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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
DNF at 40%.
I really enjoyed this book at the beginning, the setting of the war, the tragedy and the hope that Gretl had was intriguing. Her relationship with Jakob was just the cutest thing ever and I loved Gretl as a character.
As soon as she went to South Africa, the book kind of went down hill for me. It all just seemed like a fairytale, she found her family and everything was rainbows and roses. It’s boring and from reading other reviews, doesn’t sound like it’ll get any better.
The synopsis was misleading, it sounded like there was a whole lot more of the WW2 Nazi Germany/Poland aspect but it was honestly over in a hot sec and didn’t go into much detail about her life at the time. Which I would’ve loved to have read about.
Overall, it was just a lot lighter than I was expecting and it really threw me off.
I really enjoyed this book at the beginning, the setting of the war, the tragedy and the hope that Gretl had was intriguing. Her relationship with Jakob was just the cutest thing ever and I loved Gretl as a character.
As soon as she went to South Africa, the book kind of went down hill for me. It all just seemed like a fairytale, she found her family and everything was rainbows and roses. It’s boring and from reading other reviews, doesn’t sound like it’ll get any better.
The synopsis was misleading, it sounded like there was a whole lot more of the WW2 Nazi Germany/Poland aspect but it was honestly over in a hot sec and didn’t go into much detail about her life at the time. Which I would’ve loved to have read about.
Overall, it was just a lot lighter than I was expecting and it really threw me off.
Such a good WWII historical fiction about a Jewish orphanage and a man who saves her and how their lives play out after the war!
I just finished the novel The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert. It is 1944 in Southern Poland and Gretl Schmidt (six years old) is on a train with her Grandmother, Mother, and sister, Elza (fourteen) bound for a camp. Elza and Gretl are told to jump from the train to save themselves. The girls jump off just in time because this train is blown up shortly down the line. Jakob Kowalski is fifteen years old and a member of the Home Army (resistance). They planted bombs on the bridge to blow up a German troop train. The train with the Jews was no scheduled to come through the area.
Jakob rescues Elza and Gretl. Unfortunately, Elza becomes ill and does not make it. Jakob takes Gretl home to his family farm where she will live for the next four years. The two become very close during this time. A time comes when his family no longer wants Gretl on the farm. Jakob takes her to Germany to get Gretl into a program that is relocating German Protestant orphans to South Africa. They only want Aryan children (Gretl easily passes and it helps that her father was an SS Officer who died in 1941—and she has proof). Gretl learns to hide her past in order to get a new future.
Gretl never forgets Jakob and hopes to see him again. When Jakob is forced to flee Poland and gets an opportunity to work in South Africa, he jumps at it in the hopes of seeing Gretl again. Will Gretl and Jakob be able to reconnect? The Girl from the Train is told from the perspective of Gretl and Jakob. We get to see Gretl grow up and embrace her new life in South Africa. We learn how Jakob survived the war and how the communists changed Poland. I did find The Girl from the Train to be a long winded book. I did not think it would ever end. The Girl from the Train is basically one long historical romance novel. I think that the World War II theme has just been very overdone this year. The writing is good, but I found it difficult to get into the story (to connect with Gretl). I give The Girl from the Train 3 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of The Girl from the Train from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-girl-from-train.html
Jakob rescues Elza and Gretl. Unfortunately, Elza becomes ill and does not make it. Jakob takes Gretl home to his family farm where she will live for the next four years. The two become very close during this time. A time comes when his family no longer wants Gretl on the farm. Jakob takes her to Germany to get Gretl into a program that is relocating German Protestant orphans to South Africa. They only want Aryan children (Gretl easily passes and it helps that her father was an SS Officer who died in 1941—and she has proof). Gretl learns to hide her past in order to get a new future.
Gretl never forgets Jakob and hopes to see him again. When Jakob is forced to flee Poland and gets an opportunity to work in South Africa, he jumps at it in the hopes of seeing Gretl again. Will Gretl and Jakob be able to reconnect? The Girl from the Train is told from the perspective of Gretl and Jakob. We get to see Gretl grow up and embrace her new life in South Africa. We learn how Jakob survived the war and how the communists changed Poland. I did find The Girl from the Train to be a long winded book. I did not think it would ever end. The Girl from the Train is basically one long historical romance novel. I think that the World War II theme has just been very overdone this year. The writing is good, but I found it difficult to get into the story (to connect with Gretl). I give The Girl from the Train 3 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of The Girl from the Train from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-girl-from-train.html
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, War
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Deportation
Minor: Child death
A 5-star rating, and to think I almost put this book down after the initial few pages failed to hook me. I kept telling myself to read more and give it a chance. Well, it won me over. I had no idea I was going to love this book. I think it will be one of my favorites for a long long time. The last third of the book took an unexpected turn and I love this book even more for it.
