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A review by samisokay
Eva by Meyer Levin
3.0
This book has been sitting in my room for months now, after I bought it at a used bookstore downtown and could never seem to find the time to read it.
The idea behind the story is that Eva, a Jew from Poland, escapes the confinement of the Jewish neighborhood by pretending to be a Ukranian farm girl. She begins living and working in Austria, and tries to maintain the idea of both identities within herself.
Most of the literature that I read is fairly modern, and usually has been written within the past 15 years, so it is always different to read a book from a slightly older perspective. The writing style is a bit weird- and seems to switch between past and present tenses with ease. However, the story shows both the struggle and perseverance of the main character (Eva), as well as appropriately portraying a character that has a strong ability to continue moving forward through unsure times, while making decisions for herself based on her own moral code. Overall, I liked the book, and I'm -if not entirely pleased- happy with the ending, and I was surprised that the ending was as good as it was. Levin did a very good job with the story, and the fact that the book was from 1959, when the war was a much nearer event than it is now, really makes me think about the cultural impacts upon the writing of this book.
The idea behind the story is that Eva, a Jew from Poland, escapes the confinement of the Jewish neighborhood by pretending to be a Ukranian farm girl. She begins living and working in Austria, and tries to maintain the idea of both identities within herself.
Most of the literature that I read is fairly modern, and usually has been written within the past 15 years, so it is always different to read a book from a slightly older perspective. The writing style is a bit weird- and seems to switch between past and present tenses with ease. However, the story shows both the struggle and perseverance of the main character (Eva), as well as appropriately portraying a character that has a strong ability to continue moving forward through unsure times, while making decisions for herself based on her own moral code. Overall, I liked the book, and I'm -if not entirely pleased- happy with the ending, and I was surprised that the ending was as good as it was. Levin did a very good job with the story, and the fact that the book was from 1959, when the war was a much nearer event than it is now, really makes me think about the cultural impacts upon the writing of this book.