Reviews

Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey

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bookwormclare01's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

oliviakur's review

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5.0

Historical fiction done well. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, the characters were written so well and overall was really immersive.

As a history aficionado, I am always on the lookout for good Holocaust fiction and this one is well-researched and well-written. It is really mind-boggling how evil almost overpowered humanity just a century ago and even more appalling knowing that there are so many apologists and neo-Nazis these days.

katie_archer's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad

4.5

smartymarty111's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.5

lucybroughton's review

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reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

ramai's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

jacki_f's review

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4.0

Remote Sympathy is set in Buchenwald Concentration Camp during WW2. A horrific place to be despite being "only a labour camp" as someone says dismissivly near the end. The novel focuses on three characters, inextricably entwined, who narrate the book in turn. Dietrich Hahn is an SS officer and the Camp Administrator. Greta is his wife who mostly turns a blind eye to the work that her husband does. Lenard Weber is a part Jewish doctor who ends up as a prisoner in Buchenwald and sees a way to possibly save his Jewish wife and child.

The shifting narrative is a terrific way to tell the story. Hahn's is presented as his account of his time at Buchenwald given after the war and is full of self justification, which is easy to see through. Greta is a likeable and believable character, but also a frustrating one. Lenard starts out married to a Jewish woman whom he divorces in an attempt to protect them both, but whom he continues to worry about throughout the war. At times he seems completely naive, but of course we are viewing his actions through the lens of knowing more about the Holocaust than he does.

This is very, very good and the first two thirds had me absolutely gripped. Somewhere towards the end I realised I didn't care enough about Lenard, who begins and ends the book. So it moved from being a book that I felt very involved in to one that I was reading at more of a remove. Nevertheless it's very good and memorable and impeccably researched and I thought it was better than Chidgey's award winning [b:The Wish Child|39860020|The Wish Child|Catherine Chidgey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523854281l/39860020._SY75_.jpg|51580755].