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- Eva's Boring Cousin
- Dark and haunting
- An Eye-Opening Novel About "The Banality Of Evil!"
- Important - it makes you look...
- Creapy -- and fascinating
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Eva's Cousin (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Sibylle Knauss
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0345449061
Release Date: 2003-12-02 |
Amazon.com
Eva Braun's cousin, Gertrude Weisker, was 20 years old when she played companion to Braun at the Berghof, Hitler's Bavarian aerie. Weisker kept silent about her time as a Nazi houseguest until she finally told all to German novelist Sibylle Knauss. Now Knauss has transformed Weisker's memories into the novel Eva's Cousin. While the novel's protagonist, Marlene, is a fictionalized version of Weisker, the rest of the infamous cast travel under their real names: Braun, Hitler, Goering, Speer. It's an odd and sometimes confusing project. As Marlene accompanies Eva through the final days of World War II--the days leading up to Braun's and Hitler's double suicide--we're never quite sure if we're witness to Weisker's memories or Knauss's invention. At its best, though, the book makes a compelling investigation into the mundanity of evil. Hitler is pathologized, but never diminished, as Marlene and Eva and all the rest tiptoe around him, careful not to upset him: "Nothing takes more courage than to disappoint a despot. Should he ever discover that free human beings with free will exist, it would surely be the death of him." Knauss cleverly counters Marlene's postadolescent musings with the mythically terrible world she inhabits: "I feel so lonely in Hitler's teahouse," she tells us. And "The only person who did understand me was Albert Speer." These juxtapositions indict Marlene for her very innocence, and make Eva's Cousin a powerful document of witness. --Claire Dederer
Book Description
Berchtesgaden, Germany, is a beautiful place, set among the gentle meadow-clad hills rising to the sheer heights of bare Alpine peaks. It is here where an elderly woman arrives and recollects her past—and her peripheral role in a chapter of world history. She walks along a beaten path, which has come into being because so many tourists have ventured this way . . . to see something that exists only in her memory.
In the summer of 1944, twenty-year-old Marlene is thrilled when her older, more glamorous cousin, Eva Braun, Adolph Hitler’s mistress, invites her to come to the Fuhrer’s Bavarian mountain retreat. Against her father’s wishes, Marlene accepts, and immediately sets forth to Berghof.
There, while Hitler is away desperately trying to turn the tides of war, Marlene finds herself in a strange paradise, a world of opulence and imminent danger, of freedom and surveillance. The two women sneak off and skinny-dip in a nearby-lake, watch films in the Fuhrer’s private cinema, and flirt with the SS officers at the dinner table—one of whom will become Marlene’s first lover.
Initially delighted by Eva’s attentions, Marlene later tries to understand the elusive connection between her cousin and the man she loves.
In quiet defiance, she begins to commit her own acts of subversion, which include listening to BBC radio broadcasts, forbidden by the Fuhrer. But a clandestine mission of mercy will force her to question her allegiance to both her cousin and her country—and to face the chilling reality that exists outside her sheltered world.
Based on the true experiences of Eva Braun’s cousin, Gertrude Weisker, who has shared her memories with Sibylle Knauss after more than fifty years of silence, Eva’s Cousin is a novel that illuminates the banality of the domestic face of evil. It casts a special light on the profound questions of innocence and complicity that still haunt much of the world today.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Eva's Boring Cousin.......2005-09-06
I guess this is is proof that one can experience history without having an original though in one's head. Perhaps its the historical fiction aspect of this novel, but "Eva's Cousin" is so much an observer in her own life, I began not to care very much what happened to her and those around her. Perhaps if she had been closer to the center of power, the dispassionate nature would have worked in a fly on the wall sort of way, but given that she never met Hitler and was on the periphery, late in WWII, of the Nazi circle. I understand the account is fictionalized, though its hard to see what aspects of it were so exciting as to have to have been invented.
Dark and haunting.......2005-08-15
"Eva's Cousin" was my first experience reading a fictionalized German account of the events of World War II. The story is heavily character-driven, with a limited storyline. What stood out, for me, were the scenes in which an adult Marlene copes with her own feelings of fear and culpability that seem to arise from innocuous things. Being caught in the fog in one instance brought back a torrent of feelings for the adult Marlene, taking her back over 50 years to the time she spent as Eva Braun's guest and her own feelings as she observed the Nazi elite ignore what was really happening with the war.
