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This is quite obviously the most naive of the books and nowhere near the brilliance of the later books yet. I have to main issues: a) why is Dumbledore so irresponsible with the kids? b) why didn't they just hide the stone in the Room of Requirement? Well, obviously logic isn't a wizard thing.
A wonderfully strange graphic novel that conveys the experience of immigration through pictures alone, without needing words. Very beautifully drawn!
What an unusual book:
- It tells the story of a German family in World War II. This is unusual because the majority of fiction I encountered on WWII so far focused on the Jewish experience.
- Its narrative is very unconventional. It is narrated by Death himself (or as I as a Sandman-fan like to think, herself).
- The narrative is not exactly chronological.
- It has A LOT of chapters, some of which are incredibly short.
- It uses idiosyncratic language and makes heavy use of odd metaphors.
- It uses interesting stylistic methods.
- It's a book about Germany written by an Australian author in English with Bavarian embellishments.
So what did I like about the book?
- It is an incredibly easy read. A book of over 500 pages seemed a bit daunting, especially in the middle of the semester. But I soon discovered that its lightweight writing style captivated my attention easily, and I kept on reading. It's doesn't happen very often that I read such a big book in such a short amount of time.
- Despite its occasional naivete, it can be emotionally touching. The story reminded me of some of the things my ancestors experienced in the war.
...and what I didn't like:
- The aforementioned naivete seems a bit weird at times for me as a German. Early on, Nazis aren't explicitly attributed as evil immediately. That just doesn't feel right as a German, because Nazis must always be evil, otherwise we feel guilty. Throughout the book, however, it becomes quite obvious that they are very evil (duh). I do realize that we're meant to see Nazi Germany through the eyes of the Germans at the time, which is a very complicated matter.
- The book has some passages which are mildly uninteresting and where nothing of importance to the plot seems to happen.
- The main characters don't seem particularly intelligent. Learning to read can't be that hard, especially for someone who eventually reads so much.
- The ending was a bit anti-climatic.
In summary, I think it's a book very well worth reading, as it captures the atmosphere of everyday life in Germany in the early 1940s nicely (or rather, gruesomely).
- It tells the story of a German family in World War II
Spoiler
(which at one point houses a Jew in their basement)- Its narrative is very unconventional. It is narrated by Death himself (or as I as a Sandman-fan like to think, herself).
- The narrative is not exactly chronological.
- It has A LOT of chapters, some of which are incredibly short.
- It uses idiosyncratic language and makes heavy use of odd metaphors.
- It uses interesting stylistic methods.
- It's a book about Germany written by an Australian author in English with Bavarian embellishments.
So what did I like about the book?
- It is an incredibly easy read. A book of over 500 pages seemed a bit daunting, especially in the middle of the semester. But I soon discovered that its lightweight writing style captivated my attention easily, and I kept on reading. It's doesn't happen very often that I read such a big book in such a short amount of time.
- Despite its occasional naivete, it can be emotionally touching. The story reminded me of some of the things my ancestors experienced in the war.
...and what I didn't like:
- The aforementioned naivete seems a bit weird at times for me as a German. Early on, Nazis aren't explicitly attributed as evil immediately. That just doesn't feel right as a German, because Nazis must always be evil, otherwise we feel guilty. Throughout the book, however, it becomes quite obvious that they are very evil (duh). I do realize that we're meant to see Nazi Germany through the eyes of the Germans at the time, which is a very complicated matter.
- The book has some passages which are mildly uninteresting and where nothing of importance to the plot seems to happen.
- The main characters don't seem particularly intelligent. Learning to read can't be that hard, especially for someone who eventually reads so much.
- The ending was a bit anti-climatic.
Spoiler
And the whole romantic aspect of it was totally unnecessary, the book could have done without it.In summary, I think it's a book very well worth reading, as it captures the atmosphere of everyday life in Germany in the early 1940s nicely (or rather, gruesomely).
A very gripping narrative on two levels. Totally blew over all my expectations. And it's not even fiction.
The Bone People is a challenging book to read due to it's eclectic writing style. It breaks a lot of conventions and utilizes a variety of ways to let us see into the characters—though it's not always quite clear which character, or what is really happening, and certainly not why. The book probably needs re-reading a few times to truly be appreciated/analyzed.
At the core of it, however, is the strange relationship between a hermit painter who lives in her self-built tower, a very clever though mute child, and the child's foster father who can be very affectionate, but also very violent. The book has a few parts that are a bit tedious, but also quite a lot that are moving, shocking and suspenseful. It's certainly unlike anything I've ever read before.
At the core of it, however, is the strange relationship between a hermit painter who lives in her self-built tower, a very clever though mute child, and the child's foster father who can be very affectionate, but also very violent. The book has a few parts that are a bit tedious, but also quite a lot that are moving, shocking and suspenseful. It's certainly unlike anything I've ever read before.
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I've first read this book when I was nineteen. Now, at age 29, it was finally time to read it again and it was every bit as amazing as the first (and second and third) time. Having visited the US many times since I've read this book last, I think I gained an ever deeper understanding for its mythology. Mind blown.
Neil Gaiman combines his autobiography with his own typical style of storytelling we're familiar with. It's a very decent story, however, some of the "meta passages" come off as a bit weird as they come very close to breaching the fourth wall. Neil, you can be subtler than this!
An excellent reference for advancing stuff learned in class.
Well, actually not as bad as I remember from 10 years ago. It's certainly very verbose and the truly interesting events are few and far between. But it does a good job at establishing the mysterious atmosphere.
This is one of the most imaginative sci-fi stories I have encountered. Similar to Cory Doctorow, Stross knows no boundaries when it comes to imagining the future.
The book is about a 27th century war veteran named Robin, wearing a male body (it is common to back yourself up and change bodies as desired). To deal with his past in the war, he underwent memory surgery and is now not entirely sure who exactly he is. But he soon finds out that his former self volunteered to take part in a "glasshouse", a closed experimental research society set in the "Dark Ages" (late 20th century). This is were he wakes up - confused, disoriented, and stuck in the body of a frail woman, assigned the name Reeve.
This book is one of the rare ones which kept me reading non-stop. Reeve's descriptions of the dark ages are very amusing, and as the conspiracy around the glasshouse unfolds, the book gets ever more captivating.
The book is about a 27th century war veteran named Robin, wearing a male body (it is common to back yourself up and change bodies as desired). To deal with his past in the war, he underwent memory surgery and is now not entirely sure who exactly he is. But he soon finds out that his former self volunteered to take part in a "glasshouse", a closed experimental research society set in the "Dark Ages" (late 20th century). This is were he wakes up - confused, disoriented, and stuck in the body of a frail woman, assigned the name Reeve.
This book is one of the rare ones which kept me reading non-stop. Reeve's descriptions of the dark ages are very amusing, and as the conspiracy around the glasshouse unfolds, the book gets ever more captivating.