 2008-08-23 - Skeleton's at the Feast
I am in the middle of reading this wonderful book. Again Chris Bohjalian has written a book that one cannot put down. The characters are rich, the history amazing. It certainly makes one think about what it was like to live through this war in this part of the world. He captures the horror, the anguish and the will to survive. I would highly recommend this book along with anything else that Chris has written.
2008-07-31 - great read
Loved the different theme of this book compared to Bohjalian's other books. Great history combined with an amazing love story made it a page turner.
 2008-07-29 - Filled with haunting characters one comes to care about
To be honest, this is my first Bohjalian book. I was interested in the theme dealing with World War Two and the Holocaust, a special interest of mine. I was pleasantly surprised at Mr Bohjalian's ability to capture the sense of those horrific times and bring something new to the table.
The book basically deals with a mish-mash of people during the last days of World War Two - there is the 18-year-old daughter of a staunch Nazi supporter, her mother, younger brother; a Scottish POW; a German Jew disguised as a Nazi who escapes from a cattle train bound for Auschwitz and myriad others. Bohjalian defines these characters so well that I truly came to care about them.
What was unique to me in reading this novel was the grey area between right and wrong - in times of war, what exactly is right and wrong, moral and immoral? Uri the German Jew kills in order that he may survive, and is that wrong? We have good Germans and utterly deplorable ones, and many other memorable characters that make us truly ponder on the effects of war on the human psyche.
With its moral ambiguities and complex characters, this makes for a troubling yet riveting read and I look forward to getting acquianted with Mr Bohjalian's other works.
2008-07-28 - I loved It!
I ordered Skeletons at the Feast without any knowledge of the topic. I just knew that anything written bt Chris Bohjalian would be special and this was no exception. His ability to capture the personalities of the characters is astounding,especially the women. I couldn't put it down.
I do not usually read novels about the Holocaust because it is too disturbing but this one approached the time totally differently. I liked hearing the different voices especially those of the Prussian family. Keep the books coming, Chris!
2008-07-23 - Don't Rely on the Sample
If you are purchasing this for Kindle (as I did) don't let the sample fool you. I got the sample and was terribly disappointed. It was slow moving, verbose and generally written like old English prose. Out of town one weekend with nothing to read, I went ahead and purchased the novel (since it was the easiest link on my Kindle at the time) and ended up reading it all in one sitting. After the first slow, dreary chapters, the story truly picked up pace and speed and I found myself completely engrossed in the story. The trials and tribulations of the fallen aristocratic farm family was sad and as their eyes were opened to the atrocities of war, the story became an absolutely riveting tale. I've never read anything by this author prior but will certainly try to do so in the future.
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