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annabelchandler's review against another edition
inspiring
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mjminkowich's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
hannahh071's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kenzee06's review against another edition
4.0
*I won this book in a GoodReads First Reads giveaway*
I'm not sure what to say about this book. The writing style was a little difficult for me, but I still found the story to be oddly fascinating. This isn't a typical story. It's not even a typical Holocaust story.
Lore paints three very different tales of the Holocaust from the point of view of average German citizens, both during and after the War, which are equal parts horrifying and fascinating. Perhaps more interesting is the question the author raises: How does one reconcile the loving parent/grandparent they know, with the soldier who blindly (or perhaps not so blindly) follows the order to murder innocent men, women and children? Is loving them wrong?
If you're looking for something different, pick this one up.
I'm not sure what to say about this book. The writing style was a little difficult for me, but I still found the story to be oddly fascinating. This isn't a typical story. It's not even a typical Holocaust story.
Lore paints three very different tales of the Holocaust from the point of view of average German citizens, both during and after the War, which are equal parts horrifying and fascinating. Perhaps more interesting is the question the author raises: How does one reconcile the loving parent/grandparent they know, with the soldier who blindly (or perhaps not so blindly) follows the order to murder innocent men, women and children? Is loving them wrong?
If you're looking for something different, pick this one up.
bluestarfish's review
3.0
I missed the fact that this is three stories linked thematically rather than by characters so I was lightly put out when the story switched from Helmut to Lore. At first I didn't see why it needed to move and I wanted to know more about Helmut. But the Lore section was very absorbing and it sucked me right in. The three stories chart non-Jew Germans and the not totally good and not totally bad people that live through war and the aftermath. Different times and perspectives offer a chance to engage with people at the periphery of the Holocaust but also having to deal with the legacy and moral dilemmas. Very impressive for a first novel.
kismazsola's review against another edition
5.0
It's a kind of book, I never want to read again, but was necessary to read once!
The stlye is pretty strange, though its fragmentation is just another supporter of the message of the book. Without background knowledge, the story is hard to understand, as nothing is said out properly.
I wouldn't say it's a long book, and I thought it would take a day or so to read it. But it was in a way too much for me....finally it took 3 days. And now I feel kind of lost after finishing it. Still I want to read all the other books of Rachel Seiffert (I'm not even sure about the pronounciation of her name), though now I need a break before them...
In one sentence: this book is unique and totally worth-reading!
The stlye is pretty strange, though its fragmentation is just another supporter of the message of the book. Without background knowledge, the story is hard to understand, as nothing is said out properly.
I wouldn't say it's a long book, and I thought it would take a day or so to read it. But it was in a way too much for me....finally it took 3 days. And now I feel kind of lost after finishing it. Still I want to read all the other books of Rachel Seiffert (I'm not even sure about the pronounciation of her name), though now I need a break before them...
In one sentence: this book is unique and totally worth-reading!
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
This is a collection of three novellas dealing with ordinary Germans and WWII. In the first, Helmut has a crippled arm and is unable to join the army at the beginning of the war. Instead, he hides out in the photography studio he worked in before the war. In the second story, Lore and her siblings try to get to their grandmother in Hamburg at the end of the war and in the final story, set in 1997, a young man tries to come to terms with his beloved grandfather's membership in the Waffen SS.
The novellas are unconnected, but photographs play an important role in each story, which looks at how ordinary Germans regarded the war, both while it was happening and as it recedes into history. Seiffert quite wisely chose children as the protagonists of the first two tales, making clear the cost the war on Germany's citizens. The third story is the most difficult. The protagonist, Micha, manages to be both ashamed and sanctimonious, which makes him somewhat unlikeable, although I though Seiffert masterfully portrayed the many conflicting emotions he felt as he dug into his family's past.
The novellas are unconnected, but photographs play an important role in each story, which looks at how ordinary Germans regarded the war, both while it was happening and as it recedes into history. Seiffert quite wisely chose children as the protagonists of the first two tales, making clear the cost the war on Germany's citizens. The third story is the most difficult. The protagonist, Micha, manages to be both ashamed and sanctimonious, which makes him somewhat unlikeable, although I though Seiffert masterfully portrayed the many conflicting emotions he felt as he dug into his family's past.
notoriousagk's review against another edition
5.0
I'll be chewing on this one for a long, long while. A trip of novellas that offers some insight into German identity during and after World War II, this may be one of the most brilliant and thought-provoking books I've read in the past few years. A really difficult, really rewarding read that I highly, highly recommend.
