Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.95 AVERAGE
2.95 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
bro just watch jojo rabbit instead
There has only ever been one book I've read where I would honestly argue the movie did a better job than the novel. But looking at [b:Caging Skies|42793999|Caging Skies|Christine Leunens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560049490l/42793999._SY75_.jpg|45459223] and its recent adaptation, Jojo Rabbit, I honestly argue that the movie did a much better job of telling the story.
The story's premise is that there is this kid named Johannes (or Jojo in the movie), living in Austria during WWII. He is an active member of the Hitler Youth, but his parents are also hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Johannes slowly discovers her and starts to question his views and what he's been told by his Hitler-centric schooling.
In the novel, Johannes is fifteen or sixteen when he discovers Elsa, and he comes to lust after her, mostly because he doesn't really have contact with the outside world after an accident that keeps him from working actively with the Hitler Youth. He is fully capable of making his own decisions, and is old enough to understand the repercussions of the war from both sides.
In the movie, Jojo is ten years old, an impressionable kid. In a lot of ways, I appreciated that portrayal of his character much more than that of young adult Johannes, because I feel like it captured the elements of satire better than [a:Christine Leunens|1147487|Christine Leunens|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] did with her imagination of this novel. I just didn't see the story as satirical as it claimed to be. With the movie, on the other hand, I feel like it did a good job of capturing the truth of the war in a more relatable, but also roll-your-eyes-funny kind of way.
I hate to see a movie before I read a book, but in this case, I fully believe I would not have gone to see Jojo Rabbit if I knew it was based on this novel. One of the biggest themes in [b:Caging Skies|42793999|Caging Skies|Christine Leunens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560049490l/42793999._SY75_.jpg|45459223] that was thankfully missing from the movie was the idea of forced Stockholm syndrome. But that was exactly what he did, reasoning that Elsa would love him if only given time.
The movie ends at about the halfway point of the novel. Again, I usually don't respect this, but there was a lot of unnecessary action that follows the war in the novel, namely the Stockholm syndrome thing. I would not recommend this book to anyone who has had a traumatic experience with Stockholm syndrome, kidnapping, or anything of the like, because of the way [a:Christine Leunens|1147487|Christine Leunens|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] deals with it.
Truly, I am glad that [a:Taika Waititi|17735961|Taika Waititi|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] won Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit. A book with this many character flaws is very hard to adapt into something as good and heartwarming as that film was. I first wondered why [a:Christine Leunens|1147487|Christine Leunens|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] first wrote a version of this novel in 2008, and then there was no 2nd publication date until 2019. After reading the novel, I understand why she needed to cut out more than a hundred pages, and why reactions may have been such that would keep her from republishing for more than ten years.
Disclaimer:
The story's premise is that there is this kid named Johannes (or Jojo in the movie), living in Austria during WWII. He is an active member of the Hitler Youth, but his parents are also hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Johannes slowly discovers her and starts to question his views and what he's been told by his Hitler-centric schooling.
In the novel, Johannes is fifteen or sixteen when he discovers Elsa, and he comes to lust after her, mostly because he doesn't really have contact with the outside world after an accident that keeps him from working actively with the Hitler Youth. He is fully capable of making his own decisions, and is old enough to understand the repercussions of the war from both sides.
In the movie, Jojo is ten years old, an impressionable kid. In a lot of ways, I appreciated that portrayal of his character much more than that of young adult Johannes, because I feel like it captured the elements of satire better than [a:Christine Leunens|1147487|Christine Leunens|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] did with her imagination of this novel. I just didn't see the story as satirical as it claimed to be. With the movie, on the other hand, I feel like it did a good job of capturing the truth of the war in a more relatable, but also roll-your-eyes-funny kind of way.
I hate to see a movie before I read a book, but in this case, I fully believe I would not have gone to see Jojo Rabbit if I knew it was based on this novel. One of the biggest themes in [b:Caging Skies|42793999|Caging Skies|Christine Leunens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560049490l/42793999._SY75_.jpg|45459223] that was thankfully missing from the movie was the idea of forced Stockholm syndrome.
