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bookishbecky's review against another edition
4.0
This book packs so much into a small number of pages, the feelings of despair and fear fully realised very early into the story.
I loved reading about the intricacies of Daniel making the violin and it was beautifully written.
The way the story jumped without giving dates within the camp I found a little disjointed.
I loved reading about the intricacies of Daniel making the violin and it was beautifully written.
The way the story jumped without giving dates within the camp I found a little disjointed.
fire89's review against another edition
1.0
Joku tässä kirjassa häiritsi todella pahoin. En tiedä oliko kyseessä rakenne, koska aihe se ei kuitenkaan ollut. Olen lukenut todella paljon sekä 2. maailmansotaan että keskitysleireihin liittyviä kirjoja, joten ne eivät voi olla syynä. Ehkä kirjan rakenne sellainen, joka ei kaikesta huolimatta iskenyt. Ei toki pahinta tyyliä omasta mielestäni, mutta joku ei iskenyt. En usko, että tekijästä kiinni. Kuitenkin suhteellisen nopea luettava, joka toki voisi hitaammalle lukijalle avautua eri tavalla. Lisäksi sivuja yllättävän vähän ja kirjan koko sellainen, joka tekee nopean luettavan. Puolet taitaa olla ns. peruskirjan koosta ja samaa kokoa vaan huomattavasti ohuempi kuin monet pokkarit.
Ehkei minulle sovi kovin niukka ja samalla "ylikaunis" kieli. Toki tarina omalla tavalla hieno, mutta kun ei iske, niin ei iske. Toisaalta tarinassa kyllä hienoinen opetus siitä, ettei pidä luopua toivostaan, mutta samalla se kauneudella on saatu tuntumaan mielestäni liian siloteltulta tarina.
Ehkei minulle sovi kovin niukka ja samalla "ylikaunis" kieli. Toki tarina omalla tavalla hieno, mutta kun ei iske, niin ei iske. Toisaalta tarinassa kyllä hienoinen opetus siitä, ettei pidä luopua toivostaan, mutta samalla se kauneudella on saatu tuntumaan mielestäni liian siloteltulta tarina.
donastcolumb's review against another edition
3.0
The title tells you a lot of what you need to know, it is not a happy, pleasant book. I plodded through but was not rushing to pick it up, maybe it was the translation - not sure. However, the last 10 pages literally destroyed me. A man in the cafe actually came over to check if I was ok. For that reason I would recommend.
alisonannk's review against another edition
4.0
A short, sweet novel about hope where you'd think there is none. The description of the making of a violin was poetic and takes you away from the primary setting of the place. It also hints at survival of not only people, but music and culture that is the basis of any peoples' heritage. It also offered an ending I was fulfilled with - too rare in books at times.
papi's review against another edition
4.0
I’ll admit that I’m of two minds about The Violin of Auschwitz. Like many who have already reviewed it here, it didn’t affect me as powerfully as have other novels or biographical accounts of the Jewish holocaust and the Nazi concentration camps. I think, for example, of the dark power of Elie Wiesel’s Night, or the tremendous wisdom to be found in Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, and this one simply doesn’t compare. However, not all books can be Pulitzer prize winners, and that this one is not does not mean it has no value.
For me, its value lies in the symbolism I found in it, which may or may not have been intended by the author (or fully brought to life by the translator). The violin itself was symbolic of things that bring beauty and light into life. Such things allow us to transcend the difficulties, challenges, and even evils that come upon us sometimes, and our immersion in them, bringing all of our talents and energies to bear upon them, can take us out of ourselves and to a different, better place. Friends such as Bronislaw also prove to be lifelines (and we to them) in those dark times, and also in times of goodness and hope. Even the prison commander and the evil doctor are symbols, of that which is most evil and destructive, but that still has not the power to destroy us (not our shell that we call our body, but us), and can only take our soul if we allow it. Death may remove us temporarily from this world, but never from the memories of those we have loved, and who loved us, and never permanently from the eternal world.
Like others I have read of this genre, this book led me to pause from time to time, to think and ponder, and to appreciate the ease and joys and blessings of my life. That made it worthwhile.
