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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
sad
This was v beautiful and heartbreaking but most of it went over my head…. I’m ngl I did skip a lot of the historical diversions (does that make me a bad reader ? maybe I didn’t get enough from the book bc I didn’t concentrate hard enough? ? Who knows?)
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
IM FREEEEEE !!!!!! good lord this book was a struggle. both in terms of actual writing style and the contents. i found it a really uncomfortable read, which is exactly the emotions it’s trying to elicit but that didn’t make it any less challenging. the last 40 pages or so were by far the best of the whole book. i found the premise of their relationships reflecting the crumbling GDR really interesting, and i do think it was well delivered - for me it was just a little bit of a slog, and because the subject matter made me feel uncomfortable, it wasn’t a book i was reaching for very often. but i’m glad i read it!!!! i spent a lot of my school years studying german history so it was interesting to go back to it for a moment, especially seeing it from a more first hand perspective. i’ve also never read a book translated from german before, and i’d be interested to read more to see whether the writing style i found here is german style, or more unique to the author themselves. i found it hard to follow at times, and the characters did nothing for me. but once again this was probably on purpose, it shows the gritty harshness of what navigating this decisive time period was like. i’d be interested to read some other books by this author, to see if i get along with them more.
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didnt like it but then again I missed a lot of the Germany references. and I hated the premise of the book so prob could have seen it coming that I would not enjoy it
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
The writing was great, and if I were only ranking it on writing I’d give it 4 but the plot was not great the characters weren’t great and because of that the message was lost on me.
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Anfangs fand ich es etwas anstrengend und hatte Probleme richtig einzutauchen. Besonders das Kennenlernen in den ersten Seiten hat sich komisch gelesen und ich habe nicht verstanden, was die beiden Charaktere aneinander fasziniert hat. Als ich erstmal reingekommen bin hat mich das Buch dann aber sehr gepackt. Es ist selten, dass ich beim lesen so wütend werde, aber hier habe ich wirklich mitgefiebert und mit Katharina mitgefühlt. Auch Hans war in sich logisch, wenn auch ein absolut unsympathischer Charakter.
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes