Stefan Kiesbye

I toyed with two stars but I’m an easy reviewer generally. Sometime after WWII in West Germany some kids grow up in the shadow of a concentration camp. Kiesbye saves that last bit for the final 20 pages. Before we get to that revelation, or twist if you will, people act in bizarre and selfishly cruel ways towards each other. That’s where the a-ha gets you - that concentration camp thingy. The problem for me was there is no subtlety. The behavior is too unbelievably weird over and over again and Kiesbye hits you with basically the same message of selfish callousness until you don’t feel it anymore. These were the same places where a few years before people were cruel on an industrial basis. It’s like, okay we get that already. The author waits too long to pull the pin out of the grenade to where we are already numb to the fact that these people are going to act in the worst possible way in every situation. The knife is dull. The message is weakened.

Would have been more effective in a novella length offering IMHO.… (mer)

Sometimes I hate the star ratings on here because my personal feelings about a book don't reflect my critical thinking about it.

Critically, this book is probably four stars. Hypnotic and lyrical, beautifully written. Sometimes moving, mostly grim, told without judgment. Had the subject matter been different I probably would have loved it.

On a personal level, I hated this. It's a series of interconnected stories all about horrible people doing terrible things. Rapes, murders, lies, secrets. The gang's all here. And because the story is told so dispassionately, there's no emotional center to connect to. The narrators all experience traumas, but then they inflict just as much damage. Only once before has a novel left me this queasy with disgust, and that was primarily because of the author's intent. I didn't finish that one. But I did finish this one, and I suppose that says something. I appreciate this story for its construction, but I didn't enjoy it.… (mer)