Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Gerta by Kateřina Tučková

2 reviews

mslaureeslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

 

Brief Summary: Follows the life of Gerta Schnirch, who is the daughter of Czech mother and a German father throughout her life. She is a young adult during the invasion by the Germans in WWII. It follows her as she becomes a mother, a refugee, faces repeated political changes in her country. The novel touches on the history of individuals of German descent and how they were treated by the Czech in the aftermath of WWII. 

Mini Review: I really struggled through this book. I picked it up for my Read Around the World Challenge in which I am trying to read a book from every country in the world. I thought it was important to finish this book, even as I had issues with its content and the writing, because of the story it was telling. I learned a lot and did additional research into the treatment of people of German heritage in the Czech as well as other countries after WWII. I think the story is important but I really struggled with so much about this book. The writing was scattered and at times lacked focus. It felt like the book was trying to do too much. There is A LOT of violence in this book. There are a lot of issues that could be triggering for people. I felt the violence included was important to the story, but he way it was described and addressed lacked emotionality and seemed, at times dismissive. The characters all felt a bit flat. The settings were sometimes well described, while others were barely addressed. The story really dragged out and the page count could have easily been trimmed down. It is always difficult to judge writing in translation, but it was just hard to read sometimes. It is a hard book for me to recommend and I will be looking into other titles that address this topic, and other books from the Czech that would be better recommendations. 

Overall rating: 2.5 
Writing: 2 
Plot: 3 
Structure: 3 
Characters: 2 

Pacing: 2 
Emotional impact: 3 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Racism, Genocide, Death, Incest, War, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Rape, Xenophobia, Misogyny, and Mental illness

kbaxter21's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, and Racism