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hannahclubley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
bps's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Cancer, and Genocide
rozereads's review
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
To quote the blurb: It "compels us to question our continuing and willful ability to look the other way in a world that is once more in thrall to the idea that everything--even facts, truth and morals--is relative."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Cancer, Genocide, Torture, Grief, Body horror, Gore, Death, and Excrement
Moderate: Medical trauma, Terminal illness, War, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Rape
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I wasn’t going to pick this book up because I’m burnt out on Holocaust novels and also worried this had a “ nice German lady who was innocent of all that was going on down the road” storyline. However, once it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize I was compelled to give it a go.
Despite my wariness I was quickly drawn in. The writing was beautiful. I enjoyed the four different parts of the narrative (letters from a Mischling doctor written to his daughter after the end of the war, extracts from US interviews with a Sturmbannführer who held a key administrative role at Buchenwald, imaginary diary entries from his wife, and collective reflections from Weimar citizens) and the interweaving of many minor storylines to form a whole that was more than the sum of its parts.
One of the things I most appreciated was the nuanced depictions of the characters. We could certainly pity Frau Hahn her cancer diagnosis, yet the way she turned away or cut off conversation whenever it got close to topics she preferred not to know about was continually noted. Conversely her husband was cold and ruthless, more concerned with balancing books and portraying himself in a good light than the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Yet there was no denying his love for his son and wife, imperfect though that was. We should never forget that most of those complicit in the worst evil are a mix of good and bad. I felt like the citizens of Weimar were so representative of most of us. They were not directly complicit in Buchenwald’s atrocities, just more concerned with their own comfort and convenience, rather than recognising the truth let alone trying to stop it. Self-interest topped morality and ethics.
I also appreciate the fact that this book never glossed over the atrocities committed at concentration camps. Yet it did not dwell on them nor portray them in graphic gratuitous detail. This was not exploitative trauma porn. Rather it was a well-researched, haunting novel whose key message is as relevant today as it ever was. Wilful obliviousness must not be indulged in nor tolerated.
Despite my wariness I was quickly drawn in. The writing was beautiful. I enjoyed the four different parts of the narrative (letters from a Mischling doctor written to his daughter after the end of the war, extracts from US interviews with a Sturmbannführer who held a key administrative role at Buchenwald, imaginary diary entries from his wife, and collective reflections from Weimar citizens) and the interweaving of many minor storylines to form a whole that was more than the sum of its parts.
One of the things I most appreciated was the nuanced depictions of the characters. We could certainly pity Frau Hahn her cancer diagnosis, yet the way she turned away or cut off conversation whenever it got close to topics she preferred not to know about was continually noted. Conversely her husband was cold and ruthless, more concerned with balancing books and portraying himself in a good light than the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Yet there was no denying his love for his son and wife, imperfect though that was. We should never forget that most of those complicit in the worst evil are a mix of good and bad. I felt like the citizens of Weimar were so representative of most of us. They were not directly complicit in Buchenwald’s atrocities, just more concerned with their own comfort and convenience, rather than recognising the truth let alone trying to stop it. Self-interest topped morality and ethics.
I also appreciate the fact that this book never glossed over the atrocities committed at concentration camps. Yet it did not dwell on them nor portray them in graphic gratuitous detail. This was not exploitative trauma porn. Rather it was a well-researched, haunting novel whose key message is as relevant today as it ever was. Wilful obliviousness must not be indulged in nor tolerated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Antisemitism, and Genocide
Moderate: War
kirstym25's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Cancer, and Genocide
Moderate: War
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