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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Did you forget for a second that humans can be disgusting and cruel to each other ?
If so, this disturbing book is for you!
If you can stomach it.
If so, this disturbing book is for you!
If you can stomach it.
One of the most difficult books I’ve ever read. The events and imagery were heart wrenching. I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying.
Quote
“She always slept in her clothes. They were, according to her, the best defence against the danger of numerous diseases which fresh air might waft into the room”
My Review
The Painted Bird is a dark novel that examines the proximity of terror and savagery to innocence and love, this is from the book description and it is very true, this novel is very dark, cruel and rather unpleasant. There are no happy moments or peaceful moments, there is only death, mistreatment and horror.
There is a very short description on goodreads.com about this book, so I was unaware of what this book talks about, I was expecting something different, more of a holocaust, jew, concentration camp sort of novel, but this is something totally different.
I didn't read any of the reviews on goodreads before picking this book up, if I had I might not have even read it.
So why even read this book, as it is so sad, well it is actually quite well written, and it makes you feel as if the area it is based in,somewhere in Poland, is somewhere else, somewhere fantasy rather than real, somewhere similar to the novel The Man Who Spoke Snakish, in parts, and another era in other parts.
But I had a lot of trouble finishing this book. There is so much cruelty, child cruelty at that, during the second world war years in Poland and I wondered on more than one occasion if this is real, is this credible, I am sure there were many, many cruel moments in the Second World War years but, well, maybe, parts of it, but the rest…. I had better hopes for humanity, these people in the book are not army, they are normal peasants living and surviving and they seem to treat children worse than dogs, with so much violence and cruelty.
Each chapter covers the new circumstances of our young boy protagonist, with different adults supposedly, looking after him as he travels from village to village searching for food, warmth and everything he needs.
I did wonder after finishing this novel, why, why did the author even write this, there is no hope, or decency or anything nice about this book, what is the reason for this novel. This is a novel, it is not a memoir.
It isn’t a very moving book either, you have no feelings for any of the characters, not even the unnamed child protagonist.
Warning… Please only read this if you are not easily upset with violence and child cruelty.
I give this book 2 stars. The next country we are visiting in the read the world challenge is New Zealand. See you in the next country.
“She always slept in her clothes. They were, according to her, the best defence against the danger of numerous diseases which fresh air might waft into the room”
My Review
The Painted Bird is a dark novel that examines the proximity of terror and savagery to innocence and love, this is from the book description and it is very true, this novel is very dark, cruel and rather unpleasant. There are no happy moments or peaceful moments, there is only death, mistreatment and horror.
There is a very short description on goodreads.com about this book, so I was unaware of what this book talks about, I was expecting something different, more of a holocaust, jew, concentration camp sort of novel, but this is something totally different.
I didn't read any of the reviews on goodreads before picking this book up, if I had I might not have even read it.
So why even read this book, as it is so sad, well it is actually quite well written, and it makes you feel as if the area it is based in,somewhere in Poland, is somewhere else, somewhere fantasy rather than real, somewhere similar to the novel The Man Who Spoke Snakish, in parts, and another era in other parts.
But I had a lot of trouble finishing this book. There is so much cruelty, child cruelty at that, during the second world war years in Poland and I wondered on more than one occasion if this is real, is this credible, I am sure there were many, many cruel moments in the Second World War years but, well, maybe, parts of it, but the rest…. I had better hopes for humanity, these people in the book are not army, they are normal peasants living and surviving and they seem to treat children worse than dogs, with so much violence and cruelty.
Each chapter covers the new circumstances of our young boy protagonist, with different adults supposedly, looking after him as he travels from village to village searching for food, warmth and everything he needs.
I did wonder after finishing this novel, why, why did the author even write this, there is no hope, or decency or anything nice about this book, what is the reason for this novel. This is a novel, it is not a memoir.
It isn’t a very moving book either, you have no feelings for any of the characters, not even the unnamed child protagonist.
Warning… Please only read this if you are not easily upset with violence and child cruelty.
I give this book 2 stars. The next country we are visiting in the read the world challenge is New Zealand. See you in the next country.
This is one gory book. Whoa. I was NOT prepared for it. I picked up this book on the recomendation of a friend of mine (it was one of those "you gotta read this book" but without going into details), so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. As you can imagine I got quite a shock.
This book caused a lot of controversy. Turned out the author actually misrepresented himself by letting everyone believe that this book was based on his personal experiences. As a fiction this book is not all that great. The only reason I gave it two starts instead of one is despite his faults, Kosinski brings up a long forgotten "pink elephant" - the hatred and fear of Gypsies and Jews existed in Europe long before the Nazis came to be.
This book caused a lot of controversy. Turned out the author actually misrepresented himself by letting everyone believe that this book was based on his personal experiences. As a fiction this book is not all that great. The only reason I gave it two starts instead of one is despite his faults, Kosinski brings up a long forgotten "pink elephant" - the hatred and fear of Gypsies and Jews existed in Europe long before the Nazis came to be.
I don't rate this low because it was in any way poorly written, but because it was relentlessly bleak and depressing and often disgusting in content. Somehow I ended up reading this twice; once as a teenager because it happened to be in the house, and once for a history class. If you like nihilistic fiction and think suffering is profound merely because it is brutal or sick or twisted, then this might be the book for you. It must have been very well written; otherwise I can't imagine having pressed through the disturbing content. People can be evil, and here's your chance to see one boy suffering evil again and again. Not my cup of tea.
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The world seemed to be pretty much the same everywhere, and even though people differed from one another, just as animals and trees did, one should know fairly well what they looked like after seeing them for years
I'm not one for hyperbole. The world has enough of it, and the world of subjective ratings of art has enough of it, too. So I'll just state plainly: this is one of the best novels that I have ever read. But I don't think I enjoyed it, and I'm almost certain that I will never re-read it.
I'm not one for hyperbole. The world has enough of it, and the world of subjective ratings of art has enough of it, too. So I'll just state plainly: this is one of the best novels that I have ever read. But I don't think I enjoyed it, and I'm almost certain that I will never re-read it.
I'm so conflicted about this book. It is categorized as semi autobiographical, but is a fictional novel. The book is a long laundry list of horror experienced by a very young boy as he wanders Poland basically trying to avoid being beaten and killed. A lot of sexual depravity. War is horrific but this is almost so terrible as to not be believable; even the "kind" individuals are despicable. I think it is eye opening to be exposed to real life horror that happens in war, though, and this book was written from a perspective that I've never seen regarding WW2.