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theaceofpages's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"You should see your faces," she said, and then, lightly, with a sigh, "You can't imagine how long it takes a skeleton to die."
Klara has returned after being detained at Auschwitz. Her sister-in-law, Angélika, is ecstatic to have her best friends back, but Klara is not the woman she remembers. She is distant and doesn't want to see her daughter. She barely talks to anyone or take care of herself. As time passes, she comes to realise the trauma Klara has experienced and begins to understand why she has changed.
The story is told through Angélika's diary. While the style is realistic in terms of how people write diaries, I struggled to determine relationships and keep track of who is who. While the idea was a great one (and I appreciated the exploration of the aftermath of the horrors that people in concentration camps experienced), this detracted from the story and made it more difficult to stay immersed. The parts where Klara opened up about her experiences hit hard. The rest... The confusion is why this isn't ranked higher.
Klara has returned after being detained at Auschwitz. Her sister-in-law, Angélika, is ecstatic to have her best friends back, but Klara is not the woman she remembers. She is distant and doesn't want to see her daughter. She barely talks to anyone or take care of herself. As time passes, she comes to realise the trauma Klara has experienced and begins to understand why she has changed.
The story is told through Angélika's diary. While the style is realistic in terms of how people write diaries, I struggled to determine relationships and keep track of who is who. While the idea was a great one (and I appreciated the exploration of the aftermath of the horrors that people in concentration camps experienced), this detracted from the story and made it more difficult to stay immersed. The parts where Klara opened up about her experiences hit hard. The rest... The confusion is why this isn't ranked higher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death, Torture, and Mental illness
elizabethbest's review
4.0
I struggled to figure out who was who, it usually is a problem when a book is written in diary form. Apart from that issue, the book was cleverly written and heartbreaking. It's always hard to remember that even though this story is fiction, it's not far from the truth at all.
marionafb4's review against another edition
5.0
Malgrat ser una novel·la, coincideixo per complet amb la reflexió que hi fa Semprun al pròleg: l’obra està impregnada d’una versemblança i una cruesa autèntiques. La Klara sobreviu, torna dels camps nazis, i ha de fer front a la difícil situació d’haver de tornar a la vida ‘normal’.
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