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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
In many ways this book seemed similar to The Book Thief, though not quite as good. It felt like many questions were left unanswered and the ending was very abrupt.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Seven-year-old Anna's father doesn't come back one day, taken by the Nazis, and she must find someone to trust. The Swallow Man is a mysterious man who, like her father, is a polyglot but also speaks 'bird' which entrances Anna enough to accompany him on his journey from Germany to Poland to Russia.
This was a little unlike any other Holocaust / WWII fiction novel I've read and had an almost fairytale quality to it, being about a young girl who still sees the magic in people and the world, despite the circumstances.
I'd say this is a slightly emotional read.
There were some parts toward the end that were hard to read & digest, even if only alluded to and not given in detail. Perhaps that is the mother in me.
This was a little unlike any other Holocaust / WWII fiction novel I've read and had an almost fairytale quality to it, being about a young girl who still sees the magic in people and the world, despite the circumstances.
I'd say this is a slightly emotional read.
There were some parts toward the end that were hard to read & digest, even if only alluded to and not given in detail. Perhaps that is the mother in me.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Audiobook - 3 hours 15 minutes - I absolutely adored the writing style of this book - it is clear the author has a talent for crafting beautiful words and prose. I also thought it matched the tone of the novel perfectly. The story didn't have the clear elements that stories usually do, but I think that was mostly the point, along with the abrupt ending. Not one of my favourite reads ever, but an amazing book nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical trauma, War
Finished reading: August 25th 2016
“Because," said the swallow man. "A friend is not someone to whom you give the things you need when the world is at war. A friend is someone to whom you give the things that you need when the world is at peace.”
Spoiler
Ok, here's the thing: I normally love historical fiction and I have a special interest in WWII stories. As soon as I heard about this novel by Gavriel Savit, I just knew I had to add it to my wishlist. Unfortunately Anna And The Swallow Man didn't seem to convince me and I honestly struggled to finish it. The idea behind this story is interesting and I liked both the linguistic references and how languages were described; they really woke the inner philologist nerd in me. That said, I found that the tone was all off and I didn't like the prose itself. It just didn't seem to fit the middle grade target at all... I also wasn't convinced by the magical realism elements in Anna And The Swallow Man. I guess this ones just one of those cases were magical realism just didn't do it for me and I don't think the target group would be able to fully understand its meaning either. In short, while the linguistic and historical references were interesting enough, the prose and surreal elements made me enjoy this story a lot less.
Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father in 1939 during the purge of intellectuals in Poland. Her father is a linguistics professor and has a gift for languages: he can speak many languages fluently and Anna has been a willing student. Now he is taken away, Anna is left alone. She then meets the Swallow Man. He is a complete mystery... A strange and tall man, a skilled deceiver and a language expert not unlike her father. Anna knows he is in danger of being taken as well, but the Swallow Man seems to have some tricks up his sleeve. Because when German soldiers in the streets look at him, they see what he wants them to see. Anna is entranced, and decides to follow the him into the wilderness. And they encounter all kind of dangers during their travels together...
I was really looking forward to this read, but unfortunately it mostly turned out to be a disappointment. I guess that one of the dangers of reading a story with magical realism elements is that it can go both ways, and in the case of Anna And The Swallow Man it just didn't work for me. And while I liked some of the other elements, I'm not sure if I can actually recommend this book...
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
To be honest this probably deserves more than 3 stars purely for the beautiful, strange and unconventional friendship between Anna and the swallow man that was so wonderfully presented to us in this book.
With a writing style I, for some reason, needed a little time to adjust to, this book was truly beautiful. Beautiful and heartbreaking in so many ways.
Definitely a different take on a wartime story. I loved that we got to see it through the innocence of a child who didn’t know what was going on in her country.
There’s nothing quite like seeing through a child’s eyes in such tragedy and confusion. It was really well written.
Although this book was powerful and deeply moving, I did manage to feel a little lost at parts. I think especially at the beginning there was just a lot to take in and make sense of.
With a writing style I, for some reason, needed a little time to adjust to, this book was truly beautiful. Beautiful and heartbreaking in so many ways.
Definitely a different take on a wartime story. I loved that we got to see it through the innocence of a child who didn’t know what was going on in her country.
There’s nothing quite like seeing through a child’s eyes in such tragedy and confusion. It was really well written.
Although this book was powerful and deeply moving, I did manage to feel a little lost at parts. I think especially at the beginning there was just a lot to take in and make sense of.
This author has a love for words, he is a true wordsmith. What a well written, concise, and surprisingly enthralling tale. Though there doesn't seem to be much action, the reader is pulled into wanting to know what will happen next, where will Anna and the Swallow Man go, who will they meet, will they survive. A great reminder of the horrors of war.
This is a different take on the people displaced from World War II in Poland. Anna is left alone at a young age when her father doesn't return home from work, the Nazis have taken him. She is alone in the world until she meets the Swallow Man (he never gives her his real name). They wander from Germany to Poland to Russia to survive. Even during this hard time the story is not bleak. It's an intriguing story until the end and you feel bewildered. I looked online for theories to what happened.