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karo_221b's review against another edition
3.0
Großartige, überraschende, spannende Charaktere! Die Story war dagegen etwas langsamer als ich erwartet hatte. Die ersten paar Kapitel haben mich beeindruckt weil sie so wunderschön geschrieben sind. Ich hatte aber den Eindruck, dass dieser Zauber sich im Lauf der Geschichte etwas verlor.
kimonobooks's review against another edition
4.0
Schon ein wenig zu spät, aber besser spät als nie, komme ich nun auch im „Club“ an. Ich gestehe, ich habe mich ein wenig geziert, „schon wieder“ ein gehyptes Buch zu lesen, da ich schon des Öfteren enttäuscht wurde. Aber nicht hier und nicht von Takis Würger! „Der Club“ hat mich bereits von der ersten Seite an fesseln können und danach auch nicht mehr losgelassen. Ohne viel über die Story gelesen zu haben, bin ich in Hans‘ Geschichte hineingestolpert, so konnte ich wenigstens frei von Erwartungen lesen. So viel wusste ich: Es geht ums Boxen. Da ich jetzt aber kein Sportfan bin, habe ich den Empfehlungen vertraut und mich einfach blind ins Abenteuer gestürzt. Nun ein paar Worte zum Inhalt:
Hans ist noch jung, als er seine Eltern verliert. Da seine Tante Alex in England ihn nicht aufnimmt, fristet er seine Jahre bis zum Abitur in einem Internat. Das Boxen, mit dem er schon früh begonnen hat, hilft ihm durch die Trauer und mit seiner Einsamkeit fertig zu werden, denn Freunde hat er keine. Kurz bevor Hans sein Abitur macht, bekommt er einen Brief von seiner Tante: Er soll ihr bei einer wichtigen Ermittlung helfen. In Cambridge angekommen, erwarten Hans jedoch keine genaueren Details, sondern die Frage seiner Tante: „Du boxt doch noch, oder?“ Alex hat die junge Charlotte dazu auserkoren, Hans behilflich zu sein, Mitglied im Pitt Club zu werden, der elitäre Boxclub von Cambridge. Doch Hans kommt aus bescheidenen Verhältnissen und bringt zudem nicht den versnobbten Charakter mit, den die Mitglieder alle inne zu haben scheinen. Doch im Pitt Club scheint nicht alles mit rechten zuzugehen und es scheint, als würde Charlotte ihm auch einiges verheimlichen. Hans gelangt nicht nur in den Pitt Club und gewinnt einen Einblick in die Welt der elitären Boxer, sondern auch in die der „Schmetterlinge“ und ihren fragwürdigen Riten…
In Cambridge habe ich gelernt, wie viel Großes der Mensch leisten kann: Er kann die Grundlagen der formalen Logik errechnen und ein Medikament gegen Malaria finden. Aber in Cambridge habe ich auch gelernt, was der Mensch in seinem Kern ist: ein Raubtier.
Die vollständige Rezension findet ihr auf meinem Blog: http://killmonotony.wordpress.com
Hans ist noch jung, als er seine Eltern verliert. Da seine Tante Alex in England ihn nicht aufnimmt, fristet er seine Jahre bis zum Abitur in einem Internat. Das Boxen, mit dem er schon früh begonnen hat, hilft ihm durch die Trauer und mit seiner Einsamkeit fertig zu werden, denn Freunde hat er keine. Kurz bevor Hans sein Abitur macht, bekommt er einen Brief von seiner Tante: Er soll ihr bei einer wichtigen Ermittlung helfen. In Cambridge angekommen, erwarten Hans jedoch keine genaueren Details, sondern die Frage seiner Tante: „Du boxt doch noch, oder?“ Alex hat die junge Charlotte dazu auserkoren, Hans behilflich zu sein, Mitglied im Pitt Club zu werden, der elitäre Boxclub von Cambridge. Doch Hans kommt aus bescheidenen Verhältnissen und bringt zudem nicht den versnobbten Charakter mit, den die Mitglieder alle inne zu haben scheinen. Doch im Pitt Club scheint nicht alles mit rechten zuzugehen und es scheint, als würde Charlotte ihm auch einiges verheimlichen. Hans gelangt nicht nur in den Pitt Club und gewinnt einen Einblick in die Welt der elitären Boxer, sondern auch in die der „Schmetterlinge“ und ihren fragwürdigen Riten…
In Cambridge habe ich gelernt, wie viel Großes der Mensch leisten kann: Er kann die Grundlagen der formalen Logik errechnen und ein Medikament gegen Malaria finden. Aber in Cambridge habe ich auch gelernt, was der Mensch in seinem Kern ist: ein Raubtier.
