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There are currently 14 member reviews
for Skeletons at the Feast
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Susan (Charleston WV)
SKeltons at the Feast
Skeletons at the Feast is well paced and lessons hard learned by war and tragedy are softened by the depth of the characters’ souls and personal stories. It is a book hard to put down. However, there are no jubilant victors in this novel of WWII, only survivors who become skeletons of humanity. The tragic story of war is retold by Bohjalian in this tale where the survivors are, more interestingly, scared by their own knowledge, guilt, and conscious, as well as fear and torment by oppressors and allies as they flee Poland during nightmarish last days of WWII.
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Erica (New York NY)
Good story, adequate writing
It's always hard to say that a Holocaust-theme novel is "enjoyable." This one had a good story to tell, with interesting, well-developed characters. It became a page-turner, leaving the reader either relieved or devastated to learn the fate of each character. I just wish that the quality of the writing matched the story. Bohjalian uses too many parenthetical clauses. He loves the dash, sometimes using several in one paragraph. I found this annoying and it hindered the flow of the narrative. Still, this is a memorable novel that will probably be a hit with book clubs.
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Priscilla (Houston TX)
Skeletons at the Feast
In the past several years, I have read enough books depicting the lives of average German citizens during WWII to realize that as hard as it is for Americans to understand, many Germans were unaware of the use of Hitler's death camps to systematically eliminate the Jews. This was one of the themes in Skeletons at the Feast.
We meet a group of people from different backgrounds bound together by a shared goal of moving across Germany during a bitter winter in order to reach the American and British troops. I had a hard time keeping everyone straight in the beginning as the story moved from one group to another, but I quickly become invested in the story and the characters. I did wonder if a family of prosperous German farmers would be as noble as the Emmerichs were in their suffering, but I was caught up in their struggle to survive nonetheless.
This is a story of sacrifice, tragedy, bravery, and a will to survive. I recommend it to adult readers who want a deeper understanding of life in WWII Germany.
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Randi (Bronx NY)
Skeletons at the Feast
I really enjoyed Skeletons at the Feast. I thought it was well written, and the characters compelling, although I would have liked to have one of them (Cecile) fleshed out a bit more.
The book provides an interesting look at World War II, from an angle not often seen. It seemed historically accurate, as far as I could tell.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story and a fairly quick, light read (despite the World War II background, I didn't feel it was a "weighty" book).
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Sarah (Frenchtown MT)
Somewhat disappointing
This book offered an interesting historical perspective, that of the experience of German refugees facing the last days of the second World War. Also of interest is a recurring theme of journeying--away from home and life before the ravages of war, and toward an unknown future, or death. However, the flaws in the book all but outweigh the interest. The characters are hastily drawn and never developed satisfactorily. But the primary flaw in this novel is a narrative voice (and even dialogue) that clearly belong to a twenty-first century American male, which at best is distracting, and at worst is downright annoying. There are much better and more moving Holocaust novels out there.
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Debbie (Grand Junction CO)
skeletons at the feast
I'm usually anxious to read new books by Chris Bohjalian, but was disappointed by this one. I felt his war scenes were too graphic and the story line wasn't as interesting as his other books. I don't think I'd recommend the book, but will look forward to his future books.
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Pat (Pittsboro NC)
Disappointing
I have enjoyed 2 previous novels of Chris Bohjalian. He is an accomplished author. Disappointing best describes his new novel. Although the historical details of wartime 1945 Germany are interesting, the action is awkward and slow in this novel. Characters are one-dimensional and fail to evoke interest or emotion.There are so many better pieces of fiction and non-fiction that cover this material,don't waste your time on this one.
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