Reviews

Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano

margaret21's review against another edition

4.0

Nearly 40 years ago, Modiano came across an ad in a 1941 edition of Paris Soir: by two Jewish parents seeking for their daughter who had run away from boarding school. His interest piqued, Modiano set forth on a ten year search to find out more about the life and possible death of the child, Dora Bruder. While he never forgot her, his search was intermittent. He looked at documents and newspapers. He trawled through the streets of the Paris Dora frequented, though many of them had changed almost beyond recognition. In this document of his search, he paints a picture of the Nazi occupation of Paris, of the lives of the Jewish citizenry - incomers from all over Europe - under Pétain's regime. He connects and contrasts Dora's adolescence to his own. This then is a personal story, as much about Modiano himself as about Dora Bruder. It is though a memorial to her, and to any and all of the Jews who lived and died in that particular and brutal period of French history.

natday's review

5.0

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

stanwyck's review against another edition

3.0

With so many primary historical sources, it terrifies me.

colette_'s review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

chromathilda's review

emotional medium-paced

5.0

nadalien's review

4.0

2017. június 1.

Egészen könnyed olvasmány az igen nehéz témához képest.
Modiano stílusa először kicsit furcsa volt számomra, nem találkoztam még az írásaival. Azonban könnyen rá tudtam hangolódni, és igazán jó élmény volt a regény olvasása.
Elkalandozó gondolataival, az adatok hiányával, Dora és a saját életének összehasonlításával számomra nagyon is jól át tudta adni azt az ürességet, amit a könyv során újra és újra felemleget. A szereplők arctalanok, a tények szárazak, a sokszor értelmezhetetlen jelölések még inkább felerősíti az olvasóban azt az érzést, hogy számunkra, akik nem voltak ott és nem élték át a második világhábórú eseményeit és szörnyűségeit, lehetetlen megérteni mindezt, a fölöttünk lebegő, de megfejthetetlen titkot.

cavernousss's review

3.0

3,5⭐️

sarratbb's review against another edition

4.0

This was a recommendation. I loved reading it. The writing is immaculate. The amount of geographical accuracy (street names and stuff) is crazy. I liked that the author puts an emphasis on details like dates and serial numbers even though it does not seem necessary. This was the story of Dora Bruder, a Jewish French teenage girl of Austrian and Hungarian origins living in France during the German occupation (WWII). The narrator (author?) finds a missing person article (of Dora) in an old newspaper and he becomes fascinated by her and goes on a mission to find anything regarding her, her family, her education, and eventually her disappearance.

Spoiler

Through that mission, we come to learn that she was taken in concentration camps along with her family (and eventually to Auschwitz).

In parallel, the writer seems to go back into his childhood and adolescence memories to find similarities between him and Dora, like their struggles with the German police as Jews (I did my research, this isn't a bad word, and I do not intend it as a slur but as an abbreviation). This is why I shelved this novel in both "fiction" and "non-fiction" because it contains both elements (the fictional yet very realistic story of Dora, and the real autobiographical parts). The last thing I will say is I enjoyed the literature references, to authors or books which I will mention here :
- [b:Les Misérables|24280|Les Misérables|Victor Hugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411852091l/24280._SY75_.jpg|3208463] by [a:Victor Hugo|13661|Victor Hugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1415946858p2/13661.jpg]
- [b:Voyage de noces|23375683|Voyage de noces|Patrick Modiano|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492188409l/23375683._SY75_.jpg|314235] (by the author himself)
- [a:Friedo Lampe|54432|Friedo Lampe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1540226683p2/54432.jpg] ([b:Au bord de la nuit|59664181|Au bord de la nuit|Friedo Lampe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637488625l/59664181._SX50_.jpg|21310092])
- Couldn't find him on here but : Félix Hardaub
- [a:Roger Gilbert-Lecomte|206810|Roger Gilbert-Lecomte|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1238039240p2/206810.jpg] ([b:La Vie l'Amour la Mort le Vide et le Vent|40672871|La Vie l'Amour la Mort le Vide et le Vent|Roger Gilbert-Lecomte|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530328802l/40672871._SY75_.jpg|63236798])
- [b:La Place de l’Étoile|323535|La Place de l’Étoile|Patrick Modiano|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1472890343l/323535._SY75_.jpg|314240] (by the author himself)
- [b:La Place de l'Étoile: Antipoème|1514148|La Place de l'Étoile Antipoème|Robert Desnos|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1184533377l/1514148._SX50_.jpg|1505824] (by [a:Robert Desnos|341972|Robert Desnos|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1655519966p2/341972.jpg])
- [a:JEAN JAUSION|23310406|JEAN JAUSION|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] ([b:UN HOMME MARCHE DANS LA VILLE|75385076|UN HOMME MARCHE DANS LA VILLE (BLANCHE)|JEAN JAUSION|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1672275436l/75385076._SX50_.jpg|100610556])

jlkenneth's review

3.0

Read the whole thing in one sitting, completely transfixed. A highly original novel/memoir/historiography/detective story exploring the lost memories of those who disappeared from Paris during the Occupation. By tracking the life of teenager Dora Bruder in 1941-1942, Modiono creates a moving portrait of occupied Paris and compellingly reminds us of the lives which were lost in the horrors of WWII, but takes a fresh perspective by blending these stories with tales of his own life and family, and the coincidental ways his own life intersected with Dora's without him knowing it. I had a bit of a shock when he finally reveals that Dora was eventually deported to Auschwitz/Birkenau, as I suddenly realized that, like Modiano, I've also walked in the same places she once did. The text just has a peculiar way of leaping off the page. After reading this, it's easy to see why he won the Nobel prize in 2014.

sweetbeetle's review

dark emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

3.25