Skeletons at the Feast: A Novel
by Chris Bohjalian
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Book Reviews of Skeletons at the Feast: A Novel
Book Review: War isn't Healthy for Children and Other Living Things
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not like any other Chris Bohjalian book and to my way of thinking it's not like any WW II or Holocaust story either. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. That said, I was held captive by this book, despite the brutality, despite the accurate descriptions of what people have done to people and are still doing to people, despite the fact that I usually shy away from this kind of fare, I couldn't stop reading and when I finished, I set the book aside, poured a glass of wine and thought about it for a bit.
Then I started it again, read it straight through again. I read a lot and I've never done that before. I've been moved by a lot of books, but I don't think I was moved here, even though I cried some. So why wasn't I moved. I think it's because somehow, I don't know how, Chris Bohjalian got me used to it all through his characters, numbed me to the brutality. He made me see and feel and I didn't want to.
And when I finished that first reading I just wanted to forget it all, put it out of my mind, not think about it and I knew that would be wrong, so I read it again, so I wouldn't forget.
Book Review: Forgiveness
Summary: 4 Stars
This haunting tale enraptures readers from the first page until the epilogue. Bohjalian weaves together different stories to create one horrifying, human story. This narrative is multi-faceted; it both condemns and sympathizes with all sides--Jews, Germans, and Allies. This is the story behind the statistics, the story that gives voice to all those who suffered. And it is the story of those who crave forgiveness from those who were wronged as well as from themselves. For it is through Anna--more than any other character--that we witness the ability of humanity to forgive itself. But this forgiveness must not blind us to our own ignorance or, even worse, injustices. For those interested in Holocaust or World War II literature, this nuanced novel illustrates the complexity of human nature--both its evils and its beauty.Book Review: Compelling
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first picked up this book, I was disappointed in Bohjalian's latest choice of subject matter. I felt that it was too common of a topic - that, compared to the subjects of previous novels like Midwives and Trans-Sister Radio, it was unoriginal. I was wrong. This book can only be described as breathtaking. He offers haunting (and, at times, painful) depictions of the events that unfold, leaving little to the imagination - which, in this case, is a good thing. While it's true that the characters aren't developed in as much detail as they might have been, they are certainly adequate. Additionally, the setting of the story is essentially itself a character, and it is developed in exquisite detail. The novel is heartrending, the epilogue strangely satisfying. I could barely put it down.Book Review: Good read
Summary: 4 Stars
This was our Book Club selection for April and lended itself well to discussion. Our club had read an earlier work by this author (The Double Bind) and while the group gave that earlier work mixed reviews, it was one of my personal favorites. Skeletons at the Feast presents a sensitive and poignant view of the Eastern Front during the later days of WWII from several perspectives of the German people and the entwining of lives of a Scottish POW, a German Jew posing as a German soldier, French Jewish women POWS, and a simple German farm family who sets out to cross the country to reach realtives. Bohjalian weaves a tapestry of hope within the misery and horrendous acts of man at war with stories within the story including the coming of age of a young woman.Book Review: moving, haunting, romantic
Summary: 4 Stars
It was interesting to read a book about WWII that shows how it affected so many different people. Most books I've read about WWII usually focus only on the Jews and the Nazis (Germans), but Chris Bohjalian did very well on writing this novel. The characters of the story included a wealthy Prussian family who has left their home because they were mistaken when they believed that the war would never affect them, a Scottish POW, a Jew who was fortunate to escaped from a train on the way to the concentration camp, and two Jewish women who lived, worked, and tortured in a concentration camp. The different views and backgrounds of each character in the story gives the reader a better and well rounded perspective of the war.