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2.49k reviews for:
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Erik Larson
3.76 AVERAGE
2.49k reviews for:
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Erik Larson
3.76 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
slow-paced
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
I feel bad rating this book because it's not really the book's fault. Historical non-fiction is really not my favorite genre and I listened to this as an audio book, so it was difficult for me to pay attention all around. I read this for a book club and probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. However, it was interesting at parts, very profound in its message, and offered a perspective on Nazi Germany that I found very interesting. If this genre is your thing, you'll probably enjoy.
informative
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
informative
slow-paced
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was not as strong as Devil in the White City, perhaps because the political intrigue of Hitler's Germany pre-WWII is less clear cut than a serial killer on the South Side. That said, Erik Larson is always a thorough researcher and compelling story teller. I particularly enjoyed the personal stories from so many brief stories of how the rise of Nazi Germany transformed an entire country.
This book was a slog for me. It was clearly extremely well researched, but Larson just wrote in a way that was boring and repetitive. How many times can you end a chapter with "But little did she know...that moment would come back to haunt her!"
Plus was: it really helped me gain an understanding of how the world (and the US in particular) watched the rise of Nazi power and did nothing.
Plus was: it really helped me gain an understanding of how the world (and the US in particular) watched the rise of Nazi power and did nothing.
A bit too lengthy at points, but did not fall short at painting the atmosphere. The author choice a for-the-most-part-unbiased voice in the narrative, which for better or for worse added to the female protagonist's despicableness. Still, very impressive as history instead of fiction.