Unsettling yet compelling
922684
3.75/5 stars

My Spoiler-free Review
Disclaimer: I received an early copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
To get the bad news out of the way, the book didn't resolve nicely for me. The plot was going in a great direction, but the ending was a bit anticlimactic. All the loose ends were tied up, but I wasn't quite satisfied for some reason. Perhaps I may be biased because this is a little off-genre for me, but the books I like tend to have some sort of climax that I can clearly identify, but this just didn't cut it. I think its a shame because the rest of the book was a quick, interesting read for me.

This received some bad reviews on Goodreads because of the dark themes of the novel. Honestly, I couldn't really see where they were coming from. There were a few disturbing aspects, but it was to be expected considering the asylum setting. I thought it added ambiance to the setting and plot, and it wasn't really forefront in my mind while reading. Looking back, I see that these disturbing themes were basically personified in one of the antagonist-type characters: Charles Fuller, which means they were completely necessary (Also, I loved Fuller, even if he was a nutbag. He reminded me of Zachary Quinto in American Horror Story Asylum).

What I really loved were the characters and their relationships among each other, other than Ella Fay. She is one of the three POVs that we read from, but I found her to be a bit lacking in depth. Still, I enjoyed that she was somewhat clever. She really flourished when she was with another of the POVs, John Mulligan, her love interest. I loved their dynamic and how realistic their view was of each other considering their situation of, you know, being in an asylum. The love was beautiful in this story, developing sweetly and at just the right pace.

The writing style was lovely: Hope is a master at imagery. She painted vivid pictures with a simple turn of phrase, and I felt like I was really in the story. It was interesting how I felt the dark anxiety of the asylum and the hope and light of the moors at the same timeshe used concise, specific words that created the perfect mood.

Overall, this is a perfect novel for lovers of historical fiction, romance, or both. It was both compelling and unsettling, and pleasure to read. I ate it up in a few sittings. Thank you for reading!
3213614
Unsettling and insightful, this book doesn't really hold many surprises for anyone who knows even their basic history, but it does contain some eye-opening thoughts on politics as well as some truly creepy images and moments, many of which are even more effective by being only hints at something even more horrifying lurking just offstage.
4411472
Antilla's narrative is very well-written, offering chilling stories of incredible misbehavior in the investment world.  The boy's club attitude made it very difficult for women to operate or succeed in the brokerage business. There is evidence that this type of behavior has been greatly reduced, yet much of what has happened remains an industry guarded secret.
There may be too many details for some readers, but this well-documented, unsettling book tells the story in a manner that makes the book a page turner.
4079877
Life As We Knew It is a post-apocalypse story, told from the viewpoint of a teenage girl named Miranda. The story begins with everyone in Miranda's small Northeastern Pennsylvania town fascinated by an imminent galactic event. An asteroid is slated to strike the moon. There are block parties, as people gather outside to watch. However, the asteroid is heavier than anticipated, and jolts the moon right out of its orbit. This leads to a host of environmental problems, beginning with huge tsunamis that strike both coasts of the US. Things get gradually worse from there, as society deteriorates, and resources become scarcer and scarcer.

The book chronicles, via Miranda's journal entries, the struggle of her family, and her town, to survive. Despite being a relatively sweeping topic (the devastation of the world), the canvas for the story is actually quite small. Most of the action takes place within the family's home. While the larger aspects of the story (What climactic event will happen next? How will the town deal with looters?) are fascinating and disturbing, what really makes the book compelling is the intimate portrayal of Miranda's internal growth.

Miranda starts out a typical teenager, railing against her mother's unfairness over not being able to take skating lessons. When privations start, she complains about her mother's more generous treatment of her younger brother, and fantasizes about going to stay with her father, in a happier and more abundant environment. She is initially sheltered from the worst news by her mother and older brother, and goes through a realistic (though not whiny) "what about me" phase. But as circumstances worsen, Miranda gradually and believably rises to the challenges expected of her.

This book is quite bleak. People all over the world are dying. People in Miranda's life are leaving. First modern conveniences, and then basis essentials, are stripped away. But there are moments of brightness, to contrast with the bleakness. The family learns to appreciate small things, and to rely on one another. Their joy, at times, over things that would have once seemed trivial, brought tears to my eyes. The end does include a hint of hope, which is something to hold onto as you read.

