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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
Un mio professore mi ha detto che, ai suoi tempi, il libro di Grossman veniva scherzosamente descritto come un Guerra e Pace senza la pace. Una battuta apparentemente scontata, che va diretta all'essenza del romanzo: una guerra infinita, un conflitto i cui tentacoli arrivano ben oltre il fronte.
Anche io, come molti altri lettori, non ho la pretesa di fare una recensione: è uno di quei casi in cui bisognerebbe scrivere un libro per parlare del libro, e immagino che ci abbia già pensato qualche critico serio. Da parte mia posso solo aggiungere che, sì, è uno di quei romanzi che va letto.
Anche io, come molti altri lettori, non ho la pretesa di fare una recensione: è uno di quei casi in cui bisognerebbe scrivere un libro per parlare del libro, e immagino che ci abbia già pensato qualche critico serio. Da parte mia posso solo aggiungere che, sì, è uno di quei romanzi che va letto.
Un mio professore mi ha detto che, ai suoi tempi, il libro di Grossman veniva scherzosamente descritto come un Guerra e Pace senza la pace. Una battuta apparentemente scontata, che va diretta all'essenza del romanzo: una guerra infinita, un conflitto i cui tentacoli arrivano ben oltre il fronte.
Anche io, come molti altri lettori, non ho la pretesa di fare una recensione: è uno di quei casi in cui bisognerebbe scrivere un libro per parlare del libro, e immagino che ci abbia già pensato qualche critico serio. Da parte mia posso solo aggiungere che, sì, è uno di quei romanzi che va letto.
Anche io, come molti altri lettori, non ho la pretesa di fare una recensione: è uno di quei casi in cui bisognerebbe scrivere un libro per parlare del libro, e immagino che ci abbia già pensato qualche critico serio. Da parte mia posso solo aggiungere che, sì, è uno di quei romanzi che va letto.
‘Life and Fate’ is an epic sprawling saga centered on the battle of Stalingrad in World War Two, but extending its tentacles in all directions to explore the interlinked lives of people in that part of the war between the National Socialist regimes of Germany and Russia. The book puts a vast array of characters, both Russian and German, under a magnifying glass and we watch as they are caught in an inhuman set of circumstances. In war, there are no victors. It is at its most harrowing when capturing the emotions of close combat fighting in building 61 in Stalingrad. I found myself totally stunned on several occasions, and was even brought to tears.
Een meesterwerk wordt dit boek genoemd, en terecht. De beschrijvingen van het front langs Russische zijde, Stalin, de angst van de mensen zijn pakkend. Hoe hij begrippen als goedheid, vriendschap, de tijd omschrijft is subliem. Maar... ik heb opgegeven na bladzijde 501 (nog 400 te gaan). De zeer lange politieke discussies met de letterlijk tientallen personages gingen mij uiteindelijk te ver en ze waren me te moeilijk te plaatsen. Ik geef het boek geen sterren, omdat ik het niet uit heb, maar zou het qua inhoud en schrijfstijl anders 4* durven geven.
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Life and Fate. The perfect title for an astonishingly good book.
I am going to call Life and Fate a masterpiece. Yes it is as good as the reviews I have just read say it is. On a personal level it is a long time since I have had an emotional involvement with the characters of a novel. Les Misérables maybe? Though a large cast the life and fate of the protagonists at the time of the battle for Stalingrad made powerful and compelling reading.
My copy is the Vintage edition 2006. It has an introduction by Linda Carter who writes she read the book in 3 weeks and took 3 weeks to “recover from the experience.” She had also “urged all my friends to read it.” She is of the opinion that the novel should be as famous as Doctor Zhivago and The Gulag Archipelago. I have never read these books but based on what I think of Life and Fate these must be truly remarkable books with such high praise. She also includes a historical background that is followed by a one page explanation of the translation by Robert Chandler. We also have a page that lists a few books on Stalin’s Russia and Grossman himself. There is also a List of Chief Characters at the back of the book to aid the reader who may not be used to the complicated Russian names. I found this a great resource and referred to it constantly. As time went on the names became familiar.
The story itself revolves around the Shaposhnikova family and those that come into contact with them in one way or another. Dare I say it without seeming trite but almost a six degrees of separation story? This lead to the reader following the lives of everyone within that circle from those that fought and died to those that had issues with the state politics of the time. With that we became involved in an emotional rollercoaster be that the death of a son through to the agony of being untrue to one’s self belief. All this told with emotionally charged prose by Grossman that left me as the reader spellbound. Some chapters were so astonishingly emotionally charged I was putting the book down to take stock. The mother whose son had been killed was sad beyond belief but the final thoughts of those going to their deaths in the gas chamber in chapter 48 part two will live with me forever.
A truly stunning book.
I am going to call Life and Fate a masterpiece. Yes it is as good as the reviews I have just read say it is. On a personal level it is a long time since I have had an emotional involvement with the characters of a novel. Les Misérables maybe? Though a large cast the life and fate of the protagonists at the time of the battle for Stalingrad made powerful and compelling reading.
My copy is the Vintage edition 2006. It has an introduction by Linda Carter who writes she read the book in 3 weeks and took 3 weeks to “recover from the experience.” She had also “urged all my friends to read it.” She is of the opinion that the novel should be as famous as Doctor Zhivago and The Gulag Archipelago. I have never read these books but based on what I think of Life and Fate these must be truly remarkable books with such high praise. She also includes a historical background that is followed by a one page explanation of the translation by Robert Chandler. We also have a page that lists a few books on Stalin’s Russia and Grossman himself. There is also a List of Chief Characters at the back of the book to aid the reader who may not be used to the complicated Russian names. I found this a great resource and referred to it constantly. As time went on the names became familiar.
The story itself revolves around the Shaposhnikova family and those that come into contact with them in one way or another. Dare I say it without seeming trite but almost a six degrees of separation story? This lead to the reader following the lives of everyone within that circle from those that fought and died to those that had issues with the state politics of the time. With that we became involved in an emotional rollercoaster be that the death of a son through to the agony of being untrue to one’s self belief. All this told with emotionally charged prose by Grossman that left me as the reader spellbound. Some chapters were so astonishingly emotionally charged I was putting the book down to take stock. The mother whose son had been killed was sad beyond belief but the final thoughts of those going to their deaths in the gas chamber in chapter 48 part two will live with me forever.
A truly stunning book.
slow-paced