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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. It was a good book. It was more sad/depressing than I expected.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I totally recommend! Very clean (no "spice", just one swear word if I remember correctly). A relatively light read, with a couple teary moments, as well as warm-hearted moments. Well written, with lovely descriptions. The characters aren't deeply developed in the writing, but it fit and didn't take away from feeling fully "in" the story. I saw some reviewers didn't like how characters felt "added in" for little reason... to me it made sense as the book, while centered primarily on the 3 characters, was also equally centered around the house itself and the stories that took place in it. I loved this book and ended it with a happy sigh. :)
Shirley Russak Wachtel’s debut novel, A Castle In Brooklyn, is a beautifully constructed story following two young men, Salman and Jacob, across six decades from Poland to America. She reveals how the experience in their teens with the Nazis influenced almost every aspect of their future.
I appreciated the reminder that their survival, both present and future, depended on their honesty and trust in each other. In addition to an examination of what makes a house a home and what constitutes ‘family,’ I also appreciated her focus on what ‘being there’ for another really entails. If we aren’t willing to unpack the baggage and deal with the fallout, we aren’t really a support for a needy friend.
While the beginning was focused and compelling, the narrative slowly meandered through the following decades and my interest waned slightly along the way. Regardless, this is a heartfelt debut story about the weaving together of dreams, disappointments, and three hearts.
I was gifted this copy by Little A and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
I appreciated the reminder that their survival, both present and future, depended on their honesty and trust in each other. In addition to an examination of what makes a house a home and what constitutes ‘family,’ I also appreciated her focus on what ‘being there’ for another really entails. If we aren’t willing to unpack the baggage and deal with the fallout, we aren’t really a support for a needy friend.
While the beginning was focused and compelling, the narrative slowly meandered through the following decades and my interest waned slightly along the way. Regardless, this is a heartfelt debut story about the weaving together of dreams, disappointments, and three hearts.
I was gifted this copy by Little A and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
A light, overall cheerful but realistic view of life for two survivors of the Holocaust in Poland - and their various friends/family they encounter on the way.
This could have been better but i don’t understand why we needed to know anything about the tenants after Esther left. I didn’t really like Esther anyway. Also, everyone dies - which felt like a very lazy way to write an ending (to avoid having to tie things together with a plot, it’s easier just to kill everyone off).
3.5* enjoyed the storytelling, but there were too many coincidental events.
The first half of the book was interesting. Meeting Jacob and Zalman and Esther and learning their backgrounds and how they interrelate was good story telling. Not sure I loved the person Jacob became and Zalman's relationship with Esther was a bit off putting. But the second half of the book which talks more about what happns to the house veered awkwardly off. The people who moved in didn't seem consistent with what I would expect from Esther. Overall a good story that needed a better wrap up - but not great - and not earth shattering.
This book, from the first few pages, drew me in and held me captive long after I finished. It's not perfectly written and has flaws, but the story and the trajectory of the lives of the characters were told in a way that felt so believable and likely relatable to so many other stories of immigrant families post-WWII through the present day. This is really a family saga. There is tragedy - multiple times over - but realistic tragedy that so many families have had to face in this world. I cried multiple times, but I couldn't put the book down. I would say that I loved the first 80% of the book. I was a bit annoyed with the introduction of new characters toward the end, but these characters' stories also helped tell the history of familial tragedy / trauma of American families in the later half of the 20th century. I'm glad I read it and I would recommend it to fans of 20th century historical fiction / post-WWII historical fiction, immigrant stories. There are a few trigger warnings to be aware of - Holocaust violence and atrocities, war and associated violence, loss of a child, Japanese internment in the US, animal cruelty. I did feel all of these issues were handled with appropriate sensitivity.
2.5
This book started off lovely, but then it just changed somehow halfway through the book. For example, the main characters and seemed so interesting at first but they never really developed, just got older. There were significant core events that were just mentioned in passing, but not processed. The last few chapters felt hugely disconnected and poorly written.
Overall it just seemed to me that the author had a great idea and then just rushed through writing the 2nd half of the book, especially the end.
This book started off lovely, but then it just changed somehow halfway through the book. For example, the main characters and seemed so interesting at first but they never really developed, just got older. There were significant core events that were just mentioned in passing, but not processed. The last few chapters felt hugely disconnected and poorly written.
Overall it just seemed to me that the author had a great idea and then just rushed through writing the 2nd half of the book, especially the end.