Wulf's Book Reviews

Luzies Erbe by Helga Bürster My rating: 3 of 5 stars I have been contemplating this book for a few days now and the review it deserves. Helga Bürster, as I learned from the afterword, has told the story of her grandparents. That certainly has its individual value, but so many books and stories have been written about the personal fates of forced laborers in the countryside. I have also read those that depict such forbidden relationships, although rarely resulting in children and most of these relationships ended tragically… So, is this one story so special, so different, or so worth telling? Is Bürster such a great writer that her story would particularly appeal to me or move me (or should it)? The publisher writes: "Helga Bürster tells wonderfully light yet deeply moving about how a fate endures over the decades, how silence about the past overshadows a family. She tells of four generations of strong women - and that it is never too late for reconcil...

Slaughterhouse -Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. My rating: 1 of 5 stars » Another book, another June Another sunny afternoon Another season, another reason For breakin’ with classics! « (Based on “Makin’ Whoopee”, by Gus Kahn) So, 1969 is still too old for me or maybe it’s just that this rambling, repetitive, dated-feeling, non-linear novel is a true classic in the worst sense of the word! Supposedly, it focuses on the firebombing of Dresden during World War II but in fact, it’s more of an episodic play on war. The protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, is a prisoner of war, an optometrist and a time-traveller (since he suffered a brain trauma and had a major surgery done…) who experiences his life in a non-linear way and tells us about it. Actually, I’m tempted to say he threatens us, because he’s become convinced he’ll live forever, thus troubling us with his terrible anecdotes. Let’s get the most minor annoyance out of the way first: » So it goes. « - that phrase comes up exactly ...

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah My rating: 5 of 5 stars It was " The Nightingale " by Kristin Hannah that originally introduced me to Hannah and I’ve since read everything she published . Next to her “ The Four Winds ” this remains one of the most emotionally impactful novels I have ever read. The story follows the lives of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, as they navigate their way through Nazi-occupied France during World War II. One of the things I loved most about this novel is how well-developed the characters are. Both Vianne and Isabelle are complex and multi-dimensional, and I found myself becoming deeply invested in their stories. Vianne is a mother and a wife who is forced to make difficult choices to protect her family, while Isabelle is a rebellious young woman who becomes a member of the French Resistance. Despite their differences, the sisters' love for each other shines through and is a constant source of strength for them both. The historical setting ...

Persepolis: The Story of an Iranian Childhood by Marjane Satrapi My rating: 4 of 5 stars Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis is a powerful and moving graphic novel that tells the story of the author growing up in Iran. I was pleasantly surprised the graphic novel form succeeded at telling complex and nuanced stories in a highly accessible way. For readers like myself with limited prior knowledge of Iran, the book provides a valuable and accessible window into the complexities of life during this historical period in a country that I for one only associate with the "Axis of Evil" and the brutal oppression of any kind of opposition to the regime. One of the strengths of Persepolis is the way that it makes the experience of living through the revolution and the war tangible. It presented me with a sense of the everyday challenges and fears that people faced, as well as the more profound philosophical questions about identity and beliefs. The book feels so real, so true to lif...

A Soldier's Quartet by Colin Baldwin My rating: 2 of 5 stars DNF at 58%… I really hoped I would like " A Soldier's Quartet " by Colin Baldwin but it was not to be for a lot of reasons. First of all, we’re jumping around in time as if we were Doctor Who’s new companion - from 1918 to 2018 to 1914 and so on and on… This is not only confusing and exhausting, it actually wastes the chance to actually make us care about the German soldier Wolf who first dies and only later do we get insight into some of his life before. Also, the narration about Conrad’s contemporary research into the letter doesn’t really work for me: It’s a thinly veiled memoir of Colin's endeavours and it feels entirely authentic (including some “classic” German habits and traditions) - but, to me, it’s just not very interesting. A lot of it would totally work and amaze me if told briefly and anecdotally in person. Not so much as a book, though. There’s also at least one instance in which a l...