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rizzfitz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Murder, and Racism
Minor: Car accident
wybohoukes's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism and Violence
Minor: Torture
ncghammo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, and Murder
standardissuecat's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Great book! Very postmodern. A recommendation from one of my German profs. I learned a lot about the occupation of Prague, and it was a great expansion on my Holocaust class. It's an easy read, since it's subdivided into a bunch of small chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, War, Antisemitism, Car accident, Genocide, and Medical content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Religious bigotry
joarholtter's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Blood, and War
aegagrus's review against another edition
4.75
Almost any review of HHhH will start with a phrase like, "ostensibly a historical novel..." before qualifying that Binet's project is not, in fact, what it appears to be at the outset. Or, not only that. To avoid retreading ground, I'll simply say that this is a story about storytelling. Specifically, a story about telling the story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, which took place in Prague, on the 27th of May, 1942.
Binet's subject matter exerts a palpable magnetism. The reader experiences this magnetism, almost physically. We describe an elliptical orbit. At the nearest apsis, our orbit is at its most rapid; the writing is terse and decisive. At the furthest apsis, our orbit elongates; the writing is contemplative, digressive, even hesitant. Circling back and forth between the apsides, we find ourselves drawn back towards recurrent points. When Binet writes about the intense pull his material holds on him, we feel it too.
While hurtling around his story, Binet comments upon his relationship with this object of his obsession. For all of the moments in which he seems to be fully subsumed, there are other moments in which we imagine him snapping back to focus, rubbing his eyes, and remembering the distance at which he stands. We hear him bemused, skeptical, frustrated, and anxious about the story he is telling. Despite pouring his whole being into his task, he can also take a step back. Each of these modes is essential to the book.
Most importantly, the magnetism births a sense of obligation. Not only does he have to tell this story, he has to honor it. He knows he cannot solve every dilemma which comes up in fictionalizing history. He also knows that he cannot do justice to the memory of all those he feels a need to honor; he cannot properly memorialize the countless and forgotten ghosts of those who justly fought and sacrificed. Nor, however, can he in good faith consign them to oblivion. He has to try. Here Binet is at his most provocative and most essential. This is not a manual for how to treat the past. It is a rejoinder to those of us who treat it carelessly.
There are less lofty points on which HHhH also deserves praise. Many episodes are fast-paced and exciting. Political dynamics are described with surprising nuance. And so on. The only real criticism I have is that Binet's artifice occasionally gets the better of him. At times he seems more interested in being witty than he is in deep reflection. Still, most of the time his observations -- even the pithy ones -- are not only substantial but fresh and stimulating. If you are at all interested in historical memory, or in storytelling as a craft, you should read this book.
Binet's subject matter exerts a palpable magnetism. The reader experiences this magnetism, almost physically. We describe an elliptical orbit. At the nearest apsis, our orbit is at its most rapid; the writing is terse and decisive. At the furthest apsis, our orbit elongates; the writing is contemplative, digressive, even hesitant. Circling back and forth between the apsides, we find ourselves drawn back towards recurrent points. When Binet writes about the intense pull his material holds on him, we feel it too.
While hurtling around his story, Binet comments upon his relationship with this object of his obsession. For all of the moments in which he seems to be fully subsumed, there are other moments in which we imagine him snapping back to focus, rubbing his eyes, and remembering the distance at which he stands. We hear him bemused, skeptical, frustrated, and anxious about the story he is telling. Despite pouring his whole being into his task, he can also take a step back. Each of these modes is essential to the book.
Most importantly, the magnetism births a sense of obligation. Not only does he have to tell this story, he has to honor it. He knows he cannot solve every dilemma which comes up in fictionalizing history. He also knows that he cannot do justice to the memory of all those he feels a need to honor; he cannot properly memorialize the countless and forgotten ghosts of those who justly fought and sacrificed. Nor, however, can he in good faith consign them to oblivion. He has to try. Here Binet is at his most provocative and most essential. This is not a manual for how to treat the past. It is a rejoinder to those of us who treat it carelessly.
There are less lofty points on which HHhH also deserves praise. Many episodes are fast-paced and exciting. Political dynamics are described with surprising nuance. And so on. The only real criticism I have is that Binet's artifice occasionally gets the better of him. At times he seems more interested in being witty than he is in deep reflection. Still, most of the time his observations -- even the pithy ones -- are not only substantial but fresh and stimulating. If you are at all interested in historical memory, or in storytelling as a craft, you should read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism and Genocide
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
elzirm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book was unlike anything else I’ve ever read. The last 50 pages or so demand to be read in one sitting, a sharp change from the reflective rambling of the first three-quarters. I came away freshly shocked at the horrors humans can inflect on one another, but also freshly awed by how some have sacrificed in the fight against facism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, Murder, Violence, and Suicide
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