proseamongstthorns's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a beautifully crafted, evocative piece. Comprising of three stories, each one becoming slightly more separated from the War it gives an interested perspective. We watch the war happening through a bystander, live through the immediate aftermath with the children of Nazi’s and who is likely a Jew and deal with the moral consequences two generations later. This final part, told by Micah, is the most interesting. It brings up questions such as who should feel guilty? Should knowledge of what our loved relatives did change how we feel about them? And when we learn the truth what should we do with that information? Ultimately, Dark Room doesn’t answer any of these questions - likely as there can be no correct answer. But underlying all of this is a subdued notion of when will the Germans ‘be allowed’ stop feeling guilty for what their ancestors have done.
bookishwendy's review against another edition
4.0
**Note** I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.
Originally published in 2001 as [b:The Dark Room|555048|The Dark Room|Rachel Seiffert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348646252s/555048.jpg|104595], this is a set of three long-ish stories connected only by some haunting thread of WWII-era Germany. Photographs also seem to be key motifs that link each of the stories in some way, hence the original Dark Room name. Otherwise, characters and story-lines do not overlap, and given the heavy subject matter I found it difficult to maintain momentum through these stark, sparsely-written stories.
The first story "Helmut" is the shortest, and for me was the hardest to get into. It follows a young Berlin man who, physically barred from joining the army, spends the war years documenting his city with his camera.
"Lore" is the name of the second story after the story's protagonist, short for Hannelore. Hers is perhaps the most harrowing plot: after her parents are arrested at the end of the war, she must travel overland with her four younger siblings from southern Bavaria to Oma's house in northern Hamburg. There is much starving and suffering, but a mysterious young man comes to their aid. While on the last few pages of the story I had the opportunity to view the film (which covers only the story of Lore) -- and while mostly faithful at first, veers unexpectedly into rated R territory. Perhaps because in the story Lore struck me as about twelve or thirteen -- in the film she is portrayed as much older than I had envisioned, seventeen perhaps -- this veering took me by surprise. I'm still undecided on whether the additional twists of sex and violence in the film added to the story or not. Still, the suffering of the children is hard to take, on the page or on the screen.
"Micha" is the longest and, for me, the most compelling story of the three. It follows a 30 year old teacher in 1997 and his quest to find out more about his Opa, who may or may not have been a war-criminal. It's a sort of bizarre reversal of [b:Everything is Illuminated|256566|Everything is Illuminated|Jonathan Safran Foer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865538s/256566.jpg|886727], but instead of rich, inventive prose following a Jewish boy as he scours Ukraine for hints of his grandfather's past, we have stark, minimalist prose following a young German fearfully interviewing wary Belarusians. I thought this one was brilliantly done.
Overall, this is a worthwhile collection of stories if you can bear the ponderous subject matter.
Originally published in 2001 as [b:The Dark Room|555048|The Dark Room|Rachel Seiffert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348646252s/555048.jpg|104595], this is a set of three long-ish stories connected only by some haunting thread of WWII-era Germany. Photographs also seem to be key motifs that link each of the stories in some way, hence the original Dark Room name. Otherwise, characters and story-lines do not overlap, and given the heavy subject matter I found it difficult to maintain momentum through these stark, sparsely-written stories.
The first story "Helmut" is the shortest, and for me was the hardest to get into. It follows a young Berlin man who, physically barred from joining the army, spends the war years documenting his city with his camera.
"Lore" is the name of the second story after the story's protagonist, short for Hannelore. Hers is perhaps the most harrowing plot: after her parents are arrested at the end of the war, she must travel overland with her four younger siblings from southern Bavaria to Oma's house in northern Hamburg. There is much starving and suffering, but a mysterious young man comes to their aid. While on the last few pages of the story I had the opportunity to view the film (which covers only the story of Lore) -- and while mostly faithful at first, veers unexpectedly into rated R territory. Perhaps because in the story Lore struck me as about twelve or thirteen -- in the film she is portrayed as much older than I had envisioned, seventeen perhaps -- this veering took me by surprise. I'm still undecided on whether the additional twists of sex and violence in the film added to the story or not. Still, the suffering of the children is hard to take, on the page or on the screen.
"Micha" is the longest and, for me, the most compelling story of the three. It follows a 30 year old teacher in 1997 and his quest to find out more about his Opa, who may or may not have been a war-criminal. It's a sort of bizarre reversal of [b:Everything is Illuminated|256566|Everything is Illuminated|Jonathan Safran Foer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327865538s/256566.jpg|886727], but instead of rich, inventive prose following a Jewish boy as he scours Ukraine for hints of his grandfather's past, we have stark, minimalist prose following a young German fearfully interviewing wary Belarusians. I thought this one was brilliantly done.
Overall, this is a worthwhile collection of stories if you can bear the ponderous subject matter.