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cheryl_r's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
waregemma's review against another edition
I hate books which rely on a huge reveal to keep you turning pages, especially when the narrator already knows what it is but is just being coy about revealing it. I end up just skim reading.
fortwords's review against another edition
3.0
The House on Endless Water • Emuna Elon
⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)
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“And he knows they will continue hearing it until each and every metal bell in Amsterdam had been appropriated to feed the German arms industry.”
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⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)
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“And he knows they will continue hearing it until each and every metal bell in Amsterdam had been appropriated to feed the German arms industry.”
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annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I'm European so I can't say "I didn't know what happened in Amsterdam during WWII" as Anna Frank Diary was something I had to read at 12 and my father was involved in helping the Jews to run to Switzerland.
That said it was a great read that does a great job in depicting a historical period and what happened in Netherlands during the WWII to Jew children.
I liked both the parts the contemporary and historical, I think that the writer wrote well thought and fleshed out characters and the plot is poignant and engrossing.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
That said it was a great read that does a great job in depicting a historical period and what happened in Netherlands during the WWII to Jew children.
I liked both the parts the contemporary and historical, I think that the writer wrote well thought and fleshed out characters and the plot is poignant and engrossing.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
well_read_red's review against another edition
challenging
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
nerdyperfect's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wanderer222's review against another edition
4.0
I tend to avoid holocaust novels (so depressing), and I might not have picked this up had I known what it was about. I'm glad I did, however. This novel, to me, perfectly captures the feeling of walking through Germany (or Amsterdam, in this case), and trying to reconcile the modern, bustling society with the genocide that occurred there during WWII. The main character is a famous Israeli writer who goes to Amsterdam to research his family's history. As he does so, he writes a novelization of his mother's experience as a Jew living in Amsterdam during the Holocaust. As the story progresses, I began to find the holocaust narrative more interesting than the primary story, but the stylized shifting between past and present was a cool literary technique. The writing style could be a little tedious at times--the author is constantly describing the setting in rich (sometimes unnecessary) detail, so you learn about what color everyone's ties are or what kind of soup they're eating--but I got used to it after a while and found myself more immersed, especially after the first three hours or so of the audiobook version.
penny_literaryhoarders's review against another edition
3.0
This started out quite strong for me but the weird repetition saw it go into a nose-dive. I read/skimmed it to the end and tried to give it more time, but there was just something about it throughout where it just didn't make that kind of connection I was anticipating.
The repetition was where entire sentences and sometimes as much as paragraphs were repeated on later pages. It was so jarring and confusing I kept checking that I was on the right page. No, I hadn't read this page yet, but there was that sentence or paragraph repeated! How strange. It wasn't a writing style, technique that I warmed to.
The repetition was where entire sentences and sometimes as much as paragraphs were repeated on later pages. It was so jarring and confusing I kept checking that I was on the right page. No, I hadn't read this page yet, but there was that sentence or paragraph repeated! How strange. It wasn't a writing style, technique that I warmed to.
book_beat's review against another edition
I tried to read this book 2-3 times. I think the farthest I got was 60-70 pages. I wouldn’t normally post a review of a book I didn’t finish, but I received an advanced reader copy via a goodreads giveaway.
I struggled with this book (if that wasn’t already obvious from my previous paragraph). I believe this was a translated work, and I think that created my big disconnect. After 70 pages, I have no idea what is happening, couldn’t tell you any of the characters’ names, and reading it felt like work.
I’m in the minority with my thoughts. And life is too short for my hobby to feel like work. On to my next book!
I struggled with this book (if that wasn’t already obvious from my previous paragraph). I believe this was a translated work, and I think that created my big disconnect. After 70 pages, I have no idea what is happening, couldn’t tell you any of the characters’ names, and reading it felt like work.
I’m in the minority with my thoughts. And life is too short for my hobby to feel like work. On to my next book!
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