Die vollständige Rezension findet ihr auf meinem Blog: http://killmonotony.wordpress.com
zeralda's review against another edition
4.0
Vielleicht war die Geschichte nur so gut, weil ich sie an einem Tag durchgelesen habe...
franthebooknerd's review against another edition
1.0
CN: Misogynie, Homosexuellenfeindlichkeit, Gewalt, Ernährung, Ableismus, Vergewaltigung
lauramags's review against another edition
The plot was interesting and held my attention but I found it really hard to get past the occasional use of homophobic slurs and the need of one male character to justify his relationships with other males as being 'just friends'. I know this language played a part in building the nastier side to characters. It was something I personally found jarring and hard to get past especially in 2019.
ohwowbee's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A short and impactful read that gives the false impression of being a tacky guilty pleasure. Some loose threads (dropped characters/plotlines, messy resolutions, etc.) but altogether I enjoyed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual assault
whatjasread's review against another edition
2.0
This was very poorly written - there was no connection between characters which ultimately led to me feeling no connection to the story or the people in it. It’s a carbon copy of the film The Riot Club except it’s just majorly dumbed down and one-dimensional in comparison. I’m super disappointed by this.
weirdtea's review against another edition
2.0
It was a compelling read at the beginning. The narrator’s isolation, perspective, and tone were intriguing. The other characters with their mystery and damage made me think the story would take me to unusual places. And...it really didn’t. There’s a sort of brittle or arid quality to a lot of fiction about upper class wealthy people and their stories that this text shares. It’s not my favorite.
The trauma was exactly what I’d feared and predicted. It’s not, to put it mildly, my favorite either.
So, really, I can’t say it’s a bad book. It’s not poorly written or anything. I can say it was disappointing to me and I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends. YMMV.
The trauma was exactly what I’d feared and predicted. It’s not, to put it mildly, my favorite either.
So, really, I can’t say it’s a bad book. It’s not poorly written or anything. I can say it was disappointing to me and I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends. YMMV.
augenstern's review against another edition
2.0
All in all, the book was interesting because it inspired me to think of a whole bunch of better stories that could’ve been written with similar plots. To make it short: it’s a bit as if Bret Easton Ellis had decided to rewrite The Secret History.
Which is, all in all, an intriguing concept, but in general the book was nothing to write home about. The plot was rather predictable and the side plots were, to put it mildly, subtle.
Hans (who has a very old-fashioned name considering the story takes place during the age of “Asian women taking topless pictures on their iPads in front of random trees at Cambridge” which was probably the most ridiculous detail this book featured) is asked to join a very exclusive and prestigious club. He was suited for that because he’s a boxer. No one tells him what he’s supposed to be looking for.
That’s basically it.
I would’ve enjoyed the story more if the characters would’ve been a bit less cliché. The Antagonist was such a blatant Bret Easton Ellis character, his presence at a british boxing club was almost laughable. He could’ve been a very interesting person if only he’d had some layers. If the “secret” had been anything other than (spoiler) men using their positions of power to rape girls, he could’ve been an interesting antagonist, maybe even a character of some value or character development. But alas.
The author was very noticeably male. There’s a lot of needless male gaze : we learn about the sexual relationship the protagonist had with a 16year old when he was 14, for no reason whatsoever, for example and homosexuality is a vaguely threatening entity to be mocked, feared and shamefully indulged in. The main character is the only one who treats a gay man with complete disregard of his sexuality which I assume is very woke of him and proves his good character. Also the focus of the novel as a whole seems to be on violence, whether it’s between the boxers or regarding the crime that has occurred.
There is an attempt to create an atmosphere, which in some ways works. I think the flair of German woods was rather nicely condensed at times, but that could be because I know what the author is talking about. Can’t say that his descriptions of Cambridge impressed me very much.
To sum it up: Something to be read over the weekend, but nothing that’ll leave a lasting impact.
Which is, all in all, an intriguing concept, but in general the book was nothing to write home about. The plot was rather predictable and the side plots were, to put it mildly, subtle.
Hans (who has a very old-fashioned name considering the story takes place during the age of “Asian women taking topless pictures on their iPads in front of random trees at Cambridge” which was probably the most ridiculous detail this book featured) is asked to join a very exclusive and prestigious club. He was suited for that because he’s a boxer. No one tells him what he’s supposed to be looking for.
That’s basically it.
I would’ve enjoyed the story more if the characters would’ve been a bit less cliché. The Antagonist was such a blatant Bret Easton Ellis character, his presence at a british boxing club was almost laughable. He could’ve been a very interesting person if only he’d had some layers. If the “secret” had been anything other than (spoiler) men using their positions of power to rape girls, he could’ve been an interesting antagonist, maybe even a character of some value or character development. But alas.
The author was very noticeably male. There’s a lot of needless male gaze : we learn about the sexual relationship the protagonist had with a 16year old when he was 14, for no reason whatsoever, for example and homosexuality is a vaguely threatening entity to be mocked, feared and shamefully indulged in. The main character is the only one who treats a gay man with complete disregard of his sexuality which I assume is very woke of him and proves his good character. Also the focus of the novel as a whole seems to be on violence, whether it’s between the boxers or regarding the crime that has occurred.
There is an attempt to create an atmosphere, which in some ways works. I think the flair of German woods was rather nicely condensed at times, but that could be because I know what the author is talking about. Can’t say that his descriptions of Cambridge impressed me very much.
To sum it up: Something to be read over the weekend, but nothing that’ll leave a lasting impact.
loogee's review against another edition
3.5
3.5/5 ⭐️ a quick, interesting read but it deals with a lot and often left me very uncomfortable. tbh, I’m still processing it
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