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tancrni's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
2.25
gunstreet's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of this was really interesting, and I enjoyed following the plot, but the book was really dialogue-heavy and I feel like something was lost in the translation; I found it difficult to keep track of who was talking, and sometimes what they were talking about. Things jumped around a lot, too. I didn't hate it, but I wouldn't recommend it.
milliecorkery's review against another edition
3.0
i think it was at it’s most entertaining when following the travelling, but wasn’t anything particularly outstanding.
however, do think my german is improving because reading this was actually pretty easy.
however, do think my german is improving because reading this was actually pretty easy.
robin_go's review against another edition
3.0
Fundamentally it's a 'dysfunctional relationship' novel set against the backdrop of the fall of the iron curtain. I liked how the characters were *not* absolutely in the thick of the action. It would have been overly-convenient and twee to have them present at the Pan-European Picnic or taking bricks from the Berlin Wall. I ought to say it's a period and place in history that very much interests me anyway, so I found it a page-turner.
The female characters are very believably written and it's very well translated by John E. Woods.
However...and here's the "but".....it's more like a radio drama than a novel and that's very much it's downfall. It's told very much through dialogue at the expense of giving us much visual description of people or place. What does the Angyal's house look like? What does Pepi look like beyond a surface description? We don't fully get to know as there is little fleshing-out and there are no internal monologues to help us work out *why* characters are behaving the way they are, particularly when one of the lead's behaviour becomes, latterly, more puzzling.
Also it's often, frustratingly, hard to tell who is speaking, even when only two people are present. This dawns on you when you realize a character has the capacity of saying two sentences in a row, breaking a back-and-forth that you thought you had the measure of.
It starts out like a road-movie with the focus firmly on one of the two leads and you are pretty convinced that's going to be the viewpoint for the remainder. But then there is a scene in which the character that we have been faithfully following is not present (it's a jump-cut to a scene with just Evelyn and Michael in a bedroom I think) and this is very discombobulating.
I have a feeling that, with the introduction of a 'Gideon Bible' device, the author was trying to get us to see an allegory in it all, but I couldn't get a handle on what we were supposed to conclude from Genesis in relation to events and actions that have unfolded.
I *did* enjoy it, but it's not without it's frustrations.
The female characters are very believably written and it's very well translated by John E. Woods.
However...and here's the "but".....it's more like a radio drama than a novel and that's very much it's downfall. It's told very much through dialogue at the expense of giving us much visual description of people or place. What does the Angyal's house look like? What does Pepi look like beyond a surface description? We don't fully get to know as there is little fleshing-out and there are no internal monologues to help us work out *why* characters are behaving the way they are, particularly when one of the lead's behaviour becomes, latterly, more puzzling.
Also it's often, frustratingly, hard to tell who is speaking, even when only two people are present. This dawns on you when you realize a character has the capacity of saying two sentences in a row, breaking a back-and-forth that you thought you had the measure of.
It starts out like a road-movie with the focus firmly on one of the two leads and you are pretty convinced that's going to be the viewpoint for the remainder. But then
I have a feeling that, with the introduction of a 'Gideon Bible' device, the author was trying to get us to see an allegory in it all, but I couldn't get a handle on what we were supposed to conclude from Genesis in relation to events and actions that have unfolded.
I *did* enjoy it, but it's not without it's frustrations.
blankgarden's review against another edition
3.0
My review: https://theblankgarden.com/2014/11/17/20141117falling-from-grace/
emmazucati's review
2.0
It's definitely super different from what I'm used to, and I'm curious of if that's because it's German or because it's just an odd book. I liked how Shulze never tried to get you to like, or even pity Adam. He was an asshole and continued to be oblivious to others throughout the novel. I felt like Evelyn wasn't given a whole lot of thought though. She existed to push Adam's story along which felt more sexist and dull than clever.
It was pretty difficult to follow people, their actions, and geographic placements as the novel went along. In Schulze's defense, I have no political understanding of Germany/Hungary during the late 1980s. I know the Berlin Wall is a prominent feature of the novel, but it was never referenced directly so I was mostly lost, as most people with a generic American education would be.
I also don't get the reference to Adam and Eve. Like I don't know where that was supposed to come into play, especially with the one dimensional Eve, but I found it disappointing.
It was pretty difficult to follow people, their actions, and geographic placements as the novel went along. In Schulze's defense, I have no political understanding of Germany/Hungary during the late 1980s. I know the Berlin Wall is a prominent feature of the novel, but it was never referenced directly so I was mostly lost, as most people with a generic American education would be.
I also don't get the reference to Adam and Eve. Like I don't know where that was supposed to come into play, especially with the one dimensional Eve, but I found it disappointing.
blankgarden's review
3.0
My review: https://theblankgarden.com/2014/11/17/20141117falling-from-grace/
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