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ClareR (6182 KP) rated We Germans in Books

Aug 17, 2023  
We Germans
We Germans
Alexander Starritt | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
We Germans is told from the point of view of a German soldier on the Eastern Front. A young British man asks his German grandfather about his role in the war, and whilst his grandfather doesn’t want to talk about it with him, he does leave him a letter to read about what happened to him after his death.

That letter is the book we read, with asides and clarifications from the grandson.

We don’t have a story that covers from the beginning to the end of the war. This is told from when things have started to go wrong for the Germans. The army is fragmented. The soldiers don’t really know where they’re going, but they know that they want to try and make it back to Germany - on foot. These men are scared, confused and the acts they see committed by both sides are horrific.

The grandson helps us to see the effects of the war on his grandfather, and his subsequent imprisonment in Russia. How 70 years post-war have changed him, how the war changed him as well. He acknowledges that he was to blame for what had happened as much as anyone else, but that he was expected to toe the line as a soldier.

This is historical fiction, but its well researched and has the hint of reality about it. It really gives the reader something to think about, and I know that personally, I haven’t found many books out there that cover this period of history in this way. I can’t say as it’s something I want to avidly read lots of books about, but having read this from a more human perspective (rather than a factual history book that lists dates and places), it feels very personal.

This is a short, powerful novel, and I think it’s worth the time spent reading it if you have an interest in either the time in history, or human nature.
  
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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Exit West in Books

Jul 24, 2017  
Exit West
Exit West
Mohsin Hamid | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
8.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
A dystopian current affairs magical realistic fiction
A deeply tragic account of how two people can be caught in circumstances of war, how easy it is to lose everything and the potential hope that humanity offers. Saeed and Nadia attempt to face an apocalyptic situation in the face of adversity despite having a tenuous connection to one another. It is quite a depressing read especially given the current situation in the Middle East - but Hamid does a great job in humanising the characters. They are just two simple people attempting to make a relationship work under intense circumstances. A beautiful account, I just wished the story was slightly more developed as it tended to run from one scene to another.
  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) in Movies

Oct 3, 2019  
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
1977 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
9
8.4 (41 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Oringal Sci-Fi classic
Close Encounters of the Third Kind- takes elements from the thing from anethor world, the war of the worlds and many other sci-fi movies and mix them all togther and the outcome is a excellent movie, directed by one of the great directors of all time- Steven Spilberg.

The Plot: Science fiction adventure about a group of people who attempt to contact alien intelligence. Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) witnesses an unidentified flying object, and even has a "sunburn" from its bright lights to prove it. Roy refuses to accept an explanation for what he saw and is prepared to give up his life to pursue the truth about UFOs.

This is a must watch and must see film.