Life As We Knew It is a book that will make you appreciate what you have, without ever feeling like the idea has been forced upon you. I was literally rendered hungry just from listening, at times. I found myself looking at the blue sky, and the green trees, and my glass of red wine, with a new appreciation. This is also a book that will make you think, pondering those what-if sorts of questions. What would I be willing to do to survive? Who would I give up my own life for? How would you keep basic social rules from crumbling in circumstances like this? Ultimately, it's a book that will make you care about Miranda and her family, and empathize with their struggles.

I highly, highly recommend this book to fans of science fiction, and especially the to fans of the dystopian/post-apocalypse genre. Life As We Knew It is a well-written and gripping addition to the cannon of such titles. I also think that any thinking person could benefit from reading it, for the perspective that it sheds on our dependence on the environment, and on what we would be willing to do to survive. I can't wait for the promised companion title, still being worked on by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on April 2, 2007.
304996
A compelling story. The reality that comes with prejudice, poverty and suffering is difficult to read, but so important for all to comprehend. I could not put this book down.
962092
Life in the tiny Czech village of Lidice was not easy in the year 1942, but Milada was happy, surrounded by a caring family and her best friend Terezie. Then her life was irrevocably changed on the night of her twelfth birthday - the Nazis came to her village and rounded up her father and brother and all the other men in the village and took them to an unknown destination. Milada, her beloved grandmother, mother, and baby sister, together with all the other village women and children were taken away to a nearby town where they were kept for a couple of days, presumably to be interrogated. Milada and a few other girls who all appear to share similar features such as blonde hair and blue eyes, are examined by Nazi doctors and before she knows it, Milada and a few other girls are taken away from their families.

Milada finds herself in a strange camp where she and the other girls are forced to abandon their native Czech language and are taught German, and the process of Aryanization is begun. Little does Milada know that she has been selected for the Lebensborn program, where Aryan-looking Czech and Polish children are Germanized and then adopted into German families. Milada is given a new name, Eva, but she strives to keep her real identity as well as her memories intact, in fulfillment of her grandmother's wish, and hangs on to the only object that reminds her of home, her grandmother's jeweled pin.

Milada's experiences are truly harrowing to read - she is forced to completely abandon thoughts of her former life and accept her given identity; she is compelled to embrace the German language and Hitler's policies without question; and before long, Milada finds the brainwashing and indoctrination have begun to take a strong hold over her. She is adopted by a high-ranking Nazi officer and his wife, and moves into a beautiful new home near a camp which emits a foul smell. Despite her experiences, Milada struggles valiantly to hold on to her true identity and hopes that she will be reunited with her real family someday.

Though this is a piece of historical fiction, the events described are based on actual historical events, and the author also portrays Milada as a credible character, a young girl struggling to hold on to her past, whilst finding herself irresistibly drawn to the comforts of her present life. Due to some disturbing themes - separation from family, some allusions to what goes on in the camp, etc., I think this novel is best suited for readers in Grades 6 and above. It is a compelling historical novel and deals with a little known event in history - that of the lost children who were taken away from their biological families and placed in the Lebensborn program. It reminds us that it was not only the Jews that suffered terribly during WW II (in what became known as the Holocaust), but non-Jews, and especially children suffered greatly as well. Recommended!
4929394
It is not often you encounter a story like this. "Those Who Save Us" is a well-written and sensitive look at the women of Nazi Germany. It was a terrible time for the entire world, but especially bad for the women of Germany. This is a highly complex story with rich characters and a protagonist who will stay locked in your memory for a very long time. Anna is a living person who had to make impossible choices and bear unbearable truths in stoic silence. The saddest part was the undercurrent of hopelessness when the daughter she loved more than her own life became distant and did not want to love Anna, who is a stranger to her. All that is known about Anna is that she was a German woman with a young child who married an American soldier and came to live in his homeland. Locked deep within her silence, she could not reveal any truths about herself, and the reader can't help but ache for her loneliness and at the same time admire her incredible strength. The ending, while satisfying, leaves an emptiness and a wish that somehow Anna's life could have been different. I highly recommend this book.
4352916
This story is compelling twice! The Iron Words is an engaging account of contemporary tragedy alongside a little-known truth about the Holocaust concentration camps. The life stories of a young adult and a Holocaust survivor intersect with mutual respect in a different Holocaust drama than most of us have previously read. It is history that had to be told. Haunting and engrossing, The Iron Words will stay with you. Michael Fridgen has penned a worthy addition to this genre.
2688911
Half Bad is an unsettling look into the life of a boy fathered by the world's most feared black witch.

