Berlin 1933 as seen through the eyes of the Americans who were there. It's an interesting and at times very fun view of the world. It also gets horrifBerlin 1933 as seen through the eyes of the Americans who were there. It's an interesting and at times very fun view of the world. It also gets horrifying at points because once Hitler had power, he seized the rest through any means necessary.
I enjoyed this book very much because it showcased the way America (and really, most of the world) hand-waved Hitler as an angry little man who would easily lose power. Learning how Dodd and his family came to be concerned, then became terrified and were mostly ignored by others in the diplomatic service and beyond brought home exactly how quickly Germany changed into the thinking of the Third Reich.
Larsen gives us two views in this book: the first is from Dodd's perspective as a willing, first-time diplomat who is up against some ridiculous expectations from his peers. We also get to spend time with Martha, his daughter, and her carefree and sometimes overwrought love affairs and friendships make it clear how easy it was to ignore the darkening horizon even as you stand dead-center as it happens. A very good book that helps flesh out how things got so bad....more
Much like Night, Gisella Perl's memoir was written very shortly after the war and her anger and fear are still very much at the forefront. She performMuch like Night, Gisella Perl's memoir was written very shortly after the war and her anger and fear are still very much at the forefront. She performed amazing feats of medicine with absolutely nothing she really needed to do them, but she speaks of her acts as though they were simply what needed to be done and not a sign of amazing inner strength and conviction.
Dr. Perl doesn't mince words about the horror and awfulness she witnessed and how low down she went. But she came back up, like so many other survivors, and we have her story....more
An absolute charmer of a book with fun art and a lot of good characters. It's an adventure story and a coming-to-terms story, and it stars little crabAn absolute charmer of a book with fun art and a lot of good characters. It's an adventure story and a coming-to-terms story, and it stars little crabs that can only move in a single direction. If you're born moving east to west, that's all you know. If you're born moving north to south, that's all you know. Unless, of course, you get a little creative. ...more
A very sharp, tangled-up mystery set as the Berlin Wall is about to fall. The characters are interesting, the set pieces used wonderfully, and the blaA very sharp, tangled-up mystery set as the Berlin Wall is about to fall. The characters are interesting, the set pieces used wonderfully, and the black and white art allows for a very old-school spy feeling that works very well with the story. ...more
A very cute and sweet antho. I didn't fall in love with every story (with anthos, that can happen), but I had a lovely time trying it out.A very cute and sweet antho. I didn't fall in love with every story (with anthos, that can happen), but I had a lovely time trying it out....more
Now this is the Vertigo Crime book I've been looking for all this time. An interesting mystery wrapped around a group of people who are distinct and iNow this is the Vertigo Crime book I've been looking for all this time. An interesting mystery wrapped around a group of people who are distinct and individually interesting against a backdrop of chilling strangeness and ill ease. Mina does what I feel the whole line to this point that I've read misses, which is to dig past all the noir tropes and find, in her story, a way to tell the same kind of story with some true depth and interest. Everyone's anger, everyone's distaste at one another, feels real. You'll be surprised who you end up rooting for, I think, as I was surprised who I backed with at the end.
2017: As interesting as it was when I first read it. Creepy, atmospheric, and deeply uncomfortable with an excellent payoff....more
2017: The first thirty pages were much easier to take, knowing how the story goes, and those layers are still there and build to a great finish. It's 2017: The first thirty pages were much easier to take, knowing how the story goes, and those layers are still there and build to a great finish. It's a hard, uncomfortable story at times, but it's worth it.
I hated this book for about the first thirty pages. It was everything I've had issue with regarding the whole Vertigo Crime line. Why write pulp that doesn't do anything with the genre? Why recreate the genre as though nothing's changed in the last few decades since pulp was at its height?
And then, the story changed. A layer got added, and then another, and suddenly the stereotype detective shifted from a hard-bitten drunk who hates everyone into a self-loathing