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maegritt's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Genocide, and Deportation
okapipo's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
robinitalo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
okapipo's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Makes you want to read the full book.
1940's cliff notes version with amazing illustrations and a well-written - and frankly needed - addendum by the editor that ties it all together.
1940's cliff notes version with amazing illustrations and a well-written - and frankly needed - addendum by the editor that ties it all together.
paleandhecticread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
hobhouchin's review against another edition
4.0
Wie hättest Du Dich entschieden?
Wie hättest Du gehandelt?
Wäre die Angst größer gewesen als Dein Gewissen?
Die politische Neigung Anna Seghers wird zwar deutlich, aber bleibt im Hintergrund. Sie ist präsent, aber nicht aufdringlich. Weitaus mehr Augenmerk liegt auf den (moralischen) Entscheidungen der Figuren. Man gerät ins Grübeln über sich selbst und was man in so einer Situation gemacht hätte.
Etwas gestört (aber wirklich nur minimal) haben mich die dauernden Verniedlichungen (Lädchen, Wägelchen, Holzklötzchen, usw.).
Und ich bin unendlich dankbar für das "Happy End". Wäre das nicht so, hätte ich heulen müssen.
Wie hättest Du gehandelt?
Wäre die Angst größer gewesen als Dein Gewissen?
Die politische Neigung Anna Seghers wird zwar deutlich, aber bleibt im Hintergrund. Sie ist präsent, aber nicht aufdringlich. Weitaus mehr Augenmerk liegt auf den (moralischen) Entscheidungen der Figuren. Man gerät ins Grübeln über sich selbst und was man in so einer Situation gemacht hätte.
Etwas gestört (aber wirklich nur minimal) haben mich die dauernden Verniedlichungen (Lädchen, Wägelchen, Holzklötzchen, usw.).
Und ich bin unendlich dankbar für das "Happy End". Wäre das nicht so, hätte ich heulen müssen.
sashakilljoy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
georgeangels's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
chiariisbookishchaos's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bookishwendy's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, I just got my hands on a first-edition English translation of The Seventh Cross, published in 1942. The inside flap says: "Readers today, in a world at war, and readers in the future, in a world at peace, may come to consider the story of George Heisler's escape from Westhofen prison camp the finest and most deeply understanding book of all that have been written on the greatest subject and theme of these times--the fight against Nazi tyranny."
***
George Heisler's escape is more than a decent yarn, it's also allegedly one of the earliest--perhaps the first--appearances of a concentration camp in literature. Author Seghers was of Jewish decent, and fled to Mexico in the late 1930's, where she wrote The Seventh Cross in 1939. The English translation enjoyed a wide popularity in 1942, when it made the prestigious "Book of the Month Club." For many Americans, this was their first glimpse into life in Nazi Germany. The book has since sunken into obscurity, I'm guessing because Ms. Seghers was also a card-carrying member of the communist party who returned to Soviet-occupied Berlin after the war, where she went on to write and win awards such as the Stalin Peace Prize (!). Yes, George Heisler in The Seventh Cross is a communist, which in mid-30's Germany was synonymous with "one of the few political parties not afraid to protest Nazi rule." This isn't a book about politics, it's a book about life in a State where anyone can be jailed for listening to the wrong radio station, marrying the "wrong" man, or being born into the "wrong" religion. I'm sure it shocked many Americans at the time.
Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the early-40's era English translation (I would have read the German but English was what I could find). The prose often feels stilted, and I tripped over a number of awkward word-for-word German-to-English passages and idioms. For intance, when a character "drove his wheel into town" he's actually riding his bicycle. But the author's skill still shone through in passages such as:
"Frau Marnet would have preferred [the SS man] to spit almost anywhere else than on her clean kitchen floor. At any rate, it was not easy to spread horror in Marnet's kitchen. If the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had come rushing by on that Sunday, they would have tied their horses to the garden fence and behaved like rational guests.
I read this book shortly after reading Hans Fallada's [b:Every Man Dies Alone|3344411|Every Man Dies Alone|Hans Fallada|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320559834s/3344411.jpg|1481990] and found them very similar, although I think I prefer the way Fallada built tension and developed his characters. The Seventh Cross is often confusing in the way it flips about between characters, many of whom are only very loosely related to George's journey, and it took me a good 50+ pages to orient myself. Still, as a sort of historical document that still tells a good story, I think this book should be better known today than it is.
P.S. Just thought I'd mention that my 1942 hard-cover has an ad on the inside cover flap reminding me to "Buy U.S. Defense Bonds and Stamps" :D
***
George Heisler's escape is more than a decent yarn, it's also allegedly one of the earliest--perhaps the first--appearances of a concentration camp in literature. Author Seghers was of Jewish decent, and fled to Mexico in the late 1930's, where she wrote The Seventh Cross in 1939. The English translation enjoyed a wide popularity in 1942, when it made the prestigious "Book of the Month Club." For many Americans, this was their first glimpse into life in Nazi Germany. The book has since sunken into obscurity, I'm guessing because Ms. Seghers was also a card-carrying member of the communist party who returned to Soviet-occupied Berlin after the war, where she went on to write and win awards such as the Stalin Peace Prize (!). Yes, George Heisler in The Seventh Cross is a communist, which in mid-30's Germany was synonymous with "one of the few political parties not afraid to protest Nazi rule." This isn't a book about politics, it's a book about life in a State where anyone can be jailed for listening to the wrong radio station, marrying the "wrong" man, or being born into the "wrong" religion. I'm sure it shocked many Americans at the time.
Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the early-40's era English translation (I would have read the German but English was what I could find). The prose often feels stilted, and I tripped over a number of awkward word-for-word German-to-English passages and idioms. For intance, when a character "drove his wheel into town" he's actually riding his bicycle. But the author's skill still shone through in passages such as:
"Frau Marnet would have preferred [the SS man] to spit almost anywhere else than on her clean kitchen floor. At any rate, it was not easy to spread horror in Marnet's kitchen. If the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had come rushing by on that Sunday, they would have tied their horses to the garden fence and behaved like rational guests.
I read this book shortly after reading Hans Fallada's [b:Every Man Dies Alone|3344411|Every Man Dies Alone|Hans Fallada|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320559834s/3344411.jpg|1481990] and found them very similar, although I think I prefer the way Fallada built tension and developed his characters. The Seventh Cross is often confusing in the way it flips about between characters, many of whom are only very loosely related to George's journey, and it took me a good 50+ pages to orient myself. Still, as a sort of historical document that still tells a good story, I think this book should be better known today than it is.
P.S. Just thought I'd mention that my 1942 hard-cover has an ad on the inside cover flap reminding me to "Buy U.S. Defense Bonds and Stamps" :D