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A review by catbrigand
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
3.0
I feel bad about giving such a thoughtful and well-researched book three stars. But let me explain.
The book uses four narrators whose paths eventually converge. While it allows for four perspectives, it also makes for convoluted reading. I felt disconnected from a few of the narrators, and in two particular instances, it was not at all clear what was happening. In others, it was sort of a matter of:
Narrator A: I knew he must never find out my secret.
Narrator B: I saw that the girl was wounded.
So it was sort of a pattern of unnecessary cliffhangers resolved by a different person on the very next page. An interesting stylistic choice, but not one that was for me.
Ultimately I must commend the author for choosing to bring the tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustloff to light. It's amazing that the deadliest maritime disaster in history is so unknown. I hope that this book encourages people to pick up more books on the subject and brings it more into the public conscious.
The book uses four narrators whose paths eventually converge. While it allows for four perspectives, it also makes for convoluted reading. I felt disconnected from a few of the narrators, and in two particular instances, it was not at all clear what was happening. In others, it was sort of a matter of:
Narrator A: I knew he must never find out my secret.
Narrator B: I saw that the girl was wounded.
So it was sort of a pattern of unnecessary cliffhangers resolved by a different person on the very next page. An interesting stylistic choice, but not one that was for me.
Ultimately I must commend the author for choosing to bring the tragedy of the Wilhelm Gustloff to light. It's amazing that the deadliest maritime disaster in history is so unknown. I hope that this book encourages people to pick up more books on the subject and brings it more into the public conscious.