Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
This book started out so promising to me and by the end it just really fizzled. So much so that I put it down, with about forty pages until the end, for over three months. Four stars for the first half and two for the second averages out to three stars.
I really enjoyed it. I think that there were a few cases of suspension of disbelief, but the main issues I was having with how Irene was suspiciously unsuspicious to the Russians, or how Alex was getting away with so much, were wrapped up neatly. I think some of the characters were a bit one dimensional, and things turned out a bit too neat, but it was a solid tale of Post WW2 Berlin, before the Stasi came, when everything was trying to get back to normal, from a German perspective.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really wanted to like this book, but the lack of character development left a lot to desire. Such a disappointment.
This is a great choice for spy thriller enthusiasts. There's just enough action to keep the plot going without it becoming mindless action with no real story line. I thought the ending was a little rushed but it was still a good weekend read.
I listened to the audiobook of Leaving Berlin. With the back story, the beginning took a little bit to ramp up but it quickly gained speed and didn't let you go! My only quibble with the audiobook specifically has to do with the reader, who had a hard time with any German words/street names that came up in the book. That would probably only bother anyone familiar with German, but it would take me out of the story every time. It's a shame they didn't find someone who had at least a passing acquaintance with German. The book itself, however, is terrific! It does a terrific job of creating post-war Berlin before the wall went up. Lots of twists and turns that do not insult the intelligence of the reader. Highly recommended!
It was well researched and gripping, just not what I wanted. I wanted am overreaching mystery, but got a kind of dry melodrama. It picked up half way through, and it turns out there was a mystery to it, just one I didn't know was a mystery.
DNF at 14%. I loved some of Joseph Kanon's books in the past, but this one just doesn't come near the level of The Good German or Los Alamos, my favorite. The writing is strange, sentences cut up into little bits for no reason. It is cold, and no character really stands out. You don't want to know what happens to them, and you don't care why they do things. The plot is slow and not very original. I liked learning more about the historical period, but it's not enough to hold my attention through a whole novel.