Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
wilm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
2.0
vishal_moorthy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
californianorma's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
I never anticipated that I would be smiling when I finished this. As another said, with all that's going on in the world...this felt so appropriate. In fact, some of the scenes are placed in Ukraine! Interesting to read the names in Russian, Kiev v Kyiv for example.
bethanystone13's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
4.0
korrick's review against another edition
4.0
This was in many ways a breath of fresh air in Holocaust literature; reflective of the horrors yet focusing more on WWII itself and all the other things that were happening to the Jews outside of the camps. It was nice learning about the partisans and the underground survivors, and how Italy drew all the Jews from everywhere in preparation for a new life. In a way, it was a period that I already knew a lot about from previous literature, but delivered in a different way, focusing on a different perspective. It was also surprisingly balanced for a book by a Holocaust survivor; Levi didn't sink too deeply into despair, or condemn everything for the rest of time for what happened. His style of writing is very straightforward, and spends just as much time on the good as on the bad. Surprisingly pleasant, as well as informative.
jamespuntillo's review against another edition
5.0
I took my time with this book. Levi is a meticulous writer, and the translation is top notch. His prose is vivid and solemn, and perfectly captures the precariousness of the human spirit.
Mendel, the de facto protagonist of the story, is a likeable paragon of morality. You can see Levi exploring his own naivety of his Jewishness inside Mendel's character, and when he falters, like with the Gedalists and their sometimes warped sense of morality, Mendel powers through with a deep sense of introspection that always finds its way back his watchmaking. His craft roots him in something real, much like Levi's rootedness in his chemistry—a shorthand, we learn, for his pragmatism, which he claims saved his life.
I loved this book. It was tedious and boring at times, but Levi discovers themes in the most peculiar places. The birth of a child at the end of the story, begotten from a nearly dying Jewish woman and her young husband, is a beautiful metaphor for the persistence of the Jews in Europe. Their survival story never quite makes it to Palestine, yet the ending seems to underlie this new beginning, brought about at a turning point, when the first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
In a place and time where death comes easy and "life is an exception", Levi spends little time on the characters who are almost wantonly annihilated in the course of the story. Leonid's death is both unforeseen and staggeringly quick. None of the characters, even Mendel, seem to notice his absence, except in the penultimate episode of the novel, when the group wishes that they had had his acumen of urban life while stationed in Milan. Even then, life and comradery is only second to the utility that fellowship provides the group.
What is this new world? Why does Mendel want to coexist with this woman that isn't Rivke but that makes him feel sexually liberated? Where is their relationship headed even after being the catalyst for the supposed death of their friend?
Mendel, the de facto protagonist of the story, is a likeable paragon of morality. You can see Levi exploring his own naivety of his Jewishness inside Mendel's character, and when he falters, like with the Gedalists and their sometimes warped sense of morality, Mendel powers through with a deep sense of introspection that always finds its way back his watchmaking. His craft roots him in something real, much like Levi's rootedness in his chemistry—a shorthand, we learn, for his pragmatism, which he claims saved his life.
I loved this book. It was tedious and boring at times, but Levi discovers themes in the most peculiar places. The birth of a child at the end of the story, begotten from a nearly dying Jewish woman and her young husband, is a beautiful metaphor for the persistence of the Jews in Europe. Their survival story never quite makes it to Palestine, yet the ending seems to underlie this new beginning, brought about at a turning point, when the first atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
In a place and time where death comes easy and "life is an exception", Levi spends little time on the characters who are almost wantonly annihilated in the course of the story. Leonid's death is both unforeseen and staggeringly quick. None of the characters, even Mendel, seem to notice his absence, except in the penultimate episode of the novel, when the group wishes that they had had his acumen of urban life while stationed in Milan. Even then, life and comradery is only second to the utility that fellowship provides the group.
What is this new world? Why does Mendel want to coexist with this woman that isn't Rivke but that makes him feel sexually liberated? Where is their relationship headed even after being the catalyst for the supposed death of their friend?
maaikevan's review against another edition
4.0
Prachtig geschreven relaas over een groep Joodse partizanen tijdens WOII en hun tocht door Europa. Beschrijft zeer mooi de menselijkheid en alledaagsheid tegenover de onbevattelijke gruwelijkheid van de oorlog. En fascinerend omdat ik ondanks vele oorlogsboeken te lezen, zelden dit perspectief vanuit Wit-Rusland t/m Italië gelezen. Wel pijnlijk ook de rode draad van de wens van Mendel en co naar Palestina te gaan met de kennis van hoe die situatie zich tot op de dag van vandaag voortzet met al het trauma van dien.
zoemacgregor12's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
if by some freak accident of luck or chance or something else entirely we find ourselves alive we have no choice but to go onwards