historical Young Adult
Format: hardback library book
Series: NA
Star Rating: 2 stars
tw: holocaust horrors, grievous injury, use of words retard and gypsy, homophobia, parental death
I always feel so awful when I rate Holocaust books low, especially ones based on a true story, like this one. I just feel so guilty because I know that what these characters went through is absolutely horrible. I wouldn’t feel authentic as a reviewer if I didn’t give my honest feelings about the book and rate it accordingly But this one just did not work for me. It all came down to the writing style and the main character.
I’ll start with the writing style. I had two problems with it. First, I thought it would be about the main character, Dita. but it wasn’t. There were two other characters and they themselves had entirely separate plot lines that didn’t relate to Dita. It just didn’t fit with the story. The only similarity they had was they were all at Auschwitz. That’s it. It was a weird choice. I don’t even remember their names because I don’t think their stories ended well. That might be a spoiler and I’m sorry if it is.
The second problem was the way Dita’s story was conveyed. It bounced back and forth from past to present. Normally, I wouldn’t mind that but it really only works when something in the present triggers a memory of the past. We would just be thrust into the past for no reason. There was also no way of knowing when you would be thrust into the past. It would just happen in the middle of a chapter. It was very confusing.
I also got to talk about how slow the book was. Now I love a good slow-burn book but this one was not it. Nothing happened. I understand that they were in a camp but it felt like things could pick up a bit. This book was really just a lot about Dita’s feelings about being in the camp. My heart did break for her but I was still frustrated with the very slow plot.
Overall, while this book is absolutely heartbreaking, I can’t forgive how slow it was or the weird writing style choices. I feel devastated that those children lost their childhood and will have to deal with a life of trauma. Overall, while I feel for Dita and her story, this book just wasn’t it.
elisabethbeck's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Very very very good. Will be recommending