Reviews

Gjennom et kaldt land by Jáchym Topol

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millen13's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

2.5

I guess this book is meant for people who already know about the atrocities committed in Terezin and Belarus because the writer tries to put dark humor into the story using surreal situations to tell the story, which unfortunately, failed make the story land for me.

houseofjules's review against another edition

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4.0

I really liked this book, it keeps you interested in an eery kind of way. The lack of quotations kinda threw me off at times but I got used to it as I kept reading.

bex_phoenix's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.25

l_prelas's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5/5

Prva polovica romana (koja se odvija u fiktivnoj verziji češkog grada-utvrde Terezinu) je dosta spora i predvidiva, druga polovica (u Bjelorusiji) je brža, morbidnija, luđa, Topol vas taman narajca i onda paf - gotovo.

Osim sjajno izvedenog satiričnog prikaza turizma koji se vrti oko gadosti čovječanstva kao što su holokaust i genocidi i jedno dva poglavlja koja su ovaj roman mogli usmjeriti u sjajan horor roman, osjećam da mi ništa drugo neće ostati u dobrom sjećanju.

Sve u svemu, dobri kratki košmar od kojeg će mi ostati samo par nevjerojatnih slika.

andrew61's review against another edition

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4.0

It takes a bold writer to approach two examples of man's inhumanity to man with dark humour, but the author of this short book achieves this allowing the reader to feel uncomfortable as he confronts the greatest horrors of the twentieth century.
The book splits the story between Terezin in the Czech republic, a town which was the site of Nazi massacres and a Belarus town where the Russian army burned the inhabitants in their farm buildings. The unnamed narrator, born in a Nazi camp, as an adult ends up in prison after being accused of murdering his father. In prison he helps inmates to their execution before returning to Terezin as it faces bulldozing by the civic authorities. With his uncle he creates a campaign to save the town and the humour here is black as it satirises the disneyfication of the holocaust. He then moves to Belarus where he confronts a museum of the Russian genocide worthy of a hammer horror.
This was a short book but the ideas and images will remain long in my memory as it tackles an important idea, does the passing of time allow society to commercialize horror thus undermining it's significance and the necessity of keeping the story alive to future generations as a lesson never to forget.

unavezmas's review against another edition

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Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

The book was a gift and I didn't know anything about it when I picked it up. In case you wanna read it definitely check TWs as it speaks as about Devil's workshops aka death camps in Belarus and the Czech Republic. And obviously it's very political.

Gosh I loved this book. Literary book about Belarus (by non-Belarusian autor btw) with great villain who has a point even if his methods are cruel to say the least? Give me two. 😍

Definitely gonna reread this one.