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ztkrogman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kyliemaslen's review against another edition
5.0
an incredibly intelligent novel following a young woman’s affair with an older man in the lead up to the fall of the berlin wall. erpenbeck is sharp as hell, exploring patriarchal power by the state, politics, surveillance, love and anger. i’ll be thinking about this book for a long time. check the content warnings before starting this one.
slugabed's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kayteeolson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i loved this book
christmaskid's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
woolfy_vita's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
vkce23's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The writing in this book is wonderful and as with many readers, the first half really draws you in. For me, this is the sort of book that would benefit from a deep analysis (think A level English Lit sort of deep dive) to really understand all the references, metaphors and subtle sentences that convey a much deeper meaning. Much of it went over my head in that way I think. I completely understood the link between the toxic relationship between Katharina and Hans and its slow decline, with that of East/West Germany and the idea of Hans representing the older generation and Katharina, the new. However the second half really becomes very political, their relationship (which is hard to read about at times with the abuse and age gap)doesn’t ever really properly reach a satisfying conclusion and I don’t feel I got enough of a sense of the characters in the later stages of the book, which you definitely do in the beginning. A challenging, political read with much to admire but much to confuse!