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krystahh's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
barbaraskalberg's review
3.0
3.5 I particularly enjoy books that teach me something I didn't know. For instance, I had no idea that Jews who fled to the Palestine after WW2 were held in "detainee camps" that were surrounded by watch towers and barbed wire. This particular historical fiction story follows four women in Atlit where we learn a little about their history and what they survived before arriving.
lisawreading's review
3.0
"Day After Night" is the story of Holocaust survivors, smuggled into Palestine in the time of the British Mandate in 1945, and imprisoned in the Atlit internment camp near Haifa. The book follows four main characters, women whose experiences during the Holocaust included concentration camps, fighting as part of the resistance, and forced prostitution. While the book has the ingredients of a moving story, ultimately it falls flat. The characters never truly come to life, and except for rare moments, are fairly interchangeable. "Day After Night" takes place in the months leading up to a large-scale escape of prisoners from Atlit. The climactic break-out should have been exciting and suspenseful. However, as with so much of this book, it felt oversimplified and lacking in real energy. I wanted to be moved by this book, as it covers a piece of Jewish and Israeli history that is little known. Anita Diamant's writing just didn't really work for me, and while I think it worthwhile to bring this era to light, those who are truly interested would be better served by reading an actual history of the time rather than spending time on this so-so novel.
amyinthewind's review
5.0
A British detainment camp for undocumented people trying to enter Israel after WWII is the backdrop for Anita Diamont's book, Day After Night. The focal point of the book is the development of relationships between people in the camp, four women in particular. The characters are well-developed, multi-dimensional and believable. Each woman's story unfolds over the course of the book, each having experienced the horrors of WWII in different ways and each coping and healing in different ways. I appreciated the variation between the women, since it becomes easy sometimes to lump people together when we know they come from the same time period, same ethnic background, same horrible set of political circumstances. Diamant makes the singular event of the Holocaust, plural and personal. We understand things so much better when we see the individual people and hear their individual stories.
I've read criticism that the book does not address historical events well and doesn't go into each woman's story in great(gruesome) detail. I agree that it seems possible that Diamant didn't do her homework enough to have the historical details. On the other hand, I think it's possible that those things were not intended as the focus. In some ways, she seemed to be making the point that most women didn't/don't disclose their most painful and gut-wrenching stories in any detailed or graphic kind of way. It's human to gloss over the painful parts. Perhaps this is Diamant's short-falling, and she herself didn't wish to get into the details, or, perhaps, she was recognizing this human condition and writing her characters in kind.
I've read criticism that the book does not address historical events well and doesn't go into each woman's story in great(gruesome) detail. I agree that it seems possible that Diamant didn't do her homework enough to have the historical details. On the other hand, I think it's possible that those things were not intended as the focus. In some ways, she seemed to be making the point that most women didn't/don't disclose their most painful and gut-wrenching stories in any detailed or graphic kind of way. It's human to gloss over the painful parts. Perhaps this is Diamant's short-falling, and she herself didn't wish to get into the details, or, perhaps, she was recognizing this human condition and writing her characters in kind.
arielml's review
4.0
I loved "The Red Tent." This one wasn't quite as good, but it was still excellent. It was really evocative and extremely compelling, and once I picked it up I just read straight through. Ultimately uplifting despite the dark subject matter.
sandhills_kt's review
2.0
I couldn't get into it. I found the characters undeveloped and flat. I think one relationship stuck with me. The most well written and engaging chapter was the epilogue.
alliconti's review
5.0
I've never read a book written by Anita Diamant that I didn't enjoy, and Day After Night was no different. In my opinion, this is historical fiction at it's best. Diamant took a piece of history that has previously only been a footnote in textbooks, and expanded on it creating a vivid universe where even minor characters are well developed and three dimensional. I think what really stands out about this book, and all of Diamant's novels, is how well she describes the full spectrum of human emotions from shame to grief to hope. She allows all of her characters to feel and describes their emotions in a way that relates to any reader. The only drawback for me was the epilogue, which I had mixed feelings about. You learn of the characters' fates, some much more depressing than others, but it's only a sentence or two for each character. I wanted a lot more or nothing at all. But, the epilogue makes up less than 2% of a 5 star book. Ultimately, I highly recommend this joke. Be prepared to feel an array of emotions, to learn about a forgotten event in history, and to get lost in the characters and the world Diamant creates. A must read for any historical fiction fan!
kharmacat's review
3.0
3.5 stars... Still not up to the caliber of the Red Tent, but much better than the other Diamant books I've read.