First and most important I want to thank Netgalley, Thomas Nelson (the publisher), and Irma Joubert (the author) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I chose this book to read because of the specific time frame it took place during World War II. I have always been interested in books about this war. The plot of this book reminded me that the times of World War II seems eerily similar to what is going on today regarding the Muslim religion.
This book is about a six year old girl Gretl in World War II who escaped from a train that was bombed by Jakob a polish man. Jakob then takes responsibility for Gretl. In Poland she survives by hiding her German and Jewish roots by becoming a Polish Catholic. Eventually hard decisions must be made and she ends up in South Africa where again she must survive by hiding her Polish, Jewish, and Catholic identities. This book ultimately is about the bond that forms between Gretl and Jakob and how their lives are intertwined. This book is about survival, about the clashes between different cultures and religions. And how people learn to accept each others different beliefs and culture. This book is also about how traumatic events in the past can affect you in your present life. This book was about Gretl who is known by many names. It told the story of how she grew up and found herself, a bit of a coming of age novel. In reading this book it was very evident of the author's love for her homeland, South Africa. The author Irma Joubert is a South African writer who specializes in historical fiction. And this book was a very enriching story.
Overall, I would rate this book 4 stars out of 5. This book was bittersweet. What I enjoyed most was the joyful, peaceful, and hopeful feelings it created within me. This book was even more surprising because I wasn't expecting to feel these positive feelings, being that most books and stories I have read about World War II are horrifying. Don't get me wrong this book had some horrifying moments. This was a true love story about the different kinds of love. That love can survive anything. I really enjoyed the main character Gretl, her childish innocence, her wonder and awe. I enjoyed seeing her grow older, more mature and wise for her years.
One thing that I felt could have been improved upon in this book was that some sections, especially at the end were rushed, and should have been expanded upon. This book was beautifully written, I could feel the author's words. I felt how the author poured her emotions, poured her soul into the written words in this book. This book allowed your imagination to expand. and grow. You can see the story being played out in your head while reading the book. I had a very pleasant experience reading this book. I too felt the butterflies in my stomach hopefully you will to. If you want to join in on this ride than click HERE to purchase a copy of this book.
For more book reviews come and read my blog at http://turnthepagereviewsbyjill.blogspot.com
This book is about a six year old girl Gretl in World War II who escaped from a train that was bombed by Jakob a polish man. Jakob then takes responsibility for Gretl. In Poland she survives by hiding her German and Jewish roots by becoming a Polish Catholic. Eventually hard decisions must be made and she ends up in South Africa where again she must survive by hiding her Polish, Jewish, and Catholic identities. This book ultimately is about the bond that forms between Gretl and Jakob and how their lives are intertwined. This book is about survival, about the clashes between different cultures and religions. And how people learn to accept each others different beliefs and culture. This book is also about how traumatic events in the past can affect you in your present life. This book was about Gretl who is known by many names. It told the story of how she grew up and found herself, a bit of a coming of age novel. In reading this book it was very evident of the author's love for her homeland, South Africa. The author Irma Joubert is a South African writer who specializes in historical fiction. And this book was a very enriching story.
Overall, I would rate this book 4 stars out of 5. This book was bittersweet. What I enjoyed most was the joyful, peaceful, and hopeful feelings it created within me. This book was even more surprising because I wasn't expecting to feel these positive feelings, being that most books and stories I have read about World War II are horrifying. Don't get me wrong this book had some horrifying moments. This was a true love story about the different kinds of love. That love can survive anything. I really enjoyed the main character Gretl, her childish innocence, her wonder and awe. I enjoyed seeing her grow older, more mature and wise for her years.
One thing that I felt could have been improved upon in this book was that some sections, especially at the end were rushed, and should have been expanded upon. This book was beautifully written, I could feel the author's words. I felt how the author poured her emotions, poured her soul into the written words in this book. This book allowed your imagination to expand. and grow. You can see the story being played out in your head while reading the book. I had a very pleasant experience reading this book. I too felt the butterflies in my stomach hopefully you will to. If you want to join in on this ride than click HERE to purchase a copy of this book.
