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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-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
I did not like this book at all. It is 1988 Germany. Hans is 50 something and married. Katharina is 19 and a student. They meet and begin a passionate love affair. However, I would call it a destructive and obsessive affair of lust, not love. Katharina is an impressionable child and Hans is a vindictive older man who uses physical and mental abuse to punish her. Meanwhile, Germany is going through a restructuring and an awakening to political change. I don't get the hype around this book - I found it quite disturbing.
reflective
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
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
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
https://vrouwenbibliotheek.nl/2024/08/16/kairos-door-jenny-erpenbeck/
dark
emotional
sad
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
tense
medium-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
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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
Notes:
- Beautifully written book, both in prose and in overall construction.
- Got SO heavy in the second half that I had to take my time with it. But only speaks volumes to the skill with which this book immerses the reader in Katharina's state of mind by that point.
- I was also really captivated by the 80s/90s setting in Germany and how much of the post-WWII effects were still being felt then (especially given the divide of Berlin). I haven't read anything in this context before and found that the way Erpenbeck intertwines the larger sociocultural factors at play with the very intimate inner complexities of her characters was one of my favourite parts of this book as a whole.
- Beautifully written book, both in prose and in overall construction.
- Got SO heavy in the second half that I had to take my time with it. But only speaks volumes to the skill with which this book immerses the reader in Katharina's state of mind by that point.
- I was also really captivated by the 80s/90s setting in Germany and how much of the post-WWII effects were still being felt then (especially given the divide of Berlin). I haven't read anything in this context before and found that the way Erpenbeck intertwines the larger sociocultural factors at play with the very intimate inner complexities of her characters was one of my favourite parts of this book as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Self harm, Abortion