A review by valeria_guercini
L'amico ritrovato, by Fred Uhlman
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It is routine, for all of us, to have to read at least one book to document the horrors of WWII, against our will, during secondary school. It's part of what teachers believe to be the right way to sensitize someone to these events, and a great way for us to access all kinds of testimonies through the past.
Out of all the books that could have been recommended to me, I'm glad that my teacher, four years ago, chose this one. It was definitely a risk, because this one is not as much on the nose with everything that happened DURING the Holocaust, but more of a look at what are the consequences of what happened to Jewish families when the Nuremberg laws were introduced. But I think this opened 14 year-old-me's heart to what were then to be many more heart-wrenching stories from this period.
Our main characters feel like they were made for each other, and understand this the first moment they meet. They live this friendship like it's a once-in-a-lifetime love story.
Their rendez-vous are framed by the beautiful landscapes of southern Germany, and their relationship blooms with the spring. It feels like this world is made to accomodate them (like it was supposed to).
It is by showing us this much of an attachment and care for each other that, what follows, feels like a stab in the back.
The final letter from Konradin to Hans, before he leaves, shows how much the Nazi propaganda had changed the spirits of the men at the time, no matter education, class or their relationships. It shows us how easy it is for people, for us, to turn into monsters if the wrong person is pulling the strings.
Hans's and our grief for the death of what was supposed to be a life-long friendship with the man he loved most destroys, in a personal way, all our hearts. It's the first (even if smallest) piece into understanding the pain all these people had to go through.
This may not be a perfect book, but there is not one part of it that I haven't loved with all of myself.
Out of all the books that could have been recommended to me, I'm glad that my teacher, four years ago, chose this one. It was definitely a risk, because this one is not as much on the nose with everything that happened DURING the Holocaust, but more of a look at what are the consequences of what happened to Jewish families when the Nuremberg laws were introduced. But I think this opened 14 year-old-me's heart to what were then to be many more heart-wrenching stories from this period.
Our main characters feel like they were made for each other, and understand this the first moment they meet. They live this friendship like it's a once-in-a-lifetime love story.
Their rendez-vous are framed by the beautiful landscapes of southern Germany, and their relationship blooms with the spring. It feels like this world is made to accomodate them (like it was supposed to).
It is by showing us this much of an attachment and care for each other that, what follows, feels like a stab in the back.
The final letter from Konradin to Hans, before he leaves, shows how much the Nazi propaganda had changed the spirits of the men at the time, no matter education, class or their relationships. It shows us how easy it is for people, for us, to turn into monsters if the wrong person is pulling the strings.
Hans's and our grief for the death of what was supposed to be a life-long friendship with the man he loved most destroys, in a personal way, all our hearts. It's the first (even if smallest) piece into understanding the pain all these people had to go through.
This may not be a perfect book, but there is not one part of it that I haven't loved with all of myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: War and Death
Minor: Bullying