This work has inspired me to look into additional German literature of this genre. "Eva's Cousin" is an introspective work, and I found it very effective despite some of the more contrived aspects of the plot. (Did Marlene really hide an escaped prisoner in the tea house?)
An Eye-Opening Novel About "The Banality Of Evil!".......2005-03-24
Eva's Cousin" is a work of fiction. Sibylle Knauss had always been interested in matters of German history and how they could be transformed into literature. Before beginning her novel, the author, had the opportunity to interview Gertrude Weisker, Eva Braun's real cousin and the model for her central character, Marlene. Eva Braun had indeed invited Ms. Weisker, 20 years-old at the time, to stay with her at Berchtesgaden in the spring of 1944, a year before WWII would end with Germany's unconditional surrender to Allied Forces, her cities, country and people laid waste. Hitler was away in east Prussia, waging war, and Eva was lonely - she needed to be amused. Although based on fact, many of the folks who people these pages are fictional, as are their stories. Essentially, however, Ms. Knauss captures the true characters of Eva, her cousin, and those who surrounded them, as well as the very ambiance of the Berghof itself, and the period, which represent, as Hannah Arendt worded it, "the banality of evil."
This is beautifully written, nuanced fiction, not an action-packed thriller, but I was riveted to the page even so. More dramatic and disturbing than the image of Nero fiddling while Rome burned, is one of the New Year Eve Ball, (1944-45), at the Platerhof Hotel in Obersalzberg, near Adolph Hitler's Bavarian mountain retreat. It was not a party for ascetics. Featured on the menu were: goose liver pate, larded saddle of venison, eels in aspic, Parma ham and overflowing bottles of champagne - all one could drink, and more. However, the hungry were not to be fed at this feast. The hungry and starving were in Auschwitz and Dachau. They were slave laborers in German factories. They were women and children throughout Europe. They were soldiers at the front. On this same New Year's Eve, the nearby Bavarian capital of Munich was in ruins. The revelers partied as if there were no tomorrow, and for many of them the tomorrows would be few. They welcomed in the new year, "the year of their downfall, rejoicing." Throughout the novel the luxurious lives of the politically and "genetically privileged" are juxtaposed with the unspoken - with those of the people of Europe, the rest of the world, in fact, the German citizens who were being bombed to smithereens 24/7. Were these human beings? Very much so, our author tells us.
This is the story of two young women who were fortunate enough to spend almost a year together at one of the world's most beautiful places, the Bavarian Alps. Yes, they were seemingly fortunate until one realizes that their host was Adolph Hitler. Evil rubs off, if in no other way than by selective blindness to the horrors which the man and his machine perpetrated on a daily basis. These women listened to the BBC. They were not ignorant. They lived right above a slave labor camp. They saw. Evil is being a sycophant to evil doers. Evil is luxuriating in the spoils of a heinous war. Evil is accepting the dehumanization of human beings, and ignoring the merciless slaughter of same.
Marlene, just twenty, was naive and worshipped her older, more glamorous cousin Eva, Hitler's long time mistress. Eva, a superficial woman, not overly bright, was addicted to shopping, pretty clothes and jewelry. She was, herself, an ornament. One of the few instructions she left before she committed suicide was that her papers, the ones with shopping lists, unpaid bills, and receipts, be burned. She did not want to go down in history as a shopaholic - "the only sin she was aware of committing." Ms. Braun was virtually unknown to Germans outside Hitler's inner circle, and had little personal worth other than that of being linked to the Fuhrer. Mistresses did not command much respect in this male dominated, macho society. Still the two played, girl-like, giggling, at sports, skinny dipping in a gorgeous mountain lake, riding, and hiking. Outside the world had become Hell incarnate - "inside frocks were being made amongst the ruins." There is even a love story here, of sorts. A powerful SS officer, much older than Marlene, fell in love with her. For a moment, one could almost forget the "SS" part, when he whispered tender words of love to her. However, when she asked her romantic knight about the terrible conditions of the starving laborers, he tells her abruptly that the slaves are not human beings like the German people. They do not feel and suffer as Germans do, and they are lazy and must be dealt with harshly. Forget? How can one forget?
Ms. Knauss said in an interview about the four women, both her fictional protagonists and the real-life Eva and Gertrude, "They are examples of people who were very close to the center of Nazism, but somehow they were also very far from it. They didn't think about anything political, about political crimes or war, they just lived their little everyday lives at the Berghof." She also makes the point that when she wrote the novel, Gertrude Weisker's story was not the point. She wanted to write about what it felt like to be a young woman at that time, with such close proximity to the Fuhrer and his private world. What would be the consequences, on one's character, on one's very soul, of this proximity? This is a most powerful novel - in its content, writing style and the excellent translation. "Eva's Cousin" is an eye-opener!
JANA
Important - it makes you look..........2005-03-13
Like many others, I've always been fascinated by the story of Eva Braun, but (maybe because I'm Jewish) was also afraid to really take a good look. It's part of a horrifying story for a Jew, but I was drawn to this book specifically because it purported to be a "fictionalized" version of a (probably mostly) true story. That kind of made it more neutral for me. What I didn't expect was to come away with some sympathy for Eva; the author revealed aspects of her life with Hitler that show her to be something of a victim and a prisoner herself. After all, once involved with this monster, she was not able to be free; she couldn't even leave her home alone, ever - she was always under guard. And the author also brings up the fact that Hitler wouldn't marry her publicly...she was always described as his "friend" or his "secretary." In that time, in Europe, it was something of a disgrace to be a mistress, with no hope of marrying the man who had ruined your reputation. So that Eva was placed in a humiliating position. In other words, this is as much a feminist novel as one about an evil society (which it also is; very, very subtly elaborated as the story unfolds). Another surprise was to find that I identified with Eva in some respects. For example, the author describes her as a "fashion addict," a shopaholic; all she ever thought about was what she would wear next. And Eva would often change her clothing several times a day. This vanity - this character defect of placing appearances above other values - is found among women everywhere, trained to use appearance to compete for men's attentions. Eva is depicted as shallow and uninterested in anything other than being Hitler's lap dog. This made her an object of scorn in the novel - but also a forgiveable, if weak, type of woman common to every culture. I found myself unable to put the book down, and I admired the writing, which was, as one reviewer said, perfectly "creepy" - as if the storyteller were whispering a horror tale. There are many insights about the times, the protagonists, including Hitler, Eva and Hitler's stooges. As another reviewer has mentioned, one thinks about this book long after putting it down.
Creapy -- and fascinating.......2004-03-13
I had to laugh when I read a couple of the reviews for this book, especially the one from the "top reviewer," who announced that the book was written by Eva Braun's cousin. And the other reader who felt cheated, not knowing what was true and what wasn't. It's very clear that this book is a NOVEL that was written by a German novelist -- and a very good one -- who happened to have met a cousin of Braun who had some of the experiences fictionalized in this book. It's a novel, folks -- so why are you searching for what was true and what wasn't? And pardon me to the so-called "top reviewer," but I never got the sense that I was expected to feel sorry for Eva, when clearly her own cousin (in the novel) was so conflicted about her herself. From almost the first page the author expresses her contempt for Eva. Marlene is a fascinating character, and we see the banality of evil through her eyes.
What a wonderful translation by Anthea Bell. Too often I am oblivious to the "greatness" of European literature because the translations are stilted and self-conscious. Not so here -- the flow of the narrative is seamless.
I'm disappointed that none of this author's other novels have been translated into English. But we're lucky to have this one. Don't let the negative reviews from people who clearly can't figure out what they're reading when they're reading it stop you from picking it up.
Book Description
Eva and her father travel from Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, to the Countryside to take part in her aunt's wedding. Eva stays with her cousins in the town of Hluck for the summer holiday, splashing in the brook and picking strawberries.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful.......2000-03-19
Marvelous drawings, which perfectly capture the soul of this country.
Book Description
Set in 1950s London, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets centers around Penelope, the wide- eyed daughter of a legendary beauty, Talitha, who lost her husband to the war. Penelope, with her mother and brother, struggles to maintain their vast and crumbling ancestral home—while postwar London spins toward the next decade's cultural revolution.
Penelope wants nothing more than to fall in love, and when her new best friend, Charlotte, a free spirit in the young society set, drags Penelope into London with all of its grand parties, she sets in motion great change for them all. Charlotte's mysterious and attractive brother Harry uses Penelope to make his American ex-girlfriend jealous, with unforeseen consequences, and a dashing, wealthy American movie producer arrives with what might be the key to Penelope's— and her family's—future happiness.
Vibrant, witty, and filled with vivid historical detail, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is an utterly unique debut novel about a time and place just slipping into history.
Customer Reviews:
The Los Art of Keeping Secrets.......2007-09-23
"The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets" would have been much more entertaining if some of the heavy drinking of alcohol has been omitted. In 1955, which is the time this book takes place, I don't believe drinking among 18-year-olds was as commonplace as Ms. Rice thinks it was. In fact, at least here in America, it was illegal, as the legal age was 21. I would have recommended this book to others if most of the heavy drinking been had been left out. In my opinion, those parts were quite boring, offensive, and didn't add to the story.
Hang in there...it is worth it!.......2007-08-28
This is an absolutely DELIGHTFUL little read! I felt the start was a bit slow...but hang in there! As the story unfolds, it is absolutely worth it!
Instant Classic.......2007-07-25
This is a wonderful book. I didn't want it to end. The characters are rich and the story is sweet and keeps your interest. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone.
A nice, light summer read.......2007-07-21
This book was chosen for my book club and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't my typical style of fast-paced, nail-biting suspense, but it was very well-written. Eva Rice used a lot of detail in the book, making it easy to have a "rolling picture" in my head... I recommend it!
Couldn't imagine a better book!.......2007-07-11
A friend of mine sent this to me in the hopes that I would like it. I didn't want to finish it because I just did not want it to end. Its told in first person narrative, Penelope is a very British 18 year old (Something she gets teased for by her friends) who is madly in love with Johnnie Ray (someone who's fame I had been oblivious to until I read this book, I now know better).
The book gets off to a very interesting start with her recounting how she meets her soon to be best friend, Charlotte. And then the story really gets moving, Charlotte's cousin Harry proves a great character and Penelope's brother Inigo is almost as interesting. Slowly the four of them learn about how their families had met up before and how their lives have changed from knowing each other.
I can't say enough about this book, it takes itself lightheartedly but addresses some serious issues, living in post WW2 England, rationing, being a teenager on ther cusp of womanhood, its FANTASTIC!
Average customer rating:
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Eva's Cousin
Sibylle Knauss
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OV8N6I |
Average customer rating:
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Eva's Cousin
Sibylle Knauss
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MC17E4 |
Average customer rating:
- Episode II of a fantasy World War Two
- Turtledove's Legacy
- Darkness grows
- About Biting Off More Than You Can Chew
- Fantasy World War II Continues
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Darkness Descending (World at War, Book 2)
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
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Binding: Paperback
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Through the Darkness (World at War, Book 3)
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ASIN: 0812575105 |
Amazon.com
In recent years, Harry Turtledove has specialized in alternate-history novels in which World War II, say, is grimly complicated by the arrival of invading alien reptiloids; the fantasy sequence that started with Into the Darkness and continues with Darkness Descendingis a powerful demonstration that it is human malice, not military technology, that we have to fear. Broadly speaking, the sequence replays World War II with magical fantasy empires in place of the participants we know; there are analogies between the fiercely militarist kingdom of Algarve and the Third Reich, just as the dangerous paranoid who rules the rival empire of Unkerlant has much in common with Joseph Stalin. There is a Manhattan project making military use of the underlying rules of magic, a particularly vicious version of the Holocaust, and a large cast of vividly realized viewpoint characters--Unkerlant's principal general, an Algarvian dragon pilot, various confused civilians--caught in the wheels of history. Turtledove provides some worryingly thoughtful material here about power and its consequences; his bleak use of stock fantasy images in a developed military contex--screaming unicorns caught in firestorms--is coarse-grained but unforgettable. --Roz Kaveney, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Now Turtledove returns to the story of a World War in a world where magic works, with this moving second volume. Algarvian soldiers corral Kaunians to send them west, towards Unkerlant, to work camps. The Kaunians left behind are worried about what the work camps might mean, but are assauged by Algarvian lies.In Kuusamo, scholars race to find the relation between the laws of similarity and contagion. Rumors abound about the Algarvian work camps, rumors most cannot believe as true. But the mages know, for they can feel the loss of life in their very souls.Turtledove's cast of characters takes on its own life as the reader sees the war from all sides and understands how the death and destruction benefits no one, not even the victors.
Customer Reviews:
Episode II of a fantasy World War Two.......2007-02-25
"Darkness Descending" is the second part of Harry Turtledove's reworking of the World War Two story set on a planet where technology is based on magic rather than machines.
