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samyukta_24's review against another edition
5.0
Making History has one of the most uniquely mind-bending plots I have ever come across. Michael Young, a student pursuing a Ph.D. in History, encounters a non-assuming physics professor on a fateful day, thereby changing his life and the whole course of history. They both fixate on the idea of how the world would turn out if Adolf Hitler had never been born, and set about to make it into reality.
This isn't the first time I have heard about Stephen Fry, but I was always reluctant to try his books. What a grave mistake. I have never enjoyed and completely been absorbed by a book like this before. A great mixture of tragedy, humor, philosophy, history, and time travel is still not enough to describe what exactly this book represents. All I can say is that it's a wild ride from start to finish.
There are a lot of liberties taken, of course, with regards to the alternate history of the world and the whole science and technology aspect of the book, but I don’t think those are the points to ponder about. The heart-wrenching truth and circumstances surrounding the darkest period of human history and just the very idea of rewriting life as we know it, already gave a plethora of moments where I had to keep the book aside to digest the narrative.
All in all, even though it sometimes bordered on the outrageous and offensive, it is still one of the weirdest (in-the-best-way) books I have read till now.
This isn't the first time I have heard about Stephen Fry, but I was always reluctant to try his books. What a grave mistake. I have never enjoyed and completely been absorbed by a book like this before. A great mixture of tragedy, humor, philosophy, history, and time travel is still not enough to describe what exactly this book represents. All I can say is that it's a wild ride from start to finish.
There are a lot of liberties taken, of course, with regards to the alternate history of the world and the whole science and technology aspect of the book, but I don’t think those are the points to ponder about. The heart-wrenching truth and circumstances surrounding the darkest period of human history and just the very idea of rewriting life as we know it, already gave a plethora of moments where I had to keep the book aside to digest the narrative.
All in all, even though it sometimes bordered on the outrageous and offensive, it is still one of the weirdest (in-the-best-way) books I have read till now.
hammerintoanvil's review against another edition
2.0
An unusual beast: a novel that would make a much better short story.
The key twist is the main interest, and would make a more interesting tale if written up in the style of Roald Dahl’s adult short works. As it is, half the book is given over to building up a throughly unlikable protagonist with little actual impact on the plot.
The key twist is the main interest, and would make a more interesting tale if written up in the style of Roald Dahl’s adult short works. As it is, half the book is given over to building up a throughly unlikable protagonist with little actual impact on the plot.
susannacantele's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kristin_lapos's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
markreadsbooks_sg's review against another edition
5.0
Making History is one of Stephan Fry's first books, it examines the question would you go back and kill Hitler as a baby and if you did would this make the world a better place.
Michael is just finishing his phd on the early life of Hitler, he meets Leo Zuckerman, who's farther was at Austerlitz, when they both have the knowledge and skills change 20th century history.
I read this book when it was first publised in 1996, The book has stood the test of time.
I would highly recomend this book for people with an intrest in world war II, alternative history and the philosophical questions, for example should you stop an evil person being born.
Michael is just finishing his phd on the early life of Hitler, he meets Leo Zuckerman, who's farther was at Austerlitz, when they both have the knowledge and skills change 20th century history.
I read this book when it was first publised in 1996, The book has stood the test of time.
I would highly recomend this book for people with an intrest in world war II, alternative history and the philosophical questions, for example should you stop an evil person being born.
drew281's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
whippycleric's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Overall I enjoyed this book but it does feel as though Frys writing has improved since he wrote this. The plot is fun and unpredictable, pacing also nicely managed. The characters beside the main protagonist are a little flat, Steve has some layers but beyond that they all feel a little like NPCs. I really like Frys prose, it's super easy to read, though in this case maybe it's targeting a younger audience than his beautiful purpose in Mythos. The film script style interludes didn't really gel with me, I found they broke the immersion rather than enhancing it. It's a good fun read though and a good choice for a young adult wanting something a bit heavier than is typical in the genre, but it's not his best work.
jhouses's review against another edition
4.0
Una novela deliciosa y llena de originalidad, tanto en el argumento como en la forma. Cuando un estudiante de doctorado en historia y un físico alemán cargado de culpa deciden unir sus esfuerzos para impedir el nacimiento de Hitler ¿Qué podría salir mal?
