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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.*
I have mixed feelings. I loved this book, don't get me wrong... But it was pretty confusing. I don't think it's the book's fault. I blame my education for not making me more familiar with groups like the UPA and the tension between Ukrainians and Poles during WWII. Somehow I slipped through my WWII education with a deep understanding of Germany's groups and politics, a marginal understanding of Russia's, but very little information on this front of the war.
And that's why books like this are important. They uncover pieces of history that are vitally important but little spoken of.
The danger, tension, and principles in this story had me riveted. It's been awhile since I read at the breakfast table, but I had to know more about Tolya and Aleksey. I had to know if they'd live, if their efforts would pay off, if they'd ever find peace. Unfortunately I can't tell you how it ended, but I can say this book doesn't have a clean plot graph.
And maybe it shouldn't.
TW: torture, graphic wounds, all the usual horrors of war
I have mixed feelings. I loved this book, don't get me wrong... But it was pretty confusing. I don't think it's the book's fault. I blame my education for not making me more familiar with groups like the UPA and the tension between Ukrainians and Poles during WWII. Somehow I slipped through my WWII education with a deep understanding of Germany's groups and politics, a marginal understanding of Russia's, but very little information on this front of the war.
And that's why books like this are important. They uncover pieces of history that are vitally important but little spoken of.
The danger, tension, and principles in this story had me riveted. It's been awhile since I read at the breakfast table, but I had to know more about Tolya and Aleksey. I had to know if they'd live, if their efforts would pay off, if they'd ever find peace. Unfortunately I can't tell you how it ended, but I can say this book doesn't have a clean plot graph.
And maybe it shouldn't.
TW: torture, graphic wounds, all the usual horrors of war
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too many characters and organizations with different names made it hard to follow.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to this as an audiobook and was absolutely enthralled the whole way through. It's set in a place and a time that I know shockingly little about, and that place and time and the people in it felt very convincingly portrayed. And absolutely gut-wrenchingly portrayed, honestly, in an effectively emotional way. I was completely gripped and wrapped up in the stories of our two protagonists, and absolutely gutted by Alexei dying, especially when his parts of the story then went back to him saving the nurse who eventually saves Tolya - fuck, what a good use of a split narrative and tying together story threads. The characters and this book are messy and dark and brutal, and the explorations of nationality and honour and survival and affection were fascinating and emotionally compelling.
I also feel like I learned a lot about a period of history I was completely unaware of before (and there was a certain amount of extra resonance reading this at the moment, I felt, given Ukraine is once again fighting a war).
An absolute highlight of my reading this year, and it was very good as an audiobook, the narrator was great and I have since put several other audiobooks that he has read on hold because I enjoyed his narration so much.
I also feel like I learned a lot about a period of history I was completely unaware of before (and there was a certain amount of extra resonance reading this at the moment, I felt, given Ukraine is once again fighting a war).
An absolute highlight of my reading this year, and it was very good as an audiobook, the narrator was great and I have since put several other audiobooks that he has read on hold because I enjoyed his narration so much.
Couldn't keep up with what was going on. Just didn't care anymore.
Before anything, this is not a clean-cut sort of story. It is messy because WWII is messy. If you can’t stand that, this book isn’t for you.
But if you do in fact like WWII and are fans of books like “Max”, you will like “Traitor”
1. Theme—Despite everything that goes on with the story, the theme is surprisingly simple. The main theme is belief and nationality, as well as politics and survival which, when put together, paints the perfect picture of WWII. It is dark and grisly but the author did a good job casting this shade with a hint of hope tucked between places.
2. Prose—Solid and shows a good understanding of the background. Although, I don’t read the languages portrayed in the novel (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian), so I can’t speak on that. But the prose set the tone for the story excellently, so I have nothing to say against it.
3. Characters—This is where the story comes alive. The story is told from the perspective of two casts, both of whom are vital to the story despite the plot twist in the middle section. (That was quite jarring, but more on that in the next section.) What is interesting about these characters are that they are very controversial not just outwardly but also inwardly. They struggle against themselves and others but also maintain their underlying hope and belief in others. Their heritage also plays a part in the larger scheme of the story and I was invested in their choices and paths. Some of the secondary characters were left in wanting, alwith.
4. Plot—This is where readers would otherwise love the story or hate it. I personally like convoluted storylines (like this one) and the author kept the time stamp clear, so despite having two parts of the story, I personally think it lined up well. It’s not a story that makes much sense, but that’s the thing about this era—nothing in wars made sense. Again, if this is the first WWII story you are reading, you may not enjoy it as much.
