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abi_jessica's review
4.0
I have been diving in and out of this book for a while just because I have been so busy...
But MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS the twist at the end just made the wait and the confusion so worth it!
Throughout it switches between Lilie's story and Krysta's and I just could not work out the significance. It had my empathising with both characters throughout as well as lovely Benjamin and Daniel! (We all need a Daniel in our lives!). But I did not guess the end or how it all comes together AT ALL. Granville does a brilliant job of distracting you from the truth by throwing magic in your face... you end up feeling exactly like Krysta; naive, innocent and almost completely oblivious to reality!
Nothing could have prepared me for how this ended. But it was a perfect tying together of the two stories and so perfectly crafted. Definitely a very clever psychological thriller!
The only reason this didn't get 5 stars is because there were certain points in the book where it got a little confused and distracted, I guess that was the nature of the story but I would have enjoyed more clues and suspense!
But MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS the twist at the end just made the wait and the confusion so worth it!
Throughout it switches between Lilie's story and Krysta's and I just could not work out the significance. It had my empathising with both characters throughout as well as lovely Benjamin and Daniel! (We all need a Daniel in our lives!). But I did not guess the end or how it all comes together AT ALL. Granville does a brilliant job of distracting you from the truth by throwing magic in your face... you end up feeling exactly like Krysta; naive, innocent and almost completely oblivious to reality!
Nothing could have prepared me for how this ended. But it was a perfect tying together of the two stories and so perfectly crafted. Definitely a very clever psychological thriller!
The only reason this didn't get 5 stars is because there were certain points in the book where it got a little confused and distracted, I guess that was the nature of the story but I would have enjoyed more clues and suspense!
laurapatriciarosereads's review
4.0
Originally posted on: http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/gretel-and-dark-by-eliza-granville.html
4.5/5
The cover of this book is so appealing. It really stands out and even though it is a hardback book, the picture is actually on the book not on a dust jacket and it is smaller than other hardback books which I think gives it more appeal and it reminds me of an old fashioned fairytale book; and fairytales play a prominent theme in Gretel and the Dark. So if it has been done for that reason then it's really clever.
I was a little confused when I first started reading this as there seemed to be a lot going on and two main different stories. But as I got a bit further into it, it started to make sense and then it was one of those books that consumed me and I could not get it out of my head; even now.
In Vienna, Joseph Breuer meets a woman his gardener Benjamin finds naked and bruised in the street, she says she has no name and is a machine, not human and that she must kill the monster. Taken in by her beauty Joseph is determined to find out who she is and where she came from.
Many years later in Germany, we meet Krysta who has lost her Mum to suicide and her Father is too busy working in the infirmary with the 'animal people' that he has been forced to work with. So Krysta is very alone, but she gets lost in the fairytale stories of Hansel and Gretel, The Pied Piper and many more. So when Krysta's life gets thrown into a nightmare, her fairytales and imagination have more powers than she ever could have imagined.
I really was blown away by the author's way of storytelling in this incredible book. She writes so that never ever feels completely real; you are always just on the edge of reality, looking in, so you never experience the true horrors of the story from a first hand account but through fairytales. You get the understanding of what has happened or is going on, but like Krysta you are almost protected by her imagination.
I became more caught up in Krysta's story as even though a lot of what happens is told through fairytales, her story had more a solid grounding than Joseph Breuer's. His story felt more fairytale like and I kept wondering how this story was connected to Krysta's story that was some forty years later.
When I discovered how the two stories were connected is was nothing short of an amazing, if heartbreaking revelation. It tells us how through the use of our imagination we can escape the reality around us and the things around us that are not so nice bearable.
A really incredible, poignant and powerful story that I know I will not forget.
4.5/5
The cover of this book is so appealing. It really stands out and even though it is a hardback book, the picture is actually on the book not on a dust jacket and it is smaller than other hardback books which I think gives it more appeal and it reminds me of an old fashioned fairytale book; and fairytales play a prominent theme in Gretel and the Dark. So if it has been done for that reason then it's really clever.
I was a little confused when I first started reading this as there seemed to be a lot going on and two main different stories. But as I got a bit further into it, it started to make sense and then it was one of those books that consumed me and I could not get it out of my head; even now.
In Vienna, Joseph Breuer meets a woman his gardener Benjamin finds naked and bruised in the street, she says she has no name and is a machine, not human and that she must kill the monster. Taken in by her beauty Joseph is determined to find out who she is and where she came from.
Many years later in Germany, we meet Krysta who has lost her Mum to suicide and her Father is too busy working in the infirmary with the 'animal people' that he has been forced to work with. So Krysta is very alone, but she gets lost in the fairytale stories of Hansel and Gretel, The Pied Piper and many more. So when Krysta's life gets thrown into a nightmare, her fairytales and imagination have more powers than she ever could have imagined.
I really was blown away by the author's way of storytelling in this incredible book. She writes so that never ever feels completely real; you are always just on the edge of reality, looking in, so you never experience the true horrors of the story from a first hand account but through fairytales. You get the understanding of what has happened or is going on, but like Krysta you are almost protected by her imagination.
I became more caught up in Krysta's story as even though a lot of what happens is told through fairytales, her story had more a solid grounding than Joseph Breuer's. His story felt more fairytale like and I kept wondering how this story was connected to Krysta's story that was some forty years later.
When I discovered how the two stories were connected is was nothing short of an amazing, if heartbreaking revelation. It tells us how through the use of our imagination we can escape the reality around us and the things around us that are not so nice bearable.