I was hooked from the very first page by Green's command of the language, but it was the story of a young boy born into a community that fears him, hates him, and abuses him because of something utterly out of his control that captivated me. It's all very close to how we really treat people of colour and that was eye-opening for me.

Nathan desperately wants to be a "good" white witch, but the actions of those around him push him further and further away from this ideal. We follow him from childhood to adolescence, and witness his struggle with himself and the bureaucratic Council that controls him.

I found Nathan to be a compelling character, I sympathised with him from the beginning and found myself turning pages way past my bedtime. I look forward to reading Half Wild, the next book in the trilogy.
665788
Tartt's Secret History is a compelling and thought provoking book. It delves into the lives of six classics students at a small New England liberal arts college. Each of the six is eccentric and intense, and each seems to be hiding from something. All of them have a "secret history."
At the crux of this book is the murder of Bunny, one of the six students. Once plans are set to go through with this task, the characters follow their ringleader (Henry) and no one tries to stop the event that will change each of their lives forever. This book is about how one decision, one moment, can change a life forever.
I am not very knowledgeable of Greek classics, and know I probably missed a lot as a result, but regardless, this is a page turner of a novel. This is a dark and disturbing read, but the intense characters and the ability to make the reader think long after the book is over make it worthwhile. If you are in the mood to be captivated and at times breathless, read this book. It is like nothing you will ever read.
4776720
This profound and haunting novel features Murdoch's unique blend of religious preoccupations, sexual politics, and philosophy (or, as she more accurately referred to it elsewhere, "moral psychology")--but, in spite of its many-layered symbolism, it still manages to be surprisingly suspenseful. If you've never read a book by Iris Murdoch and are interested in finding a good place to start, read "The Bell."
A sort of psychological detective novel, the story is told through the eyes a leader of a lay religious community who is haunted by secrets from his past and also from the perspective of two visitors: a carefree woman returning to her boorish husband who is studying at a nearby convent and an innocent youth hoping to be inspired by the community's spiritual atmosphere before he goes to Oxford. The plot revolves around a bell missing for centuries and the community's plans to replace it with a new one, but I will say nothing else that might give it away.
The first half of the book is a very British comedy of manners (and it is at times very funny), but then things get out of hand when the two visitors, both knowingly and unwittingly, set into motion a series of tragic events that shatter the faith and foundations of the group. Although I was constantly surprised by the book's twists and turns, when I finished the novel I felt that all the events were very nearly pre-ordained by the actions and ethics of its characters.
Murdoch's genius is her ability to pose many complicated questions and provide just enough for readers to decide for themselves. Are the visitors responsible for destroying the community's equanimity or were they simply the catalyst that exposed the hypocrisies and self-centeredness of the commune's members? Must a person transcend selfishness in order to influence others for the better? Does it take tragedy to bring out the best in people? Is it ever really possible to wall oneself away from the rest of the world?
It seems almost incidental in this day and age to acknowledge that the novel portrays two gay men in a sympathetic manner astonishing for a book published in 1958--yet another aspect that displays the power and forwardness of Murdoch's thinking.
1442581
I really liked this book.  It centers on the topic of sexual abuse of children, told from the perspective of the child.  Very unsettling and dealt with in a way which is not too graphic.
Other reviewers have said it well:  haunting, disturbing, riveting.  Important.
228263
The novel begins as a murder mystery and slowly morphs into something else altogether. The elements of a police procedural form the skeleton of the novel while the sinews, muscles, circulatory system, in short, the body of the novel develop in a fascinating set of interwoven ways. The novel is told in an ensemble manner, with six characters serving as focal points for individual chapters. The style of a particular chapter adapts to the particular character who is the focus of that chapter so that a reader feels, though the narrative voice remains outside in the third person, inside the characters head. And sometimes that makes for an uncomfortable, but compelling, reading experience especially when the character has unsavory habits and attitudes. The technique is remarkably effective, both in conveying the story but also in conveying the characters: they became people in my consciousness--Jes and Beatrice and Connor (poor, lost Connor) and Liam...all of them. I read it in between my book group's itinerary of Faulkner's *Absalom, Absalom* and Morrison's *Beloved*. And I didn't miss a beat reading *Birds of Wonder* in that line. It really does have that kind of presence--I don't know how else to describe it, this phenomenon of a novel's world and the people in it becoming part of one's day-to-day reality.
3040309
One of the lessons I learned very early in my three-decade-long career writing fundraising appeals was that statistics numb the brain while a gripping tale of one individual can unlock torrents of emotion in the reader. So it was no surprise to me that the story of one young refugee Jewish family in London in 1945 could bring home the chilling reality of the Holocaust more powerfully than any recitation of the numbers of Hitlers victims could ever possibly do.

