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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Quite interesting from the historical perspective. The supposed love story behind it however - which is much more a glorification of sexual and mental abuse - is absurd and drags itself for far too long in the book.
I feel like this book was doing too much and I didn’t understand some of it. It was about a young girl who dates an older guy (shocker) as the Cold War ends. But it included like a lot of historical references that even I didn’t get ?? And was sometimes intentionally vague?
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Had hoped for some insight into life in the former GDR but got instead mostly a history of a dreary, unhealthy and unpleasant relationship.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
“A long time ago, the papers in his boxes and those in her suitcases were speaking to each other. Now they’re both speaking to time.”
“Come, darling May, and put the buds back on the trees, the piano wishes at the end, but it’s July now, the summer evening outside has turned into a summer night, the bottle of wine is empty.”
A fluid, heady weaving of art, politics, literature, and love, or control.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
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
there is so much to love about this book and it's an insanely impressive piece of work. it feels like one you could get more from the more you learn about the cultural and political references within it. it's also one that doesn't allow you to read it quickly but i think that adds to it. the only downsides were that i do think the characters were kept at arms length from the reader and I much prefer to get as close as possible to them, and it lost me at some points, but overall so good