Search
Search results
ClareR (5950 KP) rated The German House in Books
Dec 30, 2019
The German House is set in Frankfurt in 1963 at the time of the Auschwitz trials. Eva Bruhns is a 24 year old translator, and is asked to translate the testimony of the Polish speaking Jews who were imprisoned at Auschwitz. Eva was a small child during the war, and remembers little of it. She seems to be mostly concerned with her romance and possible engagement to Jürgen Schoorman, a wealthy businessman. However, when David Miller, a Canadian lawyer who is working for the prosecution at the trials, hires Eva as a translator, her world view and her opinion of her parents and the Germans involved in the war, changes. Her parents don’t want to talk about their involvement in the war, and Jürgen doesn’t think that she should be involved in something so distasteful. But this isn’t just a coming of age story. Granted, Eva does grow in this novel. She learns about the collective guilt of the German nation with regards to the Holocaust, and looks at how the children of the war generation reacted to something that was in effect hidden from them. They called it Vergangenheitsbewältigung - the struggle to come to term with and overcome the past. Young Germans wanted to analyse, digest and learn to live with the past, and the Holocaust in particular. Eva can’t understand why her parents will not own up to their share of the guilt.
I really enjoyed this novel. It was hard-going at times, and it did read like a translated novel. It did however, catch the spirit of the time. Eva’s longing to break out of the societal restrictions of the time (for example when she refers to how much she likes a new Beatles song that Jürgen can’t understand, he doesn’t like pop music) and Jürgen’s wish that she stops work as soon as she gets engaged (as a modern woman, I was positively fuming at this point!!).
I was fascinated by the trip the Court makes to Auschwitz - somewhere I’ve never been, and after a trip to Oranienburg (a camp for political prisoners outside Berlin), I feel that I would struggle to go. This was one of the most emotional parts of the book.
The side story involving Eva’s older sister is also fascinating, and I feel portrays the effect of seeing so much violence and hatred as a young child (no spoilers here!).
All in all, after I got used to the writing style, I really enjoyed this. It was an interesting insight into the post-war years, and West Germany’s reaction to the damage and destruction that the Nazis had caused during the Holocaust.
This is well worth a read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and honestly review.
I really enjoyed this novel. It was hard-going at times, and it did read like a translated novel. It did however, catch the spirit of the time. Eva’s longing to break out of the societal restrictions of the time (for example when she refers to how much she likes a new Beatles song that Jürgen can’t understand, he doesn’t like pop music) and Jürgen’s wish that she stops work as soon as she gets engaged (as a modern woman, I was positively fuming at this point!!).
I was fascinated by the trip the Court makes to Auschwitz - somewhere I’ve never been, and after a trip to Oranienburg (a camp for political prisoners outside Berlin), I feel that I would struggle to go. This was one of the most emotional parts of the book.
The side story involving Eva’s older sister is also fascinating, and I feel portrays the effect of seeing so much violence and hatred as a young child (no spoilers here!).
All in all, after I got used to the writing style, I really enjoyed this. It was an interesting insight into the post-war years, and West Germany’s reaction to the damage and destruction that the Nazis had caused during the Holocaust.
This is well worth a read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and honestly review.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Doors: Colony in Books
Mar 26, 2021
A slight improvement over the other book
This is another in Heitz's Doors series, three books telling the same underlying story up to a point, with a different story taking off depending on which of the mysterious doors the characters go through. In this book, the group of people employed to find and rescue rich Van Dam's daughter go through the door marked with a question mark. They find themselves in the cellar of a German bierhall in an alternative history of WWII. The war is over, the Germans having capitulated after Hitler's assassination and there is now a struggle between the Russians and the UK/USA over control of what remains.
The group find themselves slimmed down very quickly as members of the group drop like flies. Soon a small number of them find themselves in the company of some Russian spies, looking to stop the Americans' attempts to take power. For some reason, phony clairvoyant Coco Fendi now has actual powers and is capable of mind-reading, earning the respect and assistance of these spies.
There then follows a fairly enjoyable attempt to catch up with a train and board it to stop a nuclear war from breaking out.
The translation again is quite poor here, as some phrases do not make sense and make the reader work to understand what is meant. I am giving Heitz the benefit of the doubt and laying blame at the door of the translator here (though looking at some of the reviews on goodreads in German I'm not sure this is fair). However, there are some very odd passages that take the reader right out of the book, for example 'the time had come to test the 4x4's four-litre twin turbo engine promising 650 horsepower and a top speed of 190 miles an hour'. I mean, what the hell? Has Clarkson been asked to translate this book? It was completely irrelevant and odd.
In the 'Twilight' book of the series, there were some hints at other users of the doors and their purpose and provenance. This book builds on that to an extent, which is a clever idea from Heitz - in order to answer the questions, I think you need to read all three books. However, as a book in its own right, there are simply too many unanswered questions left (though slightly fewer than in 'Twilight').
An improvement, with a more coherent story once through the door in question, but still not a great read. As the first c25% is duplicated between books, I merrily skipped through this section looking for the distinct part starting off.
I received a free advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The group find themselves slimmed down very quickly as members of the group drop like flies. Soon a small number of them find themselves in the company of some Russian spies, looking to stop the Americans' attempts to take power. For some reason, phony clairvoyant Coco Fendi now has actual powers and is capable of mind-reading, earning the respect and assistance of these spies.
There then follows a fairly enjoyable attempt to catch up with a train and board it to stop a nuclear war from breaking out.
The translation again is quite poor here, as some phrases do not make sense and make the reader work to understand what is meant. I am giving Heitz the benefit of the doubt and laying blame at the door of the translator here (though looking at some of the reviews on goodreads in German I'm not sure this is fair). However, there are some very odd passages that take the reader right out of the book, for example 'the time had come to test the 4x4's four-litre twin turbo engine promising 650 horsepower and a top speed of 190 miles an hour'. I mean, what the hell? Has Clarkson been asked to translate this book? It was completely irrelevant and odd.
In the 'Twilight' book of the series, there were some hints at other users of the doors and their purpose and provenance. This book builds on that to an extent, which is a clever idea from Heitz - in order to answer the questions, I think you need to read all three books. However, as a book in its own right, there are simply too many unanswered questions left (though slightly fewer than in 'Twilight').
An improvement, with a more coherent story once through the door in question, but still not a great read. As the first c25% is duplicated between books, I merrily skipped through this section looking for the distinct part starting off.
I received a free advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Quick Camera Translator
Productivity and Travel
App
*** Get the most powerful translator application with SPECIAL price for a limited time *** *******...
Cardreader – Visitenkarten Scanner
Business and Productivity
App
SUMMERSALE - 30% off for 1 Week CARDREADER is the first full-fledged application which converts...
Translator 42 Languages
Travel and Reference
App
Translator Pro is a convenient, indispensable and useful application for any individuals. It break...
Football Tricks 3D Tutorials
Sports and Education
App
Soccer tricks tutorials in 3D. Train soccer tricks to get past defenders and boost your skills on...
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Dark in TV
Dec 4, 2017 (Updated Dec 4, 2017)
Dark, gritty, utterly mind-bending
This German series has been compared to @Stranger Things , and in some ways there are similarities in terms of the sci-fi, supernatural element, but it is far darker.
Set around the premise of a missing boy, who seems to have vanished from thin air, there are multiple narratives surrounding the characters of this town called Wisden. The main protagonist is young teenager Jonas, whose father has committed suicide, all the while his friend's younger brother has gone missing in the midst of a spate of murders. The series will require some concentration because you'll quickly realise that it is far more complicated than you'll first perceive.
It really starts to get interesting by the third episode after skipping through the usual drama of a small town ie. Lies, affairs and secrets. Without revealing too much, you'll see by this point how it compares to Stranger Things. The biggest difference is that apart from Jonas, there are very few likable roles in this show - each are tormented in their own way.
The American dubbing can be a bit off-putting as it doesnt seem particularly suited to some characters - but it can be helpful if you just want to focus on the plot. Very good indeed, hoping a new season is in the pipeline.
