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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
ombraluce's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Una cavalcata attraverso l'orrore. Orrore del lager e delle sue abiezioni, orrore dello sprofondamento morale di un uomo che per raggranellare un istante in più di una vita priva di dignità tortura e uccide i suoi simili, orre di un senso di colpa così mostruoso da ridurre quella vita guadagnata a una morte dell'anima. E come unico riscatto a quell'orrore, a una costante, tremebonda paura, il miraggio di ritrovare quell'unica prigioniera della quale il protagonista intuisce l'essersi salvata. Ma l'orrore non lo risparmierà nemmeno in questo, in fondo siamo in ambiente ebraico e la confessione non esiste, nemmeno tra simili, e quindi questa donna, questo agognato sgravamento della coscienza, verrà vanificato dalla morte.
Uno dei libri più terribili che mi sia mai capitato di leggere, eppure non vorrei non averlo letto.
Uno dei libri più terribili che mi sia mai capitato di leggere, eppure non vorrei non averlo letto.
treedog669's review against another edition
3.0
Our protagonist has cheated death. Along the way, he used his position to rape various people stuck in the camps. Life goes on for him. He sticks to himself, (in my opinion) out of shame, knowing that what he did was wrong.
There's something about the way he delivers one of his final lines in the end, when he introduces himself to Lifka: "It's me, Kapo Furfa," a little too relaxedly for my taste. It's sorta like his opinion was that "we all have a part to play".
As clarified in the afterword, the miracle of this book is that it avoids kitsch: our protagonist has escaped death, and his shame isn't overflowing, but nor is he a villain from the bowels of the Earth: he has his shame and knows what he did was wrong, and grapples with his relationship with women. He has done some of the most shameful things you can: how do you live with yourself?
The afterword is particularly powerful because it shows how the Jewish community's views on kapos has changed over the interceding years: they were originally deemed as enemies of all, but later (currently?) are viewed as victims in their own way: everyone had a part to play, and you couldn't necessarily escape it. He's a complicated person.
He's a human; be careful, they walk among us.
There's something about the way he delivers one of his final lines in the end, when he introduces himself to Lifka: "It's me, Kapo Furfa," a little too relaxedly for my taste. It's sorta like his opinion was that "we all have a part to play".
As clarified in the afterword, the miracle of this book is that it avoids kitsch: our protagonist has escaped death, and his shame isn't overflowing, but nor is he a villain from the bowels of the Earth: he has his shame and knows what he did was wrong, and grapples with his relationship with women. He has done some of the most shameful things you can: how do you live with yourself?
The afterword is particularly powerful because it shows how the Jewish community's views on kapos has changed over the interceding years: they were originally deemed as enemies of all, but later (currently?) are viewed as victims in their own way: everyone had a part to play, and you couldn't necessarily escape it. He's a complicated person.
He's a human; be careful, they walk among us.
bumpyandfriend's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
javansutton's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sbkeats's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
imjustheretodayandtomorrow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
sarahcax's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
If you can get past the rife misogyny and all the women described through the male gaze (considering the time this was written), it's an astonishingly well written story with rich descriptions from the mundanity of people and day-to-day, to the horrors of war.
Feelings of paranoia and loneliness, Tisma tells the story of an ageing Kapo with no guilt for what he did in order to survive in the Nazi death camps, only the fear of being uncovered and facing the consequences of his actions, decades later.
It's bleak, and offers absolutely no hope to the reader.
Feelings of paranoia and loneliness, Tisma tells the story of an ageing Kapo with no guilt for what he did in order to survive in the Nazi death camps, only the fear of being uncovered and facing the consequences of his actions, decades later.
It's bleak, and offers absolutely no hope to the reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Violence
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/12/kapo.html
austindoherty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
5.0
Perhaps the worst book I've read all year, and certainly the best