Well, I waited six months for this book to come out on paperback (I live in Italy so �35 for a hardcover book is out of the question) and I actually fWell, I waited six months for this book to come out on paperback (I live in Italy so �35 for a hardcover book is out of the question) and I actually found it to be the least impressive of the author's novels.
"Red Dragon" and the Hannibal series have long been my guilty pleasures, but this just wasn't that great. I appreciated only the author's knowledge of Euorope after WW2 (info that I could've googled myself, however) and the insights into Japanese and post WW2 culture in Russia.
Other than that, as usual, nothing spectacular about the writing style, and the story was banal and predictable. I still liked it though. Worth waiting for paperback, and worth the �9 I spent on it. ;)...more
Read this in college for relief when I could no longer stand The Canterbury Tales and the other horrors that were revealed to me after I declared my ERead this in college for relief when I could no longer stand The Canterbury Tales and the other horrors that were revealed to me after I declared my English major.
This book scared the living crap out of me, to the point that I couldn't read it unless my boyfriend was in my dorm room.
The best part? Unlike most thrillers, this one's not all's well that end's well. CHRIST it was scary. Loved it. ...more
This is the worst book I've ever read. Over 600 pages of trash. Boring writing, boring descriptions, packed full of pseudo-intellectualism by a woman This is the worst book I've ever read. Over 600 pages of trash. Boring writing, boring descriptions, packed full of pseudo-intellectualism by a woman who has been in college too long, and the horrifying thought that Dracula is a librarian. YAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN. Sucked. ...more
2/17/16: Removing a reference to an author/adding one that's more relevant + cleaning up this garbage. It's unfair to take an accusatory tone with som2/17/16: Removing a reference to an author/adding one that's more relevant + cleaning up this garbage. It's unfair to take an accusatory tone with someone who can't defend herself because she's too busy being dead. It's especially unfair when you've read her book 4+ times. Updating now. (Excuse all the mixing of tenses that follow--reworking this review for 4th time since 2007).
**
This memoir provides a glimpse into of the life of a woman who survived two of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century: the Holocaust and Communism.
The first time I read this book, I loved it beyond words. Yet something always tugged at me a little, something I couldn't articulate until I read it a few more times.
Revised 2/17/16 For me, the memoir would have worked better if Kovaly had given a fuller picture of her life during the early days of Communist Czechoslovakia. If she'd described any of the positive aspects of living under Communism, the 20-something reader/critic/cynic in me would have been silenced.
My takeaway eventually became this: nothing could ever justify what happened to Kovaly at the hands of the Nazis and the Communists. But in a book by someone who consistently applauds truth, Kovaly is silent about one very important truth: not everyone in postwar Czechoslovakia joined the Communist party, and many of them paid dearly for it.
But Kovaly did join the party. She was part of and benefited from an undemocratic system of government until it turned against her. Kovaly focuses more on the turning-against-her aspect, and the younger me wasn't having it. At the time, I wanted a fuller explanation from the author, perhaps an admission of the level of comfort in which she lived as the wife of a prominent party member.
Seems almost rational when I pull the anger out of it, doesn't it?
However.
Reading my review in 2016 was shocking, because I saw what I was really doing. The events that took place in the memoir are historical fact--they were never up for debate in my mind. But instead of accepting Kovaly's retelling of those events, I fixated on missing details that I felt could have strengthened her story. I took the absence of such details to be an indication of something more sinister.
All these years later, those suspicions seem a lot like faulting the author for not being perfect enough. Why would she need to further explain herself to anyone? The woman wasn't a war criminal (she and her family were the victims of war criminals), and I question the value of scrutinizing her memoir as if it were written by one.
So, read this memoir. It's touching. It's frighteningly detached, but at times will surprise you with flashes of emotion. Enjoy Kovaly's lovely metaphors and creative language. Learn something about the history of Europe while you're at it.
And if you need more truth than what Kovaly has to offer, as I once did, you've got some things to work with.
There's an excellent paper that addresses some of the aspects I also struggled with when I read the memoir -- it's written by a professor in New Mexico, and if I remember correctly, you have to email her to get a copy of it.
Or, you can read . He's Heda Kovlay's son, and he provides his own account of what he and his family endured.
I would only caution more curious readers not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Researching the details doesn't change the core facts of Kovaly's story. Nor does it change the fundamental reality of her memoir: Kovaly suffered, yet she went on to create something of beauty.
I wish we all could do that. It would be a different world if we did.
I loved this book and read it in a day. My favorite part is the story of pencils in space:
"In the early days of space travel, one interesting problem I loved this book and read it in a day. My favorite part is the story of pencils in space:
"In the early days of space travel, one interesting problem emerged from experiments with weightlessness. Americans found that ... normal ink pen would not work without gravity feed. Scientists undertook extensive research, finally developed high-technology pen to work in conditions of no gravity. In Russia, scientist faced with the same problem found a different solution. Instead of pen, they used pencil." :) ...more
This has been my favorite book forever. Well, since I was 17. I won't go back and reread it because I'm afraid I won't like it as much. I prefer to keThis has been my favorite book forever. Well, since I was 17. I won't go back and reread it because I'm afraid I won't like it as much. I prefer to keep it the way it is in my mind: sacred, frickin amazing book.
Uh ... bugs, ant-farms, incest, shipwrecks, spiritual groups, love and all that fun stuff?
This is my favorite book of all time. I'm glad I read it now by choice instead of having it shoved down my throat in high school. This is my favorite book of all time. I'm glad I read it now by choice instead of having it shoved down my throat in high school. ...more
I've read all of du Maurier's books and I adore her twisted, sick, and unpredictable polt-twists and lack of sympathy and trust for any of her charactI've read all of du Maurier's books and I adore her twisted, sick, and unpredictable polt-twists and lack of sympathy and trust for any of her characters. That said, this book scared the living hell out of me, much more than The Birds, Rebecca, etc.
This story offers a glimpse into the mind and soul of a true sociopath on his journey from poverty in Paris to becoming one of the richest men in London. Uhhhh, child hookers in Algeria? One swindle after the other? Choosing a wife because she'd be a nice backdrop to his life? Incest? Suicide? Murder? Yet all of it written with a unique touch of class?
Loading...
