by Anita Abriel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Having read one of Anita Abriel's other WWII books where most everyone/everything is fictional I had hoped that The Light After the War would have what Lana's War was missing; emotional depth. The Light After the War is Abriel's mother's story. Almost everything that happens in it happened in real life. And while it's a wild story of survival against all odds I still felt like it lacked the real emotional depth I've come to see in other historical novels.
Between the characters not being very well developed (which is weird as Abriel knew aa few of them personally, like her Mother) and the descriptions missing something; I just didn't come away from this novel with any sort of great emotional response; be it sad, happy, or otherwise. Everything in it is just fine. There's nothing inherently wrong with the novel; but it just lacks some sort of authenticity for me. Which is ironic given it's almost entirely based on a true story. At the end of the day I just wished for more. If you want to read a WWII book with a relatively happy ending then this is for you. The details of the war are mostly left out. The large plot points (who lives, who dies and how they die) are all said; but not described in any sort of detail that (at least for me) evicts a strong emotional response.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Having read one of Anita Abriel's other WWII books where most everyone/everything is fictional I had hoped that The Light After the War would have what Lana's War was missing; emotional depth. The Light After the War is Abriel's mother's story. Almost everything that happens in it happened in real life. And while it's a wild story of survival against all odds I still felt like it lacked the real emotional depth I've come to see in other historical novels.
Between the characters not being very well developed (which is weird as Abriel knew aa few of them personally, like her Mother) and the descriptions missing something; I just didn't come away from this novel with any sort of great emotional response; be it sad, happy, or otherwise. Everything in it is just fine. There's nothing inherently wrong with the novel; but it just lacks some sort of authenticity for me. Which is ironic given it's almost entirely based on a true story. At the end of the day I just wished for more. If you want to read a WWII book with a relatively happy ending then this is for you. The details of the war are mostly left out. The large plot points (who lives, who dies and how they die) are all said; but not described in any sort of detail that (at least for me) evicts a strong emotional response.
If you want a "light" WWII historical novelization this might be for you. However if you are hoping for the intensity of The Tattoo of Auschwitz then I recommend passing on this one and reading one of the other thousands of WWII novels out there today.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Follow me on Goodreads
1 comment:
In my mind, WWII and 'light novelization' just don't go together. What a shame that telling her mother's story fell short for her!
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