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A review by sas_ram
Jugend ohne Gott by Ödön von Horváth
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I'm not sure what I expected but for sure not this. I have to admit that the title kept me away for awhile but oh boy I was surprised.
It's safe to say this book isn't for everyone. But fans of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 will enjoy this.
It's a lesser known classic in compairison to the books of the big names (Goethe, Schiller, Hesse...).
This book dives into a world where the individual is not important, this is taken literally because the characters in this system are labled by letters and their profession rather than names. The characters that step out of the system bear actual names.
It was really fascinating especially considering it was written in the early years of the Nazi regime.
And honestly books like this are timeless and always tell us something relevant, give us something to think about.
Now to end this review my favourite quote (in german):
"Wenn kein Charakter mehr geduldet wird, sondern nur der Gehorsam, geht die Wahrheit und die Lüge kommt. Die Lüge, die Mutter aller Sünden."
A rough translation :
"When character/personality is no longer tolerated, only obedience, truth goes and lie comes. The lie, the mother of all sins."
It's safe to say this book isn't for everyone. But fans of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 will enjoy this.
It's a lesser known classic in compairison to the books of the big names (Goethe, Schiller, Hesse...).
This book dives into a world where the individual is not important, this is taken literally because the characters in this system are labled by letters and their profession rather than names. The characters that step out of the system bear actual names.
It was really fascinating especially considering it was written in the early years of the Nazi regime.
And honestly books like this are timeless and always tell us something relevant, give us something to think about.
Now to end this review my favourite quote (in german):
"Wenn kein Charakter mehr geduldet wird, sondern nur der Gehorsam, geht die Wahrheit und die Lüge kommt. Die Lüge, die Mutter aller Sünden."
A rough translation :
"When character/personality is no longer tolerated, only obedience, truth goes and lie comes. The lie, the mother of all sins."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Suicide