From Degens (On the Third Ward, 1990), an intricate, cerebral picture of life in East Germany just before the Berlin Wall's destruction, as seen through the eyes of a teenager with family on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Inspired by her grandmother Dulla's folkloric tale of how she and her sisters fled the advancing Soviet army in 1945 and were separated, Freya reenacts the flight, with numerous imaginative variations. At the same time, fascinated by chaos theory, she tests the idea that small local events can have large consequences. Events and revelations put Freya on an emotional rollercoaster: She learns that Dulla hasn't told her the whole story; a romance with a neighbor is nipped off when his family joins the rising tide of defectors. Degens develops this family saga slowly, framing it as a story that Freya later tells to her American cousin; thoughtful readers who keep track of the shifting eras and narrators will be rewarded with a steady look at attitudes and living conditions during East Germany's last days, a large but well-differentiated cast led by a sensitive protagonist, plus insight into how Nazi atrocities still haunt the psyches of many Germans. While it is not a page-turner, this novel is studded with subtle connections and concepts. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-15-200210-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997
When Death tells a story, you pay attention. Liesel Meminger is a young girl growing up outside of Munich in Nazi Germany, and Death tells her story as “an attempt—a flying jump of an attempt—to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.” When her foster father helps her learn to read and she discovers the power of words, Liesel begins stealing books from Nazi book burnings and the mayor’s wife’s library. As she becomes a better reader, she becomes a writer, writing a book about her life in such a miserable time. Liesel’s experiences move Death to say, “I am haunted by humans.” How could the human race be “so ugly and so glorious” at the same time? This big, expansive novel is a leisurely working out of fate, of seemingly chance encounters and events that ultimately touch, like dominoes as they collide. The writing is elegant, philosophical and moving. Even at its length, it’s a work to read slowly and savor. Beautiful and important. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: March 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83100-2
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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