A really incredible, poignant and powerful story that I know I will not forget.
lottelikesbooks's review
3.0
Didn't really care for this book to be honest. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. I'm still excited to talk about it with my book club though, because the story leaves lots of room for discussions and interpretations.
tashreads2manybooks's review
4.0
Full review to follow: Some readers have classified this book as YA. It is NOT, I repeat, is NOT suitable for young readers. It is extremely dark and deals with some very disturbing adult themes. But riveting and haunting too.
gailbird's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastical and atmospheric. The view through a child's eyes can be heartbreaking and poignantly identifiable. I was swept into this imaginative, fairytale-esque account set in a historical time of horrible atrocities and dehumanizing rationalizations almost in spite of myself. The twin narratives set side by side distracted me from the continuity of story at times, but in the end merged seamlessly into a completed and coherent picture of the events. The ending sealed my experience with a kiss, touching and pleasantly surprising me in some ways and gently rewarding me for my attention and deductions in others. I was able to feel as though I, as well as the main characters, had learned something and grown from the encounter. This is a tightly-knit, streamlined book full of pathos, darkness, and fear that is a wonder to experience.
didis_diaries's review against another edition
5.0
Vienna, 1899. Josef Breuer is a celebrated psychoanalyst, struggling with a case: a girl claiming to be a machine. Years later we meet little Krysta in Germany. Her father has to work a lot, leaving her alone with her doll and her stories.
This novel is as dark and compelling as a Grimm fairytale.
This novel is as dark and compelling as a Grimm fairytale.
shannonmcgreevy's review against another edition
4.0
If I feel like this book had a complex storyline and twist to it that I found at the start very confusing and discouraging. However when you get more into this book the storyline becomes a lot more apparent in the way it's told through fairy tales. I feel the fairy tale aspect was very original and nothing I have read before in this style would compare to this. Over I feel this book was very complex but wrapped up very well, a great read.
stephaniekhani's review against another edition
4.0
While a beautiful novel, I struggled with Eliza Granville’s Gretel and the Dark as it was, indeed, very, very dark. I don’t recommend reading this book if you’re going through a bit of a down period or if you’re going through an episode of losing faith in the human race. It’s pretty grim.
Depressing nature aside, this is a beautiful book. Odd to say that, really, but the language itself is gorgeous. The novel is filled with German and Polish words and phrases which makes it at times difficult reading but you’re able to get a fairly good idea of what is being said through character reaction or the author’s explanation. The stories woven in and out throughout the whole book are brilliant and actually mean something within the actual storyline. It sounds weird, and it is, but bear with it!
Up until the last sort of 50 pages or so I had very little idea of what was actually going on but all at once everything clicked together like puzzle pieces. It’s all rather mind bending but the end result is stunning.
Ambitious, creepy and utterly amazing, Gretel and the Dark will unsettle you but keep you turning pages.
Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Depressing nature aside, this is a beautiful book. Odd to say that, really, but the language itself is gorgeous. The novel is filled with German and Polish words and phrases which makes it at times difficult reading but you’re able to get a fairly good idea of what is being said through character reaction or the author’s explanation. The stories woven in and out throughout the whole book are brilliant and actually mean something within the actual storyline. It sounds weird, and it is, but bear with it!
Up until the last sort of 50 pages or so I had very little idea of what was actually going on but all at once everything clicked together like puzzle pieces. It’s all rather mind bending but the end result is stunning.
Ambitious, creepy and utterly amazing, Gretel and the Dark will unsettle you but keep you turning pages.
Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
vasi83177's review
4.0
It's a bit difficult to rate this book.
It's also a bit difficult to get through. Which isn't to say that it's badly written. It's not. But the subject matter gets very dark, very quickly and in the end, it's not for those faint of heart. I can't go into too much details about this side of the story because I don't want to give anything away, but this is just a warning that some rather terrible things are being portrayed.
Apart from this, the book revolves around fairy tales and especially the tale of Hansel and Gretel. These stories are used as a coping mechanism by our main character, a little girl, who tries to make sense of the real world by likening it to that of fairy tales. And that is just the beginning. This concept morphs over time into something closer to madness.
And because we see things through the eyes of a little girl who uses fairy tales as a compass, it's up to the reader to figure out what is actually happening. The end result is that topics, such as mistreatment of children for instance, are portrayed in fairy tale language. So their effect doesn't echo as powerfully until you realize what our young narrator is trying say, what parts of those tales apply to her real-life situations.
So if you don't shy away from darker topics, and you have a love for fairy tales, I would recommend this book.
It's also a bit difficult to get through. Which isn't to say that it's badly written. It's not. But the subject matter gets very dark, very quickly and in the end, it's not for those faint of heart. I can't go into too much details about this side of the story because I don't want to give anything away, but this is just a warning that some rather terrible things are being portrayed.
Apart from this, the book revolves around fairy tales and especially the tale of Hansel and Gretel. These stories are used as a coping mechanism by our main character, a little girl, who tries to make sense of the real world by likening it to that of fairy tales. And that is just the beginning. This concept morphs over time into something closer to madness.
And because we see things through the eyes of a little girl who uses fairy tales as a compass, it's up to the reader to figure out what is actually happening. The end result is that topics, such as mistreatment of children for instance, are portrayed in fairy tale language. So their effect doesn't echo as powerfully until you realize what our young narrator is trying say, what parts of those tales apply to her real-life situations.
So if you don't shy away from darker topics, and you have a love for fairy tales, I would recommend this book.