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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
The writing was very good. It was hard to put down. But it was also hard to read/listen to because it was graphic and just talked about the worst of humanity. Which is fair, especially for that time period, but I like stories that give us more hope in humanity.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Jerzy Kosinski's novel is a horrid account of his life in the Holocaust. It is a novel and yet I think the sorrows in it must be real. He is a capable writer and brings the war quite boldly to the page. Not for the faint of heart.
This book is a melancholy journey of self discovery, violence, and war--and of course those three things are not mutually exclusive. In some ways, the narrative is plodding, but this is not a bad thing. Our orphan moves from village to village, situation to situation, and violence to violence. Because he is alone, he must grow up very quickly, but the discoveries he makes along the way--about human behavior, sex, kindness, and savagery--are revealed more slowly through Kosiński's careful prose.
The metaphor of the painted bird is revealed early on in the book, which I like. There was no big "reveal" of what this is supposed to mean to us or to our protagonist; although like all good metaphors, there are layers, and by the end of the book, the title, the story, and our hero come together beautifully.
Fred Berman does a wonderful job of narrating this audiobook. His accent (which is put on; I think he's from New Jersey) is a vague but successful Eastern European, and his voice is quiet, steady, and oddly forceful. His is not an explosive reading nor is this an explosive book, but an understated powerhouse.
The metaphor of the painted bird is revealed early on in the book, which I like. There was no big "reveal" of what this is supposed to mean to us or to our protagonist; although like all good metaphors, there are layers, and by the end of the book, the title, the story, and our hero come together beautifully.
Fred Berman does a wonderful job of narrating this audiobook. His accent (which is put on; I think he's from New Jersey) is a vague but successful Eastern European, and his voice is quiet, steady, and oddly forceful. His is not an explosive reading nor is this an explosive book, but an understated powerhouse.
Great book but I need to pivot to less depressing books for a bit. I'd like to read this eventually
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is a mixed bag for me. I knew nothing going in and had not even read the blurb. It is a terrible book, not terribly bad or terribly written, but it is beyond dark. And I like reading dark books, but still, I had moments I needed to sit back and swallow a lump in my throat. Every trigger warning regarding (sexual) violence, animal cruelty, discrimination, prosecution and war applies. If it was a fantasy fiction I'd say the violence is gratuitous but the purpose is very much to show human's worst side as based on the authors and others' experiences. Apparently some of it is based on the notes of the authors father, as well as reports from war survivors. If you still feel you can handle that, I think it is a valuable experience to read the painted bird.
This book really paints the picture of humanities darkest moments. The pettiness, cruelty and hatred of regular people, full of prejudice and selfishness. And Kosinski makes us feel these things even more by contrasting these phenomena by picking a first person perspective of a child to experience and witness these horrible things. Humanity at its worst experienced and contrasted by a human at its most innocent and inexperienced.
We follow a child that has been left with farmers in the countryside to prevent prosecution from the Germans during WWII. People consistently perceive him to be a Gypsy or Jewish stray and so begins a journey of continuous flight, cruelties (to himself and others). There are moments of hope but as looking at it from the outside as a reader we already see it is futile. I will not say anything about the ending, although I found it very interesting as we see how all these experiences add up into personality, behaviour and world view of the boy.
What stood out to me is how religion and religious practices are very attractive to those who feel utterly powerless and unfortunate. It also shows it does not help at all for the actual faith, but it gives a focus outside of the suffering which in itself eases suffering. This goes for Christianity but really for all sorts and also completely made up understandings of how the world work. At some point the boy really explains the world in influencing your faith by winning favor through doing evil or setting others to evil. How else could those who do evil be so powerful? To me, it shows the clouding and inebriating effect of beliefs on our understanding of the world or acknowledging our current situation. Similary, it shows how beliefs may be the only way to mentally survive utterly desperate circumstances.
Now I can talk a lot about this book, but not without spoilers. So I'll finish by saying I will think a lot about this book, probably for years and at the same time do not feel like reading it again. If you have not though, I do recommend it.
This book really paints the picture of humanities darkest moments. The pettiness, cruelty and hatred of regular people, full of prejudice and selfishness. And Kosinski makes us feel these things even more by contrasting these phenomena by picking a first person perspective of a child to experience and witness these horrible things. Humanity at its worst experienced and contrasted by a human at its most innocent and inexperienced.
We follow a child that has been left with farmers in the countryside to prevent prosecution from the Germans during WWII. People consistently perceive him to be a Gypsy or Jewish stray and so begins a journey of continuous flight, cruelties (to himself and others). There are moments of hope but as looking at it from the outside as a reader we already see it is futile. I will not say anything about the ending, although I found it very interesting as we see how all these experiences add up into personality, behaviour and world view of the boy.
What stood out to me is how religion and religious practices are very attractive to those who feel utterly powerless and unfortunate. It also shows it does not help at all for the actual faith, but it gives a focus outside of the suffering which in itself eases suffering. This goes for Christianity but really for all sorts and also completely made up understandings of how the world work. At some point the boy really explains the world in influencing your faith by winning favor through doing evil or setting others to evil. How else could those who do evil be so powerful? To me, it shows the clouding and inebriating effect of beliefs on our understanding of the world or acknowledging our current situation. Similary, it shows how beliefs may be the only way to mentally survive utterly desperate circumstances.
Now I can talk a lot about this book, but not without spoilers. So I'll finish by saying I will think a lot about this book, probably for years and at the same time do not feel like reading it again. If you have not though, I do recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism
This was brutal. It is about a child surviving WWII after being sent to the country to be "safe." But his caretaker died and he was left to fend for himself. There is abuse and exploitation in all its varieties. I don't think any trigger is missed.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced