Review by katharina14 - Snow Over Surabaya

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katharina14 's review for:

Snow Over Surabaya by Nigel Barley

2.5

adventurous fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book felt to me like a mix of travel adventure, 20th-century history, and (fictional) biography. It's never entirely clear whether the first-person narrator is telling the truth about events that may have actually happened (which seems to align with the historical figure herself).

At times, it can be hard to follow—especially for readers (like myself) who lack knowledge of Southeast Asian history in the 20th century. The chapters jump to different points in time, which adds to the complexity. The book ist not the right choice if you want to enhance your historical knowledge (especially because the first-person-narrator may or may not be lying).

There are occasionally sudden and graphic descriptions of war crimes, which can be disturbing.

The ending of the book left me feeling unsatisfied. Although the final chapters contain hints at alternate versions of the story, for me, this only added to the confusion.

Overall, I didn’t really enjoy the style of storytelling, as it didn’t allow much space for character development. This made it difficult for me to feel any sympathy for the main character.

Although the main character is female, the book is definetly set in a man’s world. Still, it would have been nice to see a bit more female interaction.

Content Warnings