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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I came across this gem on the Patreon member feed of the *What Should I Read Next?* podcast. It was their "One Great Book" segment. These are short episodes where one of their staff members gives a quick review of a book they liked. Based on Shannan's review, I immediately added to my list of books to read.
This short novel (more of a novella or short story, really, at just over ten thousand words long) was originally published in 1938 in Story magazine. It is the story of two good friends who are partners in an art gallery. One of them returns to Germany while the other remains in San Francisco to mind the store. Max, the one who stays, is a Jew. Once he arrives in Germany, Martin writes back to Max about the wonders of a revitalizing Germany in the early 1930s. As their correspondence continues (this is an epistolary novel), their relationship deteriorates.
Wow! This one is a real gut punch. It shows how people who were once so close can be alienated from each other so quickly. It feels very contemporary in our divided times. The change is slow and realistic. The two main characters come alive in their different writing styles. And the slow change in Martin is haunting as he succumbs to Nazi propaganda. It shows how any one of us, liberal or conservative, can find ourselves alienated from those we love when we give up and let others think for us.
My rating: 5/5
A disturbing but well thought out story. Told via letters between a two Germans, one Jewish. One German returns to Germany just as Hitler is coming to power and his Jewish friend, still in San Francisco can only wonder at his transformation. Read it for the ending.
Very short - so short I almost didn't count it for this year...except that it was so powerfully written and given our recent history needs to be read by all.
As I mentioned to my husband, the difference is at least I can understand how some would be drawn to Hitler because of the sanctions against Germany that caused so many societal issues there. Here? Trump fomented hate, and people bought it because of hate. Not the same.
As I mentioned to my husband, the difference is at least I can understand how some would be drawn to Hitler because of the sanctions against Germany that caused so many societal issues there. Here? Trump fomented hate, and people bought it because of hate. Not the same.
Rating: 8/10
This short story showed Americans what was really happening in Germany in the 1930s, and how dangerous the Nazi ideology was for Jews, LGBTQ+ people, and other groups who didn't adhere to that ideology. For that reason, this story is important, and should be read.
The story begins with two friends writing fondly of missing each other, proceeds to a shocking estrangement when one begins to spout hate and propaganda when Hitler rises to power, continues to an astonishing act of cruelty, and then ends as kind of a thriller. It's extremely short, taking less than an hour to read, but it certainly packs a punch.
Kressmann Taylor wanted to explore what could turn ordinary Germans against people they once considered friends, and I think she achieves that really well here. Problem is, I wanted more to the story, especially more to the rise of Hitler and the changing of the German's perspective. Yes, it is impactful that she explores the horrific souring and betrayal of that friendship in less than 100 pages, and it works really well, but I still wanted more story.
I still thought this was very good. I wanted more detail, but it is very impactful the way it is, and still leaves you thinking.
This short story showed Americans what was really happening in Germany in the 1930s, and how dangerous the Nazi ideology was for Jews, LGBTQ+ people, and other groups who didn't adhere to that ideology. For that reason, this story is important, and should be read.
The story begins with two friends writing fondly of missing each other, proceeds to a shocking estrangement when one begins to spout hate and propaganda when Hitler rises to power, continues to an astonishing act of cruelty, and then ends as kind of a thriller. It's extremely short, taking less than an hour to read, but it certainly packs a punch.
Kressmann Taylor wanted to explore what could turn ordinary Germans against people they once considered friends, and I think she achieves that really well here. Problem is, I wanted more to the story, especially more to the rise of Hitler and the changing of the German's perspective. Yes, it is impactful that she explores the horrific souring and betrayal of that friendship in less than 100 pages, and it works really well, but I still wanted more story.
I still thought this was very good. I wanted more detail, but it is very impactful the way it is, and still leaves you thinking.
idk how to rate this, so I'm not going to. But I def think it's worth a read.
The letters between two friends and businessmen were brief but profound. The ending caught me by surprise. Still a relevant read after all of these years.
An epistolary novella, set in 1938, documenting the correspondence between two close friends who are co-owners of an art gallery in San Francisco. Max Eisenstein is running their gallery in SF and is keeping Martin Schulse (who has moved back to Munich, in his native Germany, with his family) up to date about their business and is regularly asking about life in Europe in general, and about Mr Hitler and his ideas in particular. The letters become dominated by politics, and the friendship is soon very strained.
