Skeletons at the Feast
by Chris Bohjalian
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Book Reviews of Skeletons at the Feast
Book Review: One of the Best Books I've Ever Read
Summary: 5 Stars
This book, by the author of "Midwife", was a total surprise to me- I have read many books on the Holocaust, and he has managed to write a book that includes the horrors of that time and tells of things in such a way that he includes the perspective and stories of a variety of people during that time and how life was for those in the camps, as well as for some of those outside the camps. He doesn't spare the telling of any awful acts of man's inhumanity to man(woman), but yet the book is so very readable. He has done a superlative job. The writing is so good that I felt I was actually there in the story. He taught me some different ways to think about that period that I hadn't thought of on my own, especially about those far away from the camps and how it was possible for people not to know about the concentration camps for a long while, due to lack of public media and poor communication of news, especially in the rural areas. A miraculous book, even with all the profound, prolific tragedy of that horrific time. I can't recommend this book more highly than I do. It is one of my alltime favorite books and I am sorry I'm finished with it, as I so loved reading his writing. Five stars? I'd give it ten if I could. This book serves as another telling of that hellatious time in history, so that it won't be forgotten, and does so in a completely new, award-worthy way.Book Review: I Couldn't Put it Down
Summary: 5 Stars
Chris Bohjalian's latest novel, "Skeletons at the Feast" might be his best novel to date, and it can't be a coincidence that it comes out just as Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary.
I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough in this absorbing tale of flight during the end of WWII. Each character becomes important to the reader and each of their fates matter to us. Mr. Bohjalian presents the stories of a variety of players, and through them we see the horrors of war, as well as the horrors of denial; there are Germans, Jews, women from a concentration camp, a Scottish POW, and an innocent child. Questions that these characters would have asked themselves and each other: "How did this happen?" "What were they thinking?" "Why does the world hate us so much?" and "Where did all those Jewish and Polish people we used to know go to?" are asked and answered in this gripping and suspenseful tale.
(Note to the editor: the use of em dashes to set apart long parenthetical clauses was very distracting and interrupted the flow of the narrative. Semi-colons or parentheses would have served better, in my opinion. If this is a specific style of Mr. Bohjalian's I never noticed it being so distracting before.)
Book Review: Wonderful characters, great story
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely loved this book - the characters were very real and so I felt very invested in them. The novel's structure was done very well where separate character's story lines were told in parallel as the larger story of a late WWII tattered Germany unfolded.
The author did such a wonderful job developing the characters, the various settings as the characters' respective journeys progressed. The book was a mix of tragedy, hope, and humanity during a very difficult time in history. The book was suspenseful, compelling and gripping from the very beginning as the reader was drawn into the story, the hardships and small graces and personal victories the characters found amidst the destruction in 1945.
I love stories set in the WWII era and this one was no disappointment. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys realistic characters, historically accurate novels, and a story that draws you in and fills you with suspense on just how things will turn out for the various characters you end up caring deeply about.
Book Review: Chris Bohjalian's Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Chris Bohjalian has written his finest novel to date, set against the brutal, waning days of World War II in Eastern Germany. The Soviet Army is advancing through Poland, and ahead of it a small, thrown-together group of refugees, begin a long, arduous trek ahead of the Russians, trugging across the devastation of the smoldering Third Reich. Concentration camps, death marches, brutal Nazis, POWs, broken families, rampaging Russian soldiers, and terrified refugees. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things, all humbled by the bitter January cold. Yet, in the midst of this gutwrenching carnage, the author writes of new-found love, tender family moments, bonding friendships, resiliency, and hope. Above all - hope. Skeletons at the Feast, is Bohjalian's masterpiece. The power of the narrative will stay with the reader long after this book is put on the shelf. Inspired by an actual World War II diary the author read, it will stand as one of the best novels ever written about one of the most brutal periods in history.Book Review: Really Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
Having enjoyed several of Bohjalian's other books, I fully expected to love this one. Admittedly, I find Holocaust books difficult to read, but this book gave me little reason to plod through it. Most of the characters seemed truly unbeliveable. Why would Anna, the young German protagonist take such chances with a Scottish POW? It would have been far more believable if she had a wild crush on him with a few chaste but romantic kisses between them. But for someone of her generation and breeding, the plot between her and her love interest was simply not believable. The author seemed to revel in making the gruesome as sadistic as possible--for example, one jewish prisoner being forced to eat the menstrual blood of another? There was just no reason for that kind of description. I really liked the premise--that we were seeing the Holocaust from so many viewpoints--Nazis, allied POW's, Jews. But the characters were flat and the scenarios too far fetched to be believed.