Como debe ser en una novela de viajes en el tiempo, todo funciona como un mecanismo de relojería y los personajes animados por los espectaculares narradores, los actores Richard E Grant (para los pasajes históricos) y el mismo Fry son de una construcción exquisita.
Recomendable y recomendada.
Como debe ser en una novela de viajes en el tiempo, todo funciona como un mecanismo de relojería y los personajes animados por los espectaculares narradores, los actores Richard E Grant (para los pasajes históricos) y el mismo Fry son de una construcción exquisita.
Recomendable y recomendada.
thehappybooker's review against another edition
2.0
I had to abandon this book after it was revealed that the main character, a young Cambridge-educated doctoral candidate, had included flights of narrative fancy in the middle of his serious, historical dissertation. Really? I'm supposed to keep reading after that?
No amount of curiosity about the writing abilities of Stephen Fry could keep my attention after that numbskull plot point. If I'm wrong, please tell me to pick it up again and keep reading.
{crickets}
No amount of curiosity about the writing abilities of Stephen Fry could keep my attention after that numbskull plot point. If I'm wrong, please tell me to pick it up again and keep reading.
{crickets}
jrc2011's review
3.0
This was my first Stephen Fry book -- and I was a bit daunted by the 500+ page length. The writing is pretty fast moving -- heaps of details that make me feel like he's writing for a film, plus some sections where it's written like a film dialogue (not really sure why he's used this).
Essentially, the story is about a student working on his PhD dissertation which sounds like an even more purple style of prose than Erik Larsen (bless his heart) and is laughed off by his dissertation advisor. He crosses paths with a theoretical physicist who shares a painful personal story and, combined with access to an ex-girlfriend's pharmaceutical project at work -- proposes "let's make sure Hitler was never born."
The book really didn't pick up steam until about halfway through -- that's a massive investment in weak development of ancillary characters and lengthy history essays. some of the history essays get longer in the second half, but the pace picks up. We learn about the new world at the same pace of the protagonist.
In a rather circular, roundabout way, Fry makes the point that cultural conditions result in so many things that the removal of one person won't necessarily mitigate the development of some particular outcome. While he did a great job illustrating, in a small way, how some small changes would result in a world that is more or less racist/bigoted or homophobic... he left out all the super interesting bits about what was happening in Germany after WWI that resulted in the rise of nationalism and cultural rebirth -- which created a really excellent environment for a charismatic leader. I like the alternate history told in first person perspective, and I like the extra implications for even worse and more dire consequences of the protagonist's attempt to "fix" history.
The ending is lovely - and makes me wonder if we could see this as a "Wizard of Oz" dream sequence where our protagonist realizes what he really wants at the end, and seizes it.
Essentially, the story is about a student working on his PhD dissertation which sounds like an even more purple style of prose than Erik Larsen (bless his heart) and is laughed off by his dissertation advisor. He crosses paths with a theoretical physicist who shares a painful personal story and, combined with access to an ex-girlfriend's pharmaceutical project at work -- proposes "let's make sure Hitler was never born."
The book really didn't pick up steam until about halfway through -- that's a massive investment in weak development of ancillary characters and lengthy history essays. some of the history essays get longer in the second half, but the pace picks up. We learn about the new world at the same pace of the protagonist.
In a rather circular, roundabout way, Fry makes the point that cultural conditions result in so many things that the removal of one person won't necessarily mitigate the development of some particular outcome. While he did a great job illustrating, in a small way, how some small changes would result in a world that is more or less racist/bigoted or homophobic... he left out all the super interesting bits about what was happening in Germany after WWI that resulted in the rise of nationalism and cultural rebirth -- which created a really excellent environment for a charismatic leader. I like the alternate history told in first person perspective, and I like the extra implications for even worse and more dire consequences of the protagonist's attempt to "fix" history.
The ending is lovely - and makes me wonder if we could see this as a "Wizard of Oz" dream sequence where our protagonist realizes what he really wants at the end, and seizes it.