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paigemcloughlin's review against another edition
4.0
Based on one man's escape from the holocaust. It reads like a thriller. I mean real events like the one described but it reads like Ludlum if Ludlum wrote about the shoah. I mean it set in some of humanity's darkest times but it is a nice thriller. Good story.
shortforvalkyrie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
omgalez's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this. It reminded me of Hunger by Knut Hamsun. The endless quest, the frantic searching. Loved it.
deesdav's review against another edition
5.0
Sad, terrifying and unputdownable semi-biography about a desperate Jewish business man, fleeing from one German town to another, right before WWII starts. Brilliant prophetic work and still relevant today
axyl's review against another edition
4.0
A tragic story. The inner turmoil of a German Jew trying to escape capture is claustrophobic and all too easy to believe. It is such a sad tale but, worse, much of the language of his persecutors has made a come back in the UK and other countries in this, the 21st Century. A cautionary tale more people should read
loyaltoliterature's review against another edition
4.0
Technically 3.5 stars (I liked it). Well written, and a gripping story. Just, it is so hard to read about what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany. It’s beyond the pale what was done to an entire group of people (and others besides them). To understand what took place is to know that there were very few happy endings. Books like this one are so necessary to read but also so difficult to absorb. My hope is we embrace these stories despite their terribleness so that we will remain empathetic to those whom are different from ourselves and alert to apathy, ignorance, cowardice, and hatred.
ruthieduthie's review against another edition
3.0
This novel follows a German Jewish business man in the days following Kristallnacht. It's an exploration of the psychological state of a desperate person, embodied in his endless and increasingly random train journeys and the encounters he has with various people. It seems disjointed, and there is not much attempt to develop characters.
I appreciated it as a firsthand attempt to convey the hopelessness of Jewish Germans at this time, but as literature it felt quite clumsy. This may be because it was a translation, which inevitably loses something. But as a testimony it stands witness to the thinness of the veneer of civilisation, which has echoes today.
I appreciated it as a firsthand attempt to convey the hopelessness of Jewish Germans at this time, but as literature it felt quite clumsy. This may be because it was a translation, which inevitably loses something. But as a testimony it stands witness to the thinness of the veneer of civilisation, which has echoes today.
catherinebookshopnaboekov's review against another edition
4.0
Voor alle duidelijkheid: ik heb dit boek in het Nederlands gelezen. Ik had niet de tijd en zin om de nieuwe Nederlandse editie, 'De reiziger' uitgegeven door Lebowski op Goodreads te plaatsen.
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Ik ben zwaar onder de indruk van dit boek. Het boek laat je van in het begin naar adem snakken. De paniek en de uitzichtloosheid van Otto Silbermann worden zo goed beschreven dat je onbewust steeds sneller begint te lezen doordat je de opgejaagdheid van Otto Silbermann helemaal overneemt.
Er wordt niets verbloemd, ook de kleine kantjes van Otto niet, hoe hij zich gedraagt tegenover geloofsgenoten bijvoorbeeld.
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Het besef dat dit boek weer zo actueel is en je een spiegel voorhoudt hoe Europa met hedendaagse vluchtelingen omgaat, bezorgt je een zeer naar gevoel. En ook wel dat dit boek waarschijnlijk niet gelezen gaat worden door mensen die het zouden moeten lezen om wat meer empathie en begrip voor mensen op de vlucht te kunnen opbrengen…
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Ik ben zwaar onder de indruk van dit boek. Het boek laat je van in het begin naar adem snakken. De paniek en de uitzichtloosheid van Otto Silbermann worden zo goed beschreven dat je onbewust steeds sneller begint te lezen doordat je de opgejaagdheid van Otto Silbermann helemaal overneemt.
Er wordt niets verbloemd, ook de kleine kantjes van Otto niet, hoe hij zich gedraagt tegenover geloofsgenoten bijvoorbeeld.
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Het besef dat dit boek weer zo actueel is en je een spiegel voorhoudt hoe Europa met hedendaagse vluchtelingen omgaat, bezorgt je een zeer naar gevoel. En ook wel dat dit boek waarschijnlijk niet gelezen gaat worden door mensen die het zouden moeten lezen om wat meer empathie en begrip voor mensen op de vlucht te kunnen opbrengen…
jonasvogler's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tjucutan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5