Dragon riders replace aircraft, Behemoths replace tanks, East and West have been transposed, Eurasia has been moved to the Southern hemisphere so that Scandinavia becomes equatorial, and names and superficial national characteristics have all been changed. But this is real history, not alternative history. Again and again the terrible events of the book are based on real historical incidents.
Some of the changes to racial characteristics are impishly amusing, such as the fact that the people who correspond to the Finns live in an equatorial climate and look like Zulus, while the Saraha Desert becomes "the land of the Ice people," the Gyongyosian people who correspond to the Japanese are physically large, and the Kuusamans who correspond to Americans have epicanthic folds.
Other changes are rather more biting - the "Kaunians" who correspond to Jews are tall, blue-eyed, and blonde.
What Turtledove appears to be trying to do with this series is to study how different people responded to a time of great evil. Some people were sucked into taking part in that evil, some fought against it, others just tried to live through it. The changes to the names and characteristics of the participants seem to be intended to give the reader an opportunity to leave behind some of our emotional baggage about the holocaust so that we can try, not to justify the wrongs which people did in terrible times, but to understand how it could have happened.
All but two or three of the characters in the first few books books are fictional - Hitler is King Mezentio of Algarve, Stalin is King Swemmel of Unkerlant, and Marshal Rathar gradually morphs into Zhukov. This actually makes the story more exiting, as the characters are presented well enough that you care about them: we all know how World War II turned out but the readers has no such certainty about the fate of the fictional characters.
The six books of the series each corresponds very roughly indeed to about a year's real historical events. The second book, "Darkness Descending", covers events corresponding to those between the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's attack on Russia in 1941, to just before the launch in May 1942 of Operation Blue, Hitler's drive on the Caucasian oilfields.
The series is best read in the correct sequence. All the books of this series have the word "Darkness" in the title, but the publishers refer to it as the "Derlavi" series, this being the name given in the books for the great continent which corresponds to Eurasia. The full sequence of books in their correct order is:
"Into the Darkness"
"Darkness Descending"
"Through the Darkness"
"Rulers of the Darkness"
"Jaws of Darkness"
"Out of the Darkness".
Bottom line: the mood is as black as the titles indicate, but the series is a very exciting read.
Turtledove's Legacy.......2006-04-18
Turtledove shocked me with his first book Into the Darkness. He gave the characters such real virtues, and it made them believable. For example, Garivald was a simple farm worker who was married in a village with his family and they struggled through it because of the rule of King Swemmel and his followers; Count Sabrino a dragonflier who commands a unit of fliers for the kingdom of Algarve; Traku and his work as a tailor; and many other characters. And Harry Turtledove continues his way of writing in his next book, Darkness Descending. The war between Algarve and Unkerlant continues through the fierce winter in Unkerlant. Unkerlant takes advantage of the weather and drives back Algarve who was within a day's way from Cottbus, the capital of Unkerlant. As this happens, Mr. Turtledove writes the events of the many different characters as they go through the same events of the war. He gives such amazing detail, like the time that the Algarve soldiers were retreating, he tell about how the environment looked, what it smelled liked, this and more through the eyes of a soldier. Mr. Turtledove even gives detailed understanding of what the character's feeling. The way he writes makes want to sit down and read his long books. I don't really enjoy reading because some authors don't write in a way that grabs my attention, Harry Turtledove, however, has got my attention. In short, I enjoyed his second book just like I enjoyed the first and I hope to enjoy the third.
Darkness grows.......2004-07-19
Harry Turtledove's alternative telling of World War Two fought in a world of magic continues as the war heats up.
The seemingly unstoppable kingdom of Algarve may have met its match in Unkerlant. As its sorcerors unleash magical attacks fueled by the life energies of murdered Kaunians, Unkerlant responds by slaughtering its own peasantry. Meanwhile, citizens are feeling the increasing pressures in the occupied lands like Sibiu, Valermia, and Forthweg. The citizens are struggling to go on with their lives under martial rule.
The stories of characters caught in situations beyond their control continues as well, some for the better, others for the worse. Kaunian giel Vania, forced to give herself to an Algarivan officer, leaves her ungrateful grandfather for her new lover. Battle mage Cornelu finds his wife literally sleeping with the enemy and escapes back to the high seas. Fearno assists troops on the southern wastelands. And Istvan finds his troops in an endless forest.
While a few of the stories get a little vague at times, the novel holds all of Turtledove's strong points. His strengths, the ability to weave a world we can enjoy. The worst, another Turtledove hallmark, is the redundant character descriptions as phrases. If readers don't know Bembo is fat and Kun wears glasses and has a scraggy beard, we won't ever.
Still, fantasy and history buffs alike will love this story, and eager for its conclusion.
About Biting Off More Than You Can Chew.......2003-06-11
Darkness Descending (2000) is the second fantasy novel in the World At War series, following Into the Darkness. In the previous volume, the Algarvians have rounded up the Kaunians in their country and put them in camps. In Kuusamo, Pekka has found a anomaly in magic and takes it to her Masters. In Lagoas, Fernao notices that the foremost Kuusaman theoretical sorcerers are no longer publishing articles and takes this information to his Master. Cornelu has unexpectedly come home to Tirgoviste. In Forthweg, Major Spinello has sent Brivibas to the work gangs and Vanai has given herself to Spinello protect her grandfather. Istvan's unit on Obuda has been transferred back to the mainland to fight in Unkerlant.
In this novel, the Algarvians are advancing across the seeming endless plains of Unkerlant and King Swemmel has ordered that all food must be hidden or delivered to his inspectors to keep it from the invaders. Marshall Rathar has come south to learn why the Unkerlantian army is being pushed back so quickly. Gyongyos has once more invaded far western Unkerlant and the Zuwayzin have pushed their border with Unkerlant back to where the Treaty of Bludenz had set it.
Fernao has come to Kuusamo to find out about their new research, but is rebuffed. Marquis Skarnu has discovered love with a Valmieran peasant woman while his sister meets her match in Colonel Lurcanio. Trouble is brewing within Ealstan's family.
This series is an allegory of the World Wars. However, the various national characteristics have been scrambled to preclude identification by stereotypical characteristics. For example, the Argarvians are red headed, with waxed mustaches. The Yaninans are short and wiry, with olive skins, dark eyes, dark hair, and thick bushy mustaches. The Kuusaman are short, with swarthy skin, dark hair, and brown slanted eyes. The Gyongyosians are tall, with blondish hair and beards. The Obudan Islanders have coppery skin. The Kaunians are blue eyed and blonde headed.
The Forthwegians have a mania for mushrooms. The Gyongyosians do not eat goat meat. King Swemmel of Unkerlant has a passion for efficiency. The Forthwegians are stubborn and persistent. The Ice People herd camels and the Kuusaman herd reindeer. The Yaninans have bagpipe bands. Every day dress is also mixed in this story, from the kilts of the Algarvians to the pants of the Kaunians.
The major difference from the real worldline is probably the Kuanians, who are the persecuted people of Derlavai. Long ago the Kuanians built an empire that conquered most of the known world, leaving relics such as roads and memorial arches throughout this domain. Then they were defeated and dispersed, with only Valmiera and Jelgava remaining as predominantly Kuanian states. Throughout the known world, however, the Kuanians are known for their scholarship and classical Kuanian is the international language of diplomacy and trade. In effect, the author has combined the Jews and the Romans in this worldline. However, the names -- i.e., Kaunas, Jelgava, and Valmiera -- are Latvian, probably reflecting Baltic history.
Recommended for Turtledove fans and anyone else who enjoys speculative fiction with a strong historical and moral component.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Fantasy World War II Continues.......2003-05-03
Harry Turtledove continues his fantasy version of World War II set in a world parallel to our own. Most (Turtledove is not afraid to kill of some of his characters, but I'm not telling who...) of the same characters are back for this book with continuations of the plot lines they were on in the first book.
Like the first book, Turtledove does a good job with his combat scenes and perhaps not as well with other kinds. The way in which he continues to draw parallels between WWII and his own war kept this reader interested. By the second book you are also better able to keep track of which character was which and more apt to care about what was happening to them.
The same things that are good about the first book, are also the same things that are wrong with the second book. The parallels to WWII continue, but to what purpose? Sure its neat and clever, but after two books and almost 1500 pages, so what? Yes, certain things are different in Turtledove's war - but I am willing to bet money that at the end of the war Algarve is beaten. As I mentioned in my other review, why not use this alternate reality to show what went wrong in our world. Some of Turtledove's characters can be a little wooden and he seems to use the same types of characters in all his books - the one that leaps to mind is the nasty nationalist women who is behind the lines while her brother fights in the army (trust me she is in Turtledove's books about the alternative-Civil War). And Turtledove should definitely stay way from writing sex scenes, they sound horrible.
As another reviewer mentioned, if you liked the first book you will enjoy this one. Honestly, I was hoping for more from ths series then the author has delivered so far, but there is enough going on to keep a reader interested. Just make sure you read the first book first.
Average customer rating:
- Dazzling!
- Awesome Book
- Great book by first time author
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Darkness Descending
Bethann Korsmit
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0595444059 |
Book Description
To the outside world, Robert Petrovic had it all: money, power, a successful business and most importantly people with whom to share it-namely his mother and his lover.
Only a handful of people knew who and what Robert really was, and one of those people was his son, Alex. Alex was a rising star in politics, and when he found out about his father, he disowned him.
On a fateful July weekend, Robert begins to spiral into the darkness of despair. Within a few hours, Robert's mother disowns him and his lover leaves him heartbroken. Everybody Robert loves abandons him. Feeling utterly alone and abandoned, Robert takes drastic action that starts his descent into darkness.
Will Robert's family try to rescue him from the darkness? Or will they write him off for good? Will Robert find his true self and ascend back to a life where he is accepted and loved? Can he forgive those that hurt him the most?
Robert's journey is one of great joy and unconditional love, but also horrible despair and betrayal. Only time will tell if Robert survives his journey, and only time will tell who is accepted into Robert's life.
Customer Reviews:
Dazzling!.......2007-08-09
Through her writing in this novel, Mrs. Korsmit opened for me the door to new ideas and led the way for her readers to journey along seamlessly with her endearing, multi-faceted and addictive storyline. I was truly disappointed when the book ended - only because I will miss the characters that I came to know and respect. This is a MUST READ for anybody who wants to shift away from the ho-hum-everyday romance - this is so very much more!
Awesome Book.......2007-08-08
This book is AWESOME! I was intrigued from the first chapter, and once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down. I suffered with the main character,Robert, thru all his heartbreaks, and I rejoiced with him when he triumphed. As I read each chapter, I felt more and more like I knew the characters intimately. Many times I felt myself wanting to yell at Alex for his behavior toward his father. All of the characters have their virtues and their flaws, but they are all deeply human and behave like people we meet in everyday life. I loved the transformation of Alex throughout the book, and I loved the outcome even more. This book delves into many important issues, and the author addresses the issues in a way that is true to the characters, albeit in a very unpolitically correct way. If you're looking for a light read, then this is not the book to buy. But, if you're looking for a book with deep meaning and are willing to explore the questions that the book inevitably will bring up, then this is the book for you. It's straightforward with strong characterizations and equally strong dialogue. Definitely a winner in my opinion. Anyone who reads this book will be deeply affected, and in my opinion will view his or her world in a different way.
Great book by first time author.......2007-07-15
A friend informed me about this book from a first time author. Of course you always have to wait and see with first time authors, but from the moment I started reading this book it got me. The author succeeded in writing a book that goes beyond average. She didn't choose an easy subject for her book and everytime I thought how the story line would go, a surprise popped up making the story going upside down again.
I can highly recommend this book, and I hope this novel will not be the last one by this author. A big applause and five stars!
Average customer rating:
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Darkness descending.(international relations): An article from: Catholic Insight
Paula Adamick
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books
General | Nonfiction | HTML | Formats | e-Docs | Formats | Books
Philosophy | Nonfiction | HTML | Formats | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000MV9HCO
Release Date: 2007-01-25 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Catholic Insight, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 857 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Darkness descending.(international relations)
Author: Paula Adamick
Publication:
Catholic Insight (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 15
Issue: 1
Page: 8(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Darkness Descending (Mimi/Gianna Mysteries)
Penny Mickelbury
Manufacturer: Kings Crossing Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Lesbian | Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books
Lesbian | Mystery & Thrillers | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books
Series | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0971448965 |
Books:
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- Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad
- GARDENS IN THE DUNES: A Novel
- Gossip Girl #7: Nobody Does It Better: A Gossip Girl Novel (Gossip Girl)
- Heaven: Biblical Answers to Common Questions
- Hellblazer: The Devil You Know (Hellblazer (Graphic Novels))
- Hide and Seek (An Inspector Rebus Novel)
- His Wicked Kiss: A Novel
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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