In The List, Martin Fletcher, an NBC foreign correspondent who is the son of an Austrian refugee couple named Edith and Georg, borrows their names for his protagonists in a fictional tale of a small group of Holocaust survivors scratching out a living in a boardinghouse in post-war London amid the violent conflict over Britains pro-Arab policy toward Palestine.

The story unfolds in London beginning on May 8, 1945  VE Day (Victory in Europe, should you be too young to know)  and concludes in the days before Christmas that same fateful year. The narrators focus shifts to Palestine from time to time to visit the increasingly desperate struggle between the three leading groups of the Zionist insurgency (Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi) and the British occupation forces. The two threads of the tale converge, as they tend to do in novels, bringing home to the apolitical refugees in peacetime England some of the grim choices facing Jews in what is to become, within three years, the Israeli homeland.

The list of the title is Georgs long, handwritten list of his family members, who are crossed out, one by one, as news emerges of their deaths from the chaos of the DP (displaced person) camps and migrating refugees across the devastation of Europe. This homely but powerful metaphor for what we all lost in the Holocaust reawakened childhood memories of my New York cousins sitting me down to tell me about the lives of my own relatives who perished in the death camps.

Fletchers grim but fascinating tale centers around two central events drawn from history: an anti-Semitic petition movement to expel Jewish refugees from the borough of Hampstead, driven by fascists recently released from wartime prisons, and the attempted assassination of Aneurin Bevin, the Foreign Minister in the Labour Government that came to power in Britain following Winston Churchills rejection at the polls.

The List is a searing tale, beautifully told, brimming over with suspense that drives the reader forward to the end.
3077795
Unusual story and well told.  Some of it very unsettling, but kept me reading.
1336448
I found this novel to be fascinating, disturbing and multilayered. It starts with two young filmmakers with a vile ambition and a filmmaking aesthetic that involves violence and torture which they call "ultrarealism." From there the novel's sense of (ultra?) reality for me seemed to mutate in a way that reflected the shifting identities of the characters. Events and points of view take us further and further from the first two characters and yet those two characters' ghostly presence continues to be felt throughout the story. Kelso portrayed the two filmmakers' relationship with a real feeling of authenticity as seen from the POV of the character Vincent who admires the more charismatic Brandon. I also feel he effectively evoked a sense of what ultrarealism could be by remaining allusive through multiple viewpoints. The feeling for was like walking into a room full of seemingly learned people discussing a subject that becomes more and more vivid and elusive the longer you eavesdrop. In fact, it seems to me there is an overall effect in the novel of everything in it being elusive and at times frustrating when you want the nuts and bolts or the straightforward statement.  It is part of a trilogy though so there is more to the story.
912362
The scenario of a suburban wife crumbling at her responsibilities isn't a new one in novels. However, this novel demonstrates a protagonist more twisted and complex than most. Certainly some questions remain about certain elements of the story such as how close the daughters' birthdays are, but the ultimate result is a story that is compelling to read.