For me, its value lies in the symbolism I found in it, which may or may not have been intended by the author (or fully brought to life by the translator). The violin itself was symbolic of things that bring beauty and light into life. Such things allow us to transcend the difficulties, challenges, and even evils that come upon us sometimes, and our immersion in them, bringing all of our talents and energies to bear upon them, can take us out of ourselves and to a different, better place. Friends such as Bronislaw also prove to be lifelines (and we to them) in those dark times, and also in times of goodness and hope. Even the prison commander and the evil doctor are symbols, of that which is most evil and destructive, but that still has not the power to destroy us (not our shell that we call our body, but us), and can only take our soul if we allow it. Death may remove us temporarily from this world, but never from the memories of those we have loved, and who loved us, and never permanently from the eternal world.
Like others I have read of this genre, this book led me to pause from time to time, to think and ponder, and to appreciate the ease and joys and blessings of my life. That made it worthwhile.
diacruz's review against another edition
3.0
The story wasn't bad, but the characters were shallow and it lacked complexity and sincerity.
emilyg's review against another edition
3.0
I have been wanting to read this book for a while now and as I am going to visit the camp in a couple of weeks I thought now would be the perfect time. I had expected this story to be a sad one, due to it’s setting but it was actually more about hope and the power of music.
When playing in Poland in 1991 Regina meets a fellow musician who is interested in her beautiful violin. After the concert she meets with the man and tells him all about how the violin came to be and how she ended up with it.
Imprisoned in Auschwitz Daniel is dealing with a brutal and unpredictable life. However having told them he was a carpenter he feels fortunate to be able to work in the house of the sadist commandant and have a few extras. One evening after an incident with musicians playing for a party Daniel reveals that is in fact a violin maker. The commandant then gives him the task of making him a beautiful violin that should rival a Stradivarius and Daniel begins to have a little more hope. Working on the violin gives him something to carry on for and he take pleasure in his work and how it distract him for the cruel situation he is in. Later however he finds out that there is a bet going on between the commandant and the doctor over how long it will take him to finish for a case of Burgundy wine.
Back in 1991 we learn about what happens in the end and how Regina came to have the violin.
The book is very short and I can’t decide if it is missing something or not. The idea is a lovely one, that the task is what keeps him going in unimaginable circumstances but I felt like it could have been a bit more powerful. However there are some very beautiful sentences within the story and I think that I appreciate that it is not a story about how terrible the war was but it is about how humans can be saved by having passion for something.
When playing in Poland in 1991 Regina meets a fellow musician who is interested in her beautiful violin. After the concert she meets with the man and tells him all about how the violin came to be and how she ended up with it.
Imprisoned in Auschwitz Daniel is dealing with a brutal and unpredictable life. However having told them he was a carpenter he feels fortunate to be able to work in the house of the sadist commandant and have a few extras. One evening after an incident with musicians playing for a party Daniel reveals that is in fact a violin maker. The commandant then gives him the task of making him a beautiful violin that should rival a Stradivarius and Daniel begins to have a little more hope. Working on the violin gives him something to carry on for and he take pleasure in his work and how it distract him for the cruel situation he is in. Later however he finds out that there is a bet going on between the commandant and the doctor over how long it will take him to finish for a case of Burgundy wine.
Back in 1991 we learn about what happens in the end and how Regina came to have the violin.
The book is very short and I can’t decide if it is missing something or not. The idea is a lovely one, that the task is what keeps him going in unimaginable circumstances but I felt like it could have been a bit more powerful. However there are some very beautiful sentences within the story and I think that I appreciate that it is not a story about how terrible the war was but it is about how humans can be saved by having passion for something.
benp18's review against another edition
5.0
This was an excellent book. It is very short but is concise enough that I didn't feel like it was missing anything. I have previously read several other books written about life in the concentration camps, and so it is possible that I was able to fill in any gaps that may have been present. Daniel as a character is very well-written and you feel as though you get to know him well over the course of the narrative. I also enjoyed the way that the central narrative about Daniel in the concentration camp is framed by events happening in the 'present' day - this culminates in a heartwarming conclusion which I was not expecting but was wonderful. The juxtaposition of Daniel creating something exceptionally beautiful in the midst of one of the most horrific events in human history is extraordinary and fascinating. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
beckyjohnson123's review against another edition
3.0
I found it very good, it took a little while to get into, but once I did it was finished in one sitting.