Set around the premise of a missing boy, who seems to have vanished from thin air, there are multiple narratives surrounding the characters of this town called Wisden. The main protagonist is young teenager Jonas, whose father has committed suicide, all the while his friend's younger brother has gone missing in the midst of a spate of murders. The series will require some concentration because you'll quickly realise that it is far more complicated than you'll first perceive.
It really starts to get interesting by the third episode after skipping through the usual drama of a small town ie. Lies, affairs and secrets. Without revealing too much, you'll see by this point how it compares to Stranger Things. The biggest difference is that apart from Jonas, there are very few likable roles in this show - each are tormented in their own way.
The American dubbing can be a bit off-putting as it doesnt seem particularly suited to some characters - but it can be helpful if you just want to focus on the plot. Very good indeed, hoping a new season is in the pipeline.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated The Book of Life in Books
Mar 2, 2019
The best of the trilogy
Wow, this was literally absorbing from start to finish and it is my favourite of the trilogy; it is not often that the final book achieves the highest rating. This truly is a story and a bunch of characters that have built and built.
So much change came to Diana and Matthew's lives in this book, more than in book two in the past. I found the plot to be fantastically planned, intricate and well-researched. There were details for days but not so that I got lost.
Family was more central to THE BOOK OF LIFE than any other book and it was the side characters that enriched the read so fully. I have the biggest soft spot for Gallowglass and I want a book just about him. What was subtly fascinating was the meeting of the human and creature world in this book the crossing of threads, meeting of similarities and shared-being.
The narration was excellent, Ikeda can even sing beautifully in French and German as part of the story. Again, sadness that she doesn't narrate any more.
If you are like me and you found book two a bit of a hard trudge, please don't let that put you off the final instalment, it was the best of the three.
So much change came to Diana and Matthew's lives in this book, more than in book two in the past. I found the plot to be fantastically planned, intricate and well-researched. There were details for days but not so that I got lost.
Family was more central to THE BOOK OF LIFE than any other book and it was the side characters that enriched the read so fully. I have the biggest soft spot for Gallowglass and I want a book just about him. What was subtly fascinating was the meeting of the human and creature world in this book the crossing of threads, meeting of similarities and shared-being.
The narration was excellent, Ikeda can even sing beautifully in French and German as part of the story. Again, sadness that she doesn't narrate any more.
If you are like me and you found book two a bit of a hard trudge, please don't let that put you off the final instalment, it was the best of the three.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post
May 26, 2019
A heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story of two sisters.
Sal is the main character in this book : a story of abuse, survival and the love of two sisters.
Sal and Peppa's mum is an alcoholic with a knack of finding unsuitable boyfriends, Robert is a drunk, a drug addict and a child abuser. He abuses 13 year old Sal, and when he threatens to do the same to do the same to 10 year old Peppa, Sal decides to act and save them. She learns all she can of wild camping, survival techniques from the SAS and anything else she can pick up from the internet. She finds a remote place where they can set up camp and live away from Social Services and the 'Polis'
There is a lot of description of their surroundings in the mountains and the Loch that they live near, which I really liked. The elderly East German doctor that they meet is also a nice touch.
It hadn't actually occurred to me that this was a Young Adult book: I enjoyed it and I'm certainly not a young adult (in body, anyway!).
The novel didn't have the ending that I would have expected, but it was a good ending and very appropriate.
All in all, a very good story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of the book.
Sal and Peppa's mum is an alcoholic with a knack of finding unsuitable boyfriends, Robert is a drunk, a drug addict and a child abuser. He abuses 13 year old Sal, and when he threatens to do the same to do the same to 10 year old Peppa, Sal decides to act and save them. She learns all she can of wild camping, survival techniques from the SAS and anything else she can pick up from the internet. She finds a remote place where they can set up camp and live away from Social Services and the 'Polis'
There is a lot of description of their surroundings in the mountains and the Loch that they live near, which I really liked. The elderly East German doctor that they meet is also a nice touch.
It hadn't actually occurred to me that this was a Young Adult book: I enjoyed it and I'm certainly not a young adult (in body, anyway!).
The novel didn't have the ending that I would have expected, but it was a good ending and very appropriate.
All in all, a very good story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of the book.