I was expecting something along the lines of [b:84, Charing Cross Road|368916|84, Charing Cross Road|Helene Hanff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662637640l/368916._SY75_.jpg|938626] but the big difference here is that the correspondents are very close from the beginning which makes for quite different dynamics. It is also much, much shorter than the Helene Hanff book, plus it is fiction. And this is what I had to constantly remind myself: this is fiction, and it was published in 1938 BEFORE the Second World War started and long before we knew all about the Nazis' atrocities. And for that 1938 publication date alone, this is an impressive piece of fiction and sent shivers down my spine.
I was expecting something along the lines of [b:84, Charing Cross Road|368916|84, Charing Cross Road|Helene Hanff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1662637640l/368916._SY75_.jpg|938626] but the big difference here is that the correspondents are very close from the beginning which makes for quite different dynamics. It is also much, much shorter than the Helene Hanff book, plus it is fiction. And this is what I had to constantly remind myself: this is fiction, and it was published in 1938 BEFORE the Second World War started and long before we knew all about the Nazis' atrocities. And for that 1938 publication date alone, this is an impressive piece of fiction and sent shivers down my spine.
M'ha agradat molt però el gènere epistolar no em deixa posar pel que sembla 5 estrelles. Potser és l'estil (normal en el que ha de ser una carta clar) que no m'emociona tant com un relat? Sigui com sigui, és un exemple molt clar de com el nazisme va aterrar i va canviar les visions de les persones. I no només això, si el llegiu ja veureu que és el reflex de las societat del moment, si ens referim a la forma d'expressar la quotidianitat als anys 30 del segle passat (el segle dels 1900, no els dels 1800, aclariment pels qui vau nèixer al segle XX, jejejej)
----
Me ha gustado mucho pero por lo que parece el género epistolar no me dejar poner 5 estrellas. Puede que sea el estilo (normal en el que tiene que ser una carta) que no me emocione tanto como un relato? Sea como sea, es un ejemplo muy claro de como el nazismo aterró y cambió la visión de las personas. Y no solo eso, si lo leéis ya veréis que es el reflejo de la sociedad del momento, si nos referimos al modo de expresar la cuotidianidad de los años 30 del siglo pasado (el siglo de los 1900, no el de los 1800, aclaro para los que nacísteis en el siglo XX, jejejejej)
----
Me ha gustado mucho pero por lo que parece el género epistolar no me dejar poner 5 estrellas. Puede que sea el estilo (normal en el que tiene que ser una carta) que no me emocione tanto como un relato? Sea como sea, es un ejemplo muy claro de como el nazismo aterró y cambió la visión de las personas. Y no solo eso, si lo leéis ya veréis que es el reflejo de la sociedad del momento, si nos referimos al modo de expresar la cuotidianidad de los años 30 del siglo pasado (el siglo de los 1900, no el de los 1800, aclaro para los que nacísteis en el siglo XX, jejejejej)
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
I usually hate audiobooks but this audiobook was cool.
One of my supervising attorneys is 88 years old. He basically helped invent tort law in Oregon and has been influential in anything you can name. The governor comes by to get his opinion on judicial appointments and whatnot, and in his prime, he was called "the prince of torts."
In my first week of working for him, he called me into his office. When he was 14 years old, he told me, the young men of military age had all gone off to war. This left the boys like him and the old men to work in the logging jobs in Eugene. So, he went to work. "I'll never forget," he said, "Those old men who knew so well what they were doing that they could spot any problem with my work immediately. They would just look at me until I went over all of my work and figured out what was wrong." As he told the story he teared up, remembering people who had long passed from his life.
It wasn't until the next day that I realized he was talking about me. He was talking about how I am the young newbie in our office and he is the old person who can look at a job and know exactly what's wrong.
About a year later, he gave me this book. I had told him how I've had difficulty sitting down and reading a book since law school, and how I often listen to audio books while I'm walking instead. He started giving me short books for my short attention span.
This is probably the smartest book about revenge and censorship I've ever read. Anything else I tell you will be a spoiler, so just go read it.
In my first week of working for him, he called me into his office. When he was 14 years old, he told me, the young men of military age had all gone off to war. This left the boys like him and the old men to work in the logging jobs in Eugene. So, he went to work. "I'll never forget," he said, "Those old men who knew so well what they were doing that they could spot any problem with my work immediately. They would just look at me until I went over all of my work and figured out what was wrong." As he told the story he teared up, remembering people who had long passed from his life.
It wasn't until the next day that I realized he was talking about me. He was talking about how I am the young newbie in our office and he is the old person who can look at a job and know exactly what's wrong.
About a year later, he gave me this book. I had told him how I've had difficulty sitting down and reading a book since law school, and how I often listen to audio books while I'm walking instead. He started giving me short books for my short attention span.
This is probably the smartest book about revenge and censorship I've ever read. Anything else I tell you will be a spoiler, so just go read it.