Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Postcard by Anne Berest

8 reviews

evelynritzi's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.75

What a unique book, unlike anything on the Holocaust I’ve read before. I would call this “autofiction” because it’s so closely based on the author’s life with some embellishments where history has no record. I just took off a few points because a couple chapters towards the end of the novel take an odd sexual turn that I’m not sure was entirely necessary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Antisemitism

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual assault

lostinthelibrary's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wasn't sure at the start but this book really grew on me. There are a lot of themes around identity, citizenship generational trauma, family relationships and more. Although it does jump around a lot, once I got the hang of it I appreciated the present characters reflecting on the past (although I was always keen to get back to Miriam's story.)

the scenes at the concentration camps and of detainees returning to Paris were visceral and a highlight of the novel

. I feel like I learnt a lot more about a period of history that can be overdone in literature and it all felt very personal to the author (potentially semi-autobiographical given that she shares a name with the protagonist). I did become less invested in the mystery of the postcard as the story went on but the way it was concluded was just perfect! Overall a very worthwhile read that I look forward to discussing with my book club. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Genocide, and Death

bookworm_ohsea's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Murder, Deportation, Racism, War, Genocide, Confinement, and Xenophobia

jabakken's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Antisemitism

majestictrilobite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Drug use, Dementia, Genocide, Xenophobia, Suicide, Drug abuse, Addiction, Death, and Antisemitism

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

 The Postcard is an account of a Jewish family during World War II, but it differs from many other World War II and Holocaust stories in several ways. The first is genre. This is a book that straddles the fiction/non-fiction divide. You might even say it breaks what seems to be an increasingly fragile barrier. The author calls it a true novel, meaning that the story is real, her own family history in fact, but the techniques she used to tell it are taken from fiction - things like imagined dialogues and the compression of time. The structure of the book is also less common. The first part is the history of the Rabinovitch family whom we follow, via flashback, from 1918 to 1945, from Russia to Latvia to Palestine to Paris and then, sadly to Auschwitz. The second part of the novel reads like a detective story as it explores the efforts of Anne, with assistance from her mother Leila, to solve the mystery of an anonymous postcard Leila received, a postcard that was blank except for the names of her grandfather, grandmother, aunt and uncle who had all been murdered at Auschwitz. In endeavouring to find out who had sent the postcard and why, the pair discover many parts of their family history that would otherwise have been lost forever. Their search reveals - and alters - much about their mother-daughter dynamic and highlights how important an awareness of family history is to a person’s sense of identity and belonging. The third thing I want to mention about this book is that it places the Holocaust in context. It was not simply all due to Hitler but is part of a long history of anti-Semitism, a history which, damningly, continues to this day. By highlighting this, and also by showing how the French government and French citizens were not just complicit, but active participants in the Holocaust, the author attempts to correct a historical misconception and to ensure blame and responsibility is more accurately attributed. We cannot hope to prevent the past from repeating unless we accurately understand and confront that past, however uncomfortable that may be. While I wasn’t wowed by this book that way others have been  I did enjoy it and I do think it is an important book, well worth reading . It would be a shame if readers pass it by, mistaking it for “just another WWII novel” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Antisemitism, Genocide, and Xenophobia

szmay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Police brutality, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and War

Minor: Rape, Religious bigotry, Excrement, Physical abuse, Medical content, Police brutality, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, and Murder

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Grief, Antisemitism, Classism, Murder, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Drug use, Physical abuse, Confinement, Bullying, Genocide, Abandonment, Addiction, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War