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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
An engrossing novella on guilt, forgetting, and the long shadows of war.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I enjoyed this book but I felt that you could tell it was a translation at times which detracted from the story a little :(
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
the writing!!!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
This book is essentially about the lasting effects of war on people and the unspeakable things they have to live with. I’ve never read a book quite like this before so i’m not so sure about what to look for. But i enjoyed it despite the pretty slow pace and the fact that we’re just following along one man’s life with his constant repression of the torment he had to deal with as a child.
Another thing this teaches you is context helps in making sense of the things that happen in this world. Some characters from this book have done morally wrong actions during the war, but they had better reasons for doing so. They just can’t save everybody and unfortunately Anton’s family got the worst of this situation.
Mulisch’s prose is also something that i liked about the book. It crosses the line between flowery and matter-of-factly at just the right moments. It lets you get inside the character’s head and immerse in the atmosphere they’re in.
Also just adding this quote from the book that i think is representative of how it depicted the effects of WWII:
Another thing this teaches you is context helps in making sense of the things that happen in this world. Some characters from this book have done morally wrong actions during the war, but they had better reasons for doing so. They just can’t save everybody and unfortunately Anton’s family got the worst of this situation.
Mulisch’s prose is also something that i liked about the book. It crosses the line between flowery and matter-of-factly at just the right moments. It lets you get inside the character’s head and immerse in the atmosphere they’re in.
Also just adding this quote from the book that i think is representative of how it depicted the effects of WWII:
“The world is hell, he thought, hell. Even if we had heaven on earth tomorrow, it couldn’t be perfect because of all that’s happened. Never again could things be set right. Life on this planet was a failure, a big flop; better that it should never have begun.”
loved this!
medium-paced