I've received a free copy with a request for an honest review. Thank you, Blackthorn tours and the writer!
"The Amber Crane" is an elegant, melancholyI've received a free copy with a request for an honest review. Thank you, Blackthorn tours and the writer!
"The Amber Crane" is an elegant, melancholy, thoughtful and reflective YA historical fiction that makes me think about how our actions and emotions echo through centuries and may impact those who come after us. When we leave behind a piece of kindness, that kindness may bring light in the dark. I love this message and I love how elegant the prose is, the author also chose a very interesting topic to focus on - amber work and her writing reflects the magic of the craft and of the amber figurines themselves.
Peter Glienke is a young amber craftsman living his life during the Thirty Years' War. He works with amber, a rare and precious substance whose possession is banned unless you work for the guild. But he comes across two pieces with special properties and is transported to the final years of World War II, where he meets a young girl, Liboa, escaping from the Russian army. The story flips back and forth between the two time frames, as Peter fades in and out of existence in both through dreams.
Life in the 17th-century township is very vivid as Peter experiences first-hand how people, broken by the long war, may act with suspicion and hysteria. He witnesses how damaging rumours may be, how jealousy might drive people to lie about others. In his other life, he becomes committed to helping Liboa survive, witnessing the struggles, the tragedies, and the hopelessness but also the will to carry on and act with compassion. His decisions and actions affect the lives of those around him. Peter strives to do what is right and he is very likeable in his sense of honour and integrity.
The piece that connects both is amber, a timeless substance or a substance through time. I loved how the writer chose two war-ravaged eras to show universal struggles and echo and mirror human actions in both and showed that kindness can return, even reverberate through the ages and that honesty and integrity have a way of paving through difficult moments.
And to give people beauty and hope is ultimately Peter's decision, to do what only he can do.
Aside from historical details, there is rich and lovely lore. It's enchanting, elegant and thoughtful.
I rushed a bit in order to finish this review so sadly, I feel I did not properly connect with everything this book has to offer but I could feel a warmth from it that I find very genuine.
YA is not really my genre but this one is really elegantly crafted with a lovely prose, original idea and setting and lovely execution. Thank you for the opportunity....more
This is such a powerful novella, with powerful introspective writing. Brings to the fore the horrors of war and paints the protagonist鈥檚 gradual desceThis is such a powerful novella, with powerful introspective writing. Brings to the fore the horrors of war and paints the protagonist鈥檚 gradual descent into madness with vivid strokes that leave you terrified and breathless. The theme of 鈥渂eing double鈥� is strong here, and effectively used. It shows how war brutalises and destroys soldiers. In the end, I was questioning my own sanity as a reader, considering the way the narrative turns! Such depth of madness so powerfully described!
It鈥檚 really a visceral experience to be put into the shoes of this particular protagonist 鈥� a Senegalese recruit in the French army during World War I whose decision not to end the suffering of a dying 鈥渕ore-than-brother鈥� friend leads him down a brutal, violent spiral of madness as, in an act of vengeance fuelled by overwhelming grief, he begins killing enemy soldiers in the same way they killed his friend. Alfa is presented as a savage beast with a machete- a racial stereotype- and used in the war as a subhuman tool. His killing spree earns him the reputation of a sorcerer. We learn his backstory in elegantly presented flashbacks. That personal story is rich and affecting.
The climax is just as brutal and unrelenting as the rest.
The narrative uses biblical allusions and sexual language to describe the battlefields. Nothing is ever gratuitous, however. The narrative is conducted in the introspective first person. It鈥檚 a visceral experience to be put into the shoes of this protagonist. Never before have I appreciated the first person quite so much!We experience how Alfa鈥檚 sanity breaks down, unravels. I really questioned my own sanity towards the end. The writing reflects oral traditions and follows a mesmerizing rhythm, marked by recurring phrases that highlight the madness and brutality of the experiences and remind me of litanies. The phrases stay with you and resonate with you. Alfa questions existing rules as well.
One of my favourites is
鈥淚 became a savage through thinking.鈥�
DAVID DIOP
There are really many layers to the story, but it鈥檚 brutal, graphic, unrelenting, distressing. And the title? So powerful.
It鈥檚 a book to experience. It鈥檚 a book I won鈥檛 forget. But it鈥檚 a book that might not be for everyone. However, I think it deserves the accolades it has received and more. I will return to it as I don鈥檛 think one reading is enough to process everything fully. It warrants a second, or third time. It has all the makings of a classic in my view....more
I really do like sweet, clean romances. Not all of them but there are a few out there that just have what it takes for me to enjoy them. This is one oI really do like sweet, clean romances. Not all of them but there are a few out there that just have what it takes for me to enjoy them. This is one of them.
Clean regency romance with a bit of a Beauty and the Beast and Hades /Persephone theme. Adam arranges for himself a marriage of convenience wife as a last-ditch resort not to have his title inherited by someone he doesn't approve. Of course, his new bride proves to be a lot more than he expected and that proves...problematic, especially for someone who doesn't want to need anyone in his life.
I really like Sarah Eden's style. Her romances are clean, have characters I find appealing or exactly what I need, and are easy to get into and fun to read. This is book one in a series spanning two families. No need to read them all, but later books do refer back to characters from earlier books....more
- multiple POVs used with deliberation - overarching storyline involving Greek gods. - World War I romance with two intersecting stories, where one sto- multiple POVs used with deliberation - overarching storyline involving Greek gods. - World War I romance with two intersecting stories, where one story involves a coloured musician soldier and focuses on the treatment of coloured service people. He meets a Belgian singer. The second story involves an English couple, a piano player and a boy who would build things instead of destroying them.
Aphrodite: Of course, almost no one notices me, yet all but the hard-hearted do sense a new mood. Perhaps it鈥檚 my perfume. Perhaps it鈥檚 something more.
I really liked this half fantasy half historical war romance story which is framed as a trial of Ares and Aphrodite by jealous Haephastus, also featuring Apollo and Hades. As scorned Haephastus puts on trial his wife Aphrodite and her lover Ares, Aphrodite begins telling a story about two WW1 couples. In the process, she calls as her witnesses Ares, Apollo and Hades. They take turns narrating the story, each narrating bits corresponding to their "domain" e.g Hades narrates bits related to death, Ares is most often with the fighting. I really liked this multiple pov used this way. The characters are likeable, The couples meet and fall in love and the bonds are strong but they are all too soon separated by war and prejudices. What trials await? And what of Aphrodite's own trial?
A good war set romance with a bit more relevance to it, I could see this as a movie, if it hasn't yet been made into one. I really think the concept and the narrative were lovely and thought-out. Favourited....more
"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms 鈥� to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to cho"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms 鈥� to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."- V.Frankl
This graphic novel is definitely a must read.
The story of Art Spiegelman's father is told in simple, dark panels, with characters drawn as animals. It traces Vladek's fate from before the war through the entire ordeal, through mamy near misses, near escapes and heart-rending losses. It's a very honest tale that does not shy away from presenting dark moment's in your own family. Neither does it idealise anyone. Nazi, Poles, or Jews. It tells it as it is. With all the behaviours Vladek came across, good and bad, and with all the strategies he had to develop to survive. I think this story really successfully drives the point how can a human do something like this to another?
It is also a story about one family, about a son who's trying to understand and feels guilty about having had an easy life and about ailing father who shares his gruelling story. The bond is warm and loving. They're not perfect, they're real. There's a very dark comic within the comic part, in a different style in the middle that deals with a tremendously tragic event within Art's lifetime. But there are touches of humour that break up the darkness a little, but never really leaving behind the underlying tragedy. I loved the two, Vladek and Art as they shared and dealt with their demons, loved the love radiating from the pages. Also Anja. It's a powerful and multi-layered narrative with many themes. It's painful to realise with even more power thanks to the simple storytelling of a graphic novel, how really utterly pointless, senseless losses happened not just because of one man with power to carry out his terrifying and ill-conceived, arrogant, hateful and ignorant vision of "homogeneity" but because people don't always act like humans. Plus the idea of using animals to represent races without nuancing each individual drives the message even further home....more
An incredible book like this comes only once in a million reads.
It's hard for me to do more than babble about this book. It was THE ONE. The one thatAn incredible book like this comes only once in a million reads.
It's hard for me to do more than babble about this book. It was THE ONE. The one that speaks to me on so many levels. It's written so well, has characters that strongly resonate and it's thoughtful. Book Thief really shows rather than tells and has heart in the heaps. This is a great writer. It's really a brilliant tale. A story like this it comes once in a million other reads.
It is snowing when Liesl travels with her brother to forster care.. it is white, but the colours of her world are to change drastically very soon. Death follows her at every step.But death has a heart too.
This is an incredible book. Not only is narrator-protagonist fascinating and you hang on to their every word, but the characters..the characters are done just right, with humanity they are due and most of all much love. They resonate strongly, I loved them all, Hans, Rosa (foster parents with much heart and love), Liesl, Rudy (Liesl's harming best friend). Max (a Jewish boy).They live in Himmel - heaven...but soon the brutal reality of hatred-torn Germany and war catches up with this little corner, forcing the characters to face tough decisions.
Besides the beautifully developed characters, plot and events, there is much thoughtful material. About the power of words, among other things, and about one man who abused that power in so many hideous ways, leading to terrible carnage and tragedy. What can happen when we abuse the words? This resounds very strongly today. Max writes stories wthin the story for Liesl; they highlight the friendship but also the theme of words very strongly. I loved it, it's really wonderful storytelling. There is also love vs hate theme done so beautifully it is breathtaking. Liesl and Max friendship is vital to this theme, as are actions of Hans and Rosa.
And all this is narrated by an ingenious narrator who has all the claim to omniscience and thanks to him we really can get to know what happened at various times and places - I absolutely loved that and I also loved how he prepared me for certain events. Moreover, the narrator is perfectly thoughtful as well. It's incredible. Original but most of all well-done narrator who is very careful and deliberate but very humane in the end. A story like this comes only once in a million. The storytelling and writing are just so right in everything here, with so much love, there is so much finesse but emotion and feeling too. It's the perfect book for me.
Excellent novel, excellent writing all throughout. characters to absolutely love. It is a fast and riveting read, with a lot of humanity in it. And a great read to start 2020 with. It was my first read of the New Year. and excellent, remarkable, moving, gorgeous, however heavy start. I wouldn't change it for the world.
I've read it on Kindle but have ordered the paperback anniversary edition. I wanted to move on and pick the next read, but I can't. This was just The One book. I love it so much, it's def going into my books of a lifetime shelf....more
I first came across the stories thanks to Hallmark. I enjoy the movies. they keep the poetic, lovely language that I love in the stories. I like SkylaI first came across the stories thanks to Hallmark. I enjoy the movies. they keep the poetic, lovely language that I love in the stories. I like Skylark as one of best parts because it is an important part for Sarah. To feel at home, feel where she belongs . I loved how the writer developed it. To me the whole series feels integral whole and that's why I enjoy it....more
This one is a delight from start to finish. The characters are lovable. I love Dawsey. There's a lot to the story and most of all this story has a lotThis one is a delight from start to finish. The characters are lovable. I love Dawsey. There's a lot to the story and most of all this story has a lot of heart....like I don't see much in contemporary novels..if at all. One of my favourites. The letter format is a fantastic fit for this particular story and it does not omit to give a lovely ending. ...more
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