5. Execution—I want to say the execution was perfect, and in a way, it was just so—perfectly dark and yet serious, at the same time humorous in a cynical sort of way and also naively hopeful. But I do have to say some parts felt slightly jarring in the way it deployed, esp. if readers do not have much background in the timeline of this era. I myself haven’t read much on the Polish-Ukrainian side of WWII and was completely fascinated with this new aspect I didn’t know about.
Overall, I rate this book 4/5 stars because it was really good—especially on the questions it asked the cast and the readers. I also love how we get to see a different worldview of WWII because there are too many books written about this era from just one side. I appreciated it as a half-Axis half Allied person. It’s also mostly clean in language and content, so if you can stomach the brutality, this book can be for readers 13yrs and up.
But if you do in fact like WWII and are fans of books like “Max”, you will like “Traitor”
1. Theme—Despite everything that goes on with the story, the theme is surprisingly simple. The main theme is belief and nationality, as well as politics and survival which, when put together, paints the perfect picture of WWII. It is dark and grisly but the author did a good job casting this shade with a hint of hope tucked between places.
2. Prose—Solid and shows a good understanding of the background. Although, I don’t read the languages portrayed in the novel (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian), so I can’t speak on that. But the prose set the tone for the story excellently, so I have nothing to say against it.
3. Characters—This is where the story comes alive. The story is told from the perspective of two casts, both of whom are vital to the story despite the plot twist in the middle section. (That was quite jarring, but more on that in the next section.) What is interesting about these characters are that they are very controversial not just outwardly but also inwardly. They struggle against themselves and others but also maintain their underlying hope and belief in others. Their heritage also plays a part in the larger scheme of the story and I was invested in their choices and paths. Some of the secondary characters were left in wanting, alwith.
4. Plot—This is where readers would otherwise love the story or hate it. I personally like convoluted storylines (like this one) and the author kept the time stamp clear, so despite having two parts of the story, I personally think it lined up well. It’s not a story that makes much sense, but that’s the thing about this era—nothing in wars made sense. Again, if this is the first WWII story you are reading, you may not enjoy it as much.
5. Execution—I want to say the execution was perfect, and in a way, it was just so—perfectly dark and yet serious, at the same time humorous in a cynical sort of way and also naively hopeful. But I do have to say some parts felt slightly jarring in the way it deployed, esp. if readers do not have much background in the timeline of this era. I myself haven’t read much on the Polish-Ukrainian side of WWII and was completely fascinated with this new aspect I didn’t know about.
Overall, I rate this book 4/5 stars because it was really good—especially on the questions it asked the cast and the readers. I also love how we get to see a different worldview of WWII because there are too many books written about this era from just one side. I appreciated it as a half-Axis half Allied person. It’s also mostly clean in language and content, so if you can stomach the brutality, this book can be for readers 13yrs and up.
I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review of the book.
Wasn't sure whether this book was a 3 or a 3.5 for me. Mostly solid storytelling, although because I have had so much work going on this summer, I was forced to read this book piecemeal. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite work for a book that toggles back and forth between two different young men living in two different periods of World War II, 1941 and 1944. In addition, part of the point of the story is the discombobulation of the kaleidoscopic, constantly shifting loyalties and sides the two protagonists were involved with, but the net effect, for me, at least, was to feel somewhat disengaged with the events and the characters. Having said all that, I did enjoy the book, and felt I learned a lot about WWII that I didn't know about, helped by the list of characters at the end and the summary of the conflicting, competing, overlapping tides of history that characterized the war in Poland/Ukraine.
Wasn't sure whether this book was a 3 or a 3.5 for me. Mostly solid storytelling, although because I have had so much work going on this summer, I was forced to read this book piecemeal. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite work for a book that toggles back and forth between two different young men living in two different periods of World War II, 1941 and 1944. In addition, part of the point of the story is the discombobulation of the kaleidoscopic, constantly shifting loyalties and sides the two protagonists were involved with, but the net effect, for me, at least, was to feel somewhat disengaged with the events and the characters. Having said all that, I did enjoy the book, and felt I learned a lot about WWII that I didn't know about, helped by the list of characters at the end and the summary of the conflicting, competing, overlapping tides of history that characterized the war in Poland/Ukraine.
I was actually surprised at how much I loved this. I don't tend to read historical novels, especially WW2 ones, with male main characters, but this was an amazing read from start to finish.
At times I did find the two POVs confusing, but I did like how they had different 'voices', so I was able to tell them apart quite easily.
At times I did find the two POVs confusing, but I did like how they had different 'voices', so I was able to tell them apart quite easily.
2.75, not my favorite. Had trouble keeping up with why I should care about the characters.