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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This bring war to a very approachable, back door, level. It's not the horror stories or the happy ending, it fits neatly into the middle ground where you could see yourself. Everything feels so visceral. Lydia, an 11 year old girl runs away from her evacuee home to go back to her house, only to find an enemy soldier there and her family gone. They survive in spite of and because of each other. I loved the way the narrative changed views from Lydia to Heiden, past to present, real memories to daydreams. Because that's how the mind really wanders. More could have been flushed out.
A sad tale of love, loss and unfulfilled hopes set in the hot summer of 1940 England. There were genuine heart stopping moments that leant themselves well to a dramatic thriller, but were unfortunately watered down by repetition. However, as a debut novel it was more than adequate, and this author likely has a bright and shining future.
The Dynamite Room is Jason Hewitt’s first published novel, and a very good one at that. The whole novel takes place over the course five days, during which Lydia and the soldier are forced together in this house, stuck in the strangest of intimacies. Hewitt effectively reduces the Second World War to a battle on the very smallest scale. The set-up of the novel is brilliant, and the idea well executed, for the use of flashback and memory allows us to travel far beyond the confines of the house, to Germany in the 1930s and the Norwegian campaigns during the war...
Read full review: http://justbooksandthings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/books-dynamite-room-by-jason-hewitt.html
Read full review: http://justbooksandthings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/books-dynamite-room-by-jason-hewitt.html
I just wasn't invested in the characters or the story.
Lygia não passa de uma criança. Uma criança que teve de deixar sua vida em um vilarejo em Suffolk para ser evacuada, ao lado de outras crianças, para Wales devido ao medo iminente de um ataque das potências do Eixo durante a WWII. Longe de sua casa, família e amigos, Lygia sofre com a saudade e com os intensos abusos em sua "nova morada", e, decidida a reaver sua vida, ela decide fugir e voltar, sozinha, para Suffolk, munida apenas de uma pequena mala de roupas, pertences e sua máscara de gás. Esta mesma criança descobre que seu vilarejo esta largado as traças: não existe uma viva alma nas ruas, as casas foram abandonadas e o mundo, parece, que se esqueceu do vilarejo. Lygia encontra sua casa vazia - sua mãe desapareceu levando uma série de pertences enquanto seu pai e seu irmão foram para a guerra. Em meio ao sentimento de reencontro com os cômodos tão conhecidos da casa, um homem chega no meio da noite e, de arma em punho, diz a Lygia que a invasão alemã à Inglaterra esta prestes a acontecer, e ele é apenas o primeiro a chegar e prepará o terreno para os próximos que estão a caminho, e, ao que parece, ele pretende utilizar a casa dela como base de uma operação ultra secreta. Bradando a pistola, o homem diz que, para sua segurança e de Lygia, ela não poderá mais sair da casa e os dois precisarão aprender a conviver até a chegada da equipe de espiões Nazistas nos próximos dias. Lygia terá de conviver por excruciantes dias com aquele homem, cuja Pátria ela aprendeu a odiar e temer desde pequena, dentro de sua própria casa.
Aos poucos somos apresentados as histórias pessoais dos personagens, suas motivações e seu derradeiro entrelaçamento, que culmina em um thriller genial sobre os efeitos da guerra em civis e soldados.
Aos poucos somos apresentados as histórias pessoais dos personagens, suas motivações e seu derradeiro entrelaçamento, que culmina em um thriller genial sobre os efeitos da guerra em civis e soldados.
{I got this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway, so I feel like I should actually review it}
I like to give star ratings based on GR's stated meanings, and in this case 1 star is perfect: "did not like it." It wasn't the worst book ever, I just didn't enjoy it. I've been on a WWII historical fiction kick lately and I think this one suffered from coming right on the heels of All the Light We Cannot See, which has wonderful writing and sympathetic, well-developed characters. The Dynamite Room isn't nearly as lyrical and the characters seem inconsistent - the German soldier bounces back and forth between being unpleasant and creepy and overly sympathetic to Lydia, whose characterization makes me think that the author has never met or seen an eleven year old girl.
I like to give star ratings based on GR's stated meanings, and in this case 1 star is perfect: "did not like it." It wasn't the worst book ever, I just didn't enjoy it. I've been on a WWII historical fiction kick lately and I think this one suffered from coming right on the heels of All the Light We Cannot See, which has wonderful writing and sympathetic, well-developed characters. The Dynamite Room isn't nearly as lyrical and the characters seem inconsistent - the German soldier bounces back and forth between being unpleasant and creepy and overly sympathetic to Lydia, whose characterization makes me think that the author has never met or seen an eleven year old girl.
This book was hard to get into at first, I feel like the author really polished his skill as the book progressed.
I do have to say, I did not see the twist coming right away and once you got past the first few chapters I really wanted to know what going to happen to them.
I do have to say, I did not see the twist coming right away and once you got past the first few chapters I really wanted to know what going to happen to them.
Haunting book told from the perspective of a German soldier and an 11 year old girl brought together by unusual circumstances in WWII.
Not strictly, strictly, a crime book I know, but contains more than enough thought-provoking psychological suspense to keep any reader satisfied. With the claustrophobic setting of two completely contrasting characters confined within a contained space for the majority of the book, Hewitt completely immerses us in the issues of morality and loyalty that come into play in times of conflict. By using the setting of Lydia’s home, but carefully interweaving details of the background of both characters, there is much mileage to be had in manipulating and changing the reader’s empathy as piece by piece certain details are revealed- particularly in the case of Heiden’s former experiences. In the characterisation of both, Hewitt more than demonstrates his authorial control, and the pace of this meditative and at times lyrically written plot, carries the reader along effortlessly. With his background in acting, there is a very visual quality to his description, and Lydia’s home in particular is tangible and real, taking on a character of its own. I have one small grievance. I wish that the book had been concluded at the end of the penultimate chapter which was mighty powerful and caused more than a sharp inhalation of breath, as I do have a personal aversion to ‘wrap-up’ final chapters. However, the prose style of the book, which I found very reminiscent of the Irish literary style ( a la Toibin, Trevor etc), the depth of research, and beautifully drawn characters, were completely satisfying. Excellent.
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War
It will stick with you.