Spoiler
While Johannes did have to help Elsa after his parents died, he had no reason to do what he did afterwards by not telling her the war was over, for four years, and keeping her a prisoner in his own house.The movie ends at about the halfway point of the novel. Again, I usually don't respect this, but there was a lot of unnecessary action that follows the war in the novel, namely the Stockholm syndrome thing. I would not recommend this book to anyone who has had a traumatic experience with Stockholm syndrome, kidnapping, or anything of the like, because of the way [a:Christine Leunens|1147487|Christine Leunens|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] deals with it.
Truly, I am glad that [a:Taika Waititi|17735961|Taika Waititi|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] won Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit. A book with this many character flaws is very hard to adapt into something as good and heartwarming as that film was. I first wondered why [a:Christine Leunens|1147487|Christine Leunens|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] first wrote a version of this novel in 2008, and then there was no 2nd publication date until 2019. After reading the novel, I understand why she needed to cut out more than a hundred pages, and why reactions may have been such that would keep her from republishing for more than ten years.
Disclaimer:
Spoiler
Free in exchange for an honest review, via Goodreads Giveaways. Thank you to [a:Abrams Books|4668765|Abrams Books|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] for listing.
I was very disappointed in this book. While I wasn't expecting it to be exactly like Taika Waititi's film version, I thought it would at least have a similar tone or message. But the film is about how love and friendship can change someone for the better, the book is a dark look at love as an obsession. Not my cup of tea.
I think I hated this book. The few interesting concepts are overshadowed by many uninteresting concepts and a lot of really poor-quality writing. Almost every moment of plot tension passed by and I had to re-read it, wondering, "Did I read that correctly? Did that actually happen or was it imagined by x character?" because the sentence structure itself didn't add any tension to what was happening.
In the end, this book is really about a manipulative young man's attempts to maintain ownership of a young woman, all the while convincing himself that he's the one in the right/being manipulated/etc. While that alone doesn't -necessarily- make a bad book, it really feels as if the reader is meant to sympathise with this incredibly delusional and unlikeable character. Topped with poor writing and confusing pacing, there's nothing left that comes close to redeeming this one for me.
In the end, this book is really about a manipulative young man's attempts to maintain ownership of a young woman, all the while convincing himself that he's the one in the right/being manipulated/etc. While that alone doesn't -necessarily- make a bad book, it really feels as if the reader is meant to sympathise with this incredibly delusional and unlikeable character. Topped with poor writing and confusing pacing, there's nothing left that comes close to redeeming this one for me.
When I rewatched jojo rabbit I caught the caption that it’s based on a book and figured well if taika waititi read it I can read it. Spoilers in 5
4
3
2
1
1
1
0
I was shocked that the movie coverage ended at about 50% then got into the last 50% and was like ah. This is why. Holy shit johannes. The fuck are you doing?!?!?!? YEARS?! YEARS?!?!? You’re going to lie to her for YEARRRSSSS… at the very end I did like the way it turned that johannes is going thru what Elsa did symbolically. But some of it was so wild. Like the paint scene. I’m still like, the fuck?!
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this book after watching Jojo Rabbit. This was one of the only instances I can think of where I liked the movie more than the book (thank you Taika Waititi!). The book and movie ran parallel for about 1/3 of the book content, then the plot derailed completely. The rest of the story became a lot darker and far more psychological than what I expected. I'm usually all for that, but in this instance I did not sign up for that. Even though the plot got darker, (*spoiler*)I felt like the book lost steam after Johannes' family were no longer there and it was just him and Elsa. The ending sort of sputtered and died out in my opinion.
To follow up a book that dealt with childhood trauma (A Little Life) with another that traces a similar bleaker storyline in a World war era, was maybe not the wisest of decisions. At different junctures, I was already drawing parallels - the grave of fireflies, the stockholm syndrome & My family's slave. Halfway through the book, we feel we're close to a satisfying conclusion but then the author surprises us with a much sordid second half. No wonder this story is movie material.
While I did commitnthe cardinal sin of watching the movie before reading the book, I think they both stand on their own. The movie romanticized the relationship vetween Johannes and Elsa, but I don't think many people would have watched a direct adaptation of the book. Parts of the book were a bit slow, but the ending. Oh, the ending! ❤