Well, no matter how many books you read about the Holocaust, you will always be horrified at the atrocities that were committed. The book is tough, anWell, no matter how many books you read about the Holocaust, you will always be horrified at the atrocities that were committed. The book is tough, and the lead-up to the concentration camps is heartbreaking, the rumors, the unease, the progressively worsening circumstances... It's a lot, and especially when you see what a toll they have taken on the father of the narrator.
Two things I liked: - The fact that the characters are portrayed by animals somehow allowed me to connect with them as people and not as "characters" in a story if you know what I mean. I also thought it was really smart how the Jewish mice put on a pig mask to "pass" for non-Jewish Poles. - The story within a story. The frame-tale timeline is in 1970s New York, where the author asks his father to tell him all that happened during the Holocaust. In this timeline we get to also meet other survivors and how they are coping with their survival and their past. In the second book, the changes between the frame-tale and the tale give you whiplash. At one point the author's dad is discussing how 200 prisoners were crammed in a train where more than 100 died of hunger, asphyxiation and crowding, surviving in their feces until few enough of them are left that there is room to sit down. And the next moment, he's telling the author some triviality of life like asking for a refund for a box of cereal from the supermarket. For me, the contrast only accentuates the trauma.
I was expecting a lot more action, and much more THRILL, since it calls itself a techno-thriller. At no point did I feel surprise or tension, and likeI was expecting a lot more action, and much more THRILL, since it calls itself a techno-thriller. At no point did I feel surprise or tension, and like, come on, this is a full-blown meltdown across an entire continent. All the characters were very same same, and I couldn't tell them apart despite living in different countries. Any kind of "romance" attempts were cringe as hell, and felt like straight out of the primary school playground. I really wanted to see more how the every person had to deal with the black out, and I wish we had stayed in the cabin in Austria, or in the country home where the Police guy's parents tried to seek refuge. It would have been muuuuuch more interesting than the meeting room, meeeting room 2, meeting room 3, action, meeeting room 4, meeeting rooom 5 structure....more
I absolutely loved this book. I was intrigued from the moment I read its description on this website. For me one of the best parts is that a lot of thI absolutely loved this book. I was intrigued from the moment I read its description on this website. For me one of the best parts is that a lot of the action takes place in St. Malo, a place i have been to hundreds of times. It made the realities of WWII much more real somehow, like, these places were actually bombed! It's thinks that I knew cognitively and studied in class but didn't FEEL them. I haven't really read a lot of WWII novels but this is definitely one of the best ones. The story is filled with wonder, with children wanting to know more about the world through science. It's so innocent and pure from the beginning, and then the nightmare starts. I also have to say that I think the most shocking part that made me be like WTF was when Werner refers to a Jewish lady as a "Jewess" and is fascinated by her. Somehow reading that from one of the main characters, who is an innocent child was just like "Oh crap, he was brainwashed too!" I finished reading this several weeks ago but it's still with me. Also there came a point where I literally couldn't put it down. It's a long book, but I feel like I read the last third in one sitting....more
I can't really put my finger on why I liked this book so much. Maybe because of the way that everything is portrayed matter-of-factly. I loved the chaI can't really put my finger on why I liked this book so much. Maybe because of the way that everything is portrayed matter-of-factly. I loved the characters and the story had me gripped to the very end....more
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