For more book reviews come and read my blog at http://turnthepagereviewsbyjill.blogspot.com
Niet bepaald een boek wat ik normaal zou lezen. Ik heb het gedaan, omdat ik nu bij een boekenclub zit. Had er goede dingen van gehoord en verwacht. Helaas viel het erg tegen. De stijl vind ik een beetje kinderachtig: gegeven informatie wordt vaak herhaald, zinnen lopen niet helemaal goed, er wordt te veel gebruik gemaakt van 'telling' en te weinig van 'showing'.
Jakob heeft al tijdens de oorlog een hekel aan de communisten en zeggen dat zij een gevaarlijke wereldmacht gaan worden. Dit is duidelijk met de terugkijkende blik van een moderne schrijver geschreven. In die tijd kwam de redding voor veel mensen uit Rusland. De Russen versloegen immers de grote vijand: het Duitse rijk.
De romantische scenes heb ik maar snel over geslagen. Dat heeft ook met mijn eigen voorkeur te maken, ik hou er simpelweg niet.
Uiteindelijk weet dit boek gewoon niet te beklijven. Het werpt geen vragen bij me op, het geeft me niet veel nieuwe informatie, het heeft me niet meegesleept. Helaas moet ik het boek dus maar twee sterren geven.
Jakob heeft al tijdens de oorlog een hekel aan de communisten en zeggen dat zij een gevaarlijke wereldmacht gaan worden. Dit is duidelijk met de terugkijkende blik van een moderne schrijver geschreven. In die tijd kwam de redding voor veel mensen uit Rusland. De Russen versloegen immers de grote vijand: het Duitse rijk.
De romantische scenes heb ik maar snel over geslagen. Dat heeft ook met mijn eigen voorkeur te maken, ik hou er simpelweg niet.
Uiteindelijk weet dit boek gewoon niet te beklijven. Het werpt geen vragen bij me op, het geeft me niet veel nieuwe informatie, het heeft me niet meegesleept. Helaas moet ik het boek dus maar twee sterren geven.
To my knowledge, this is the first novel I've read that was translated into English (outside of a few I had to read in high school and have pushed from my memory). For that reason, I had been slightly worried that some aspects of the story would have been lost in translation, either because of differing cultures or else words that had no exact definition in English. I was pleased to find that if anything was lost in translation, I didn't notice.
The Girl from the Train was a wonderful read. While most of the plot takes place after WWII, it was still interesting to see how Europe coped after the war, as well as how the effects were felt all the way to South Africa. My favorite conflict through the story was that between nationalities, languages, and religions that Gretl and Jakob had to navigate in order to survive.
* Now for a spoiler* From the beginning, I knew that the story would have to end in a romance between Jakob and Gretl. It was the only relational conclusion I could picture since Jakob never took up the role as father to Gretl, even though he could have. And while I rooted for it before it happened (it is not the first time I have seen a 15 year age gap), I was not sure of how I felt about it once it did happen. Even though they were a couple, Jakob still bossed her around like a parent and Gretl whined and manipulated him like she was his child. It made it hard for me to believe they were in love.
*End spoiler*
The part I really had issue did not come about until near the end, leaving the rest of the story to enjoy. I hope to see more translations of Irma's books in the future.
I received this book from the publisher through The Fiction Guild in exchange for an honest review.
The Girl from the Train was a wonderful read. While most of the plot takes place after WWII, it was still interesting to see how Europe coped after the war, as well as how the effects were felt all the way to South Africa. My favorite conflict through the story was that between nationalities, languages, and religions that Gretl and Jakob had to navigate in order to survive.
* Now for a spoiler* From the beginning, I knew that the story would have to end in a romance between Jakob and Gretl. It was the only relational conclusion I could picture since Jakob never took up the role as father to Gretl, even though he could have. And while I rooted for it before it happened (it is not the first time I have seen a 15 year age gap), I was not sure of how I felt about it once it did happen. Even though they were a couple, Jakob still bossed her around like a parent and Gretl whined and manipulated him like she was his child. It made it hard for me to believe they were in love.
*End spoiler*
The part I really had issue did not come about until near the end, leaving the rest of the story to enjoy. I hope to see more translations of Irma's books in the future.
I received this book from the publisher through The Fiction Guild in exchange for an honest review.