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_ottavia_'s review against another edition
2.0
DNF al 53%
Quando leggo libri come questo mi rendo conto del perchè leggo fantasy, e del come leggere fantasy da tutta la vita mi abbia influenzata nel leggere altri libri, al di fuori di quel genere.
Questo libro è interessante. Io l'ho voluto leggere soprattutto per il contesto storico, intrigante perchè non avevo mai letto nulla ambientato nella Germania della Repubblica di Weimar (my bad, sono sicura che altri non hanno questa lacuna) e per la storia interessante dell'autore, di cui questa fu l'unica opera, e che scomparve poco dopo probabilmente nei meandri della seconda Guerra mondiale.
Purtroppo ciò che mi piace in un libro è totalmente assente in questo; la trama è flebile, sostituita da un susseguirsi di eventi in mezzo ai quali i personaggi (indistinguibili l'uno dall'altro) si barcamenano come possono. I capitoli sono brevi, senza fronzoli, dalla scrittura secca, ciascuno dei quali descrive una situazione, qualche ora, per poi finire.
Se siete interessati, leggetelo. Il fatto che a me non sia piaciuto è sicuramente frutto di un limite mio, non del libro.
Quando leggo libri come questo mi rendo conto del perchè leggo fantasy, e del come leggere fantasy da tutta la vita mi abbia influenzata nel leggere altri libri, al di fuori di quel genere.
Questo libro è interessante. Io l'ho voluto leggere soprattutto per il contesto storico, intrigante perchè non avevo mai letto nulla ambientato nella Germania della Repubblica di Weimar (my bad, sono sicura che altri non hanno questa lacuna) e per la storia interessante dell'autore, di cui questa fu l'unica opera, e che scomparve poco dopo probabilmente nei meandri della seconda Guerra mondiale.
Purtroppo ciò che mi piace in un libro è totalmente assente in questo; la trama è flebile, sostituita da un susseguirsi di eventi in mezzo ai quali i personaggi (indistinguibili l'uno dall'altro) si barcamenano come possono. I capitoli sono brevi, senza fronzoli, dalla scrittura secca, ciascuno dei quali descrive una situazione, qualche ora, per poi finire.
Se siete interessati, leggetelo. Il fatto che a me non sia piaciuto è sicuramente frutto di un limite mio, non del libro.
joey_erg's review against another edition
3.0
A bleak portrait of the mean streets of Berlin in the Weimar era and the adolescent gangs who roamed them.
schlieffenplan420's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
susi_sternchen's review against another edition
5.0
DER SPIEGEL fasste das Buch sehr gut zusammen: „Hart, direkt und wahr.“, aber unbedingt lesenswert!
violetwings's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jaidynlattard's review against another edition
4.0
I’d love to work with some German producers to make this into a screenplay or film one day!
Blood Brothers deserves to be a classic in the line of widely-known World War stories like Night, Slaughterhouse-Five and Gravity’s Rainbow. Such a great story (an emotional investment from the get-go) and an insightful view of post-20s Germany and the underground life.
The translation feels modern and maintains a well-paced structure. Can’t help but have a favourite gang member—Ludwig.
I don’t pretend to understand book burning or censorship (rather, i understand why it happens, what its purpose is and who it is performed by, but that doesn’t suggest in any way i sympathise with censorship practicers) but I can see why the rising Nazi regime would’ve demanded the book be burned. The ideas spread by Haffner were counterproductive for the Nazi’s indoctrination and propaganda efforts. No one ever said censorship wasn’t brutal and unjust.
Shocking that such a piece of work could go missing, could be lost for so many decades. And more shocking still that a person could disappear and never be heard from again, as was the case with Haffner.
Blood Brothers deserves to be a classic in the line of widely-known World War stories like Night, Slaughterhouse-Five and Gravity’s Rainbow. Such a great story (an emotional investment from the get-go) and an insightful view of post-20s Germany and the underground life.
The translation feels modern and maintains a well-paced structure. Can’t help but have a favourite gang member—Ludwig.
I don’t pretend to understand book burning or censorship (rather, i understand why it happens, what its purpose is and who it is performed by, but that doesn’t suggest in any way i sympathise with censorship practicers) but I can see why the rising Nazi regime would’ve demanded the book be burned. The ideas spread by Haffner were counterproductive for the Nazi’s indoctrination and propaganda efforts. No one ever said censorship wasn’t brutal and unjust.
Shocking that such a piece of work could go missing, could be lost for so many decades. And more shocking still that a person could disappear and never be heard from again, as was the case with Haffner.
gwparsons's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jenno's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy, the English translation by the publisher. Thank you Other Press. This translation is out in March 2015.
I like this novel. I could have read the German original but got lazy (I'm better at English than German, even though I read in both) and read the English translation. Friends of mine read it in German and pointed out that the language was they liked the most.
I think Michael Hofman did a great job with the translation because it couldn't have been easy.
This short story, about 170 pages, follows a group of teen boys, the Blood Brothers, in Berlin in the 1930's. First published in 1932 but banned a year later by the Nazi regime. Rediscovered and republished in Germany in 2013 and the translated into English in 2015. If you liked [b:Every Man Dies Alone|3344411|Every Man Dies Alone|Hans Fallada|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391275409s/3344411.jpg|1481990] or "Alone in Berlin" as it's more know as, by [a:Hans Fallada|227026|Hans Fallada|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235497177p2/227026.jpg], you might(probably) like this novel too.
Fun fact, "Alone in Berlin" is also translated into English by Michael Hofmann.
"Blood Brothers" follows some teenage boys all from troubled backgrounds in some way or another, running away from welfare, never knowing where they will sleep at night. They hang around Berlin in bars and loud places where food is cheap. Living of petty crime and just trying to make enough money for the day for the essentials - food, a place to sleep, alcohol and cigarettes.
Language wise it's very colloquial, how these boys talk is also how you read it in on the page. And here is also where I think Hofman has done a great work in the translation, because even if it isn't German slag and other terms that are being used the language still fit the story so well.As I wrote in the beginning of this review, I like this novel. But, and here is a pretty big but, I don't know if I would understand and like it as much if I wasn't living in Berlin, knowing where every place in the novel is and knowing my part of German history. I'm very glad this has been translated and feel like it is translated for people just like me, who know Berlin and German and want to read a snip it of the 1930's - here is the novel for us.
While reading I could vividly picture these boys, the misery they someones went through was hard to read about and it was like getting a bit of a glims into the 30's which I enjoyed. It has character growth and even if the novel is short, it packs a lot into it.
If any of this sounds interesting to you, please pick this up.
I like this novel. I could have read the German original but got lazy (I'm better at English than German, even though I read in both) and read the English translation. Friends of mine read it in German and pointed out that the language was they liked the most.
I think Michael Hofman did a great job with the translation because it couldn't have been easy.
This short story, about 170 pages, follows a group of teen boys, the Blood Brothers, in Berlin in the 1930's. First published in 1932 but banned a year later by the Nazi regime. Rediscovered and republished in Germany in 2013 and the translated into English in 2015. If you liked [b:Every Man Dies Alone|3344411|Every Man Dies Alone|Hans Fallada|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391275409s/3344411.jpg|1481990] or "Alone in Berlin" as it's more know as, by [a:Hans Fallada|227026|Hans Fallada|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235497177p2/227026.jpg], you might(probably) like this novel too.
Fun fact, "Alone in Berlin" is also translated into English by Michael Hofmann.
"Blood Brothers" follows some teenage boys all from troubled backgrounds in some way or another, running away from welfare, never knowing where they will sleep at night. They hang around Berlin in bars and loud places where food is cheap. Living of petty crime and just trying to make enough money for the day for the essentials - food, a place to sleep, alcohol and cigarettes.
Language wise it's very colloquial, how these boys talk is also how you read it in on the page. And here is also where I think Hofman has done a great work in the translation, because even if it isn't German slag and other terms that are being used the language still fit the story so well.As I wrote in the beginning of this review, I like this novel. But, and here is a pretty big but, I don't know if I would understand and like it as much if I wasn't living in Berlin, knowing where every place in the novel is and knowing my part of German history. I'm very glad this has been translated and feel like it is translated for people just like me, who know Berlin and German and want to read a snip it of the 1930's - here is the novel for us.
While reading I could vividly picture these boys, the misery they someones went through was hard to read about and it was like getting a bit of a glims into the 30's which I enjoyed. It has character growth and even if the novel is short, it packs a lot into it.
If any of this sounds interesting to you, please pick this up.
ameliasbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Aus der heutigen Perspektive sind einige Beschreibungen nicht mehr vertretbar. Auch die Art in der es geschrieben ist, wirkt teilweiße befremdlich. Als Einblick in das Leben von Strassenjungs in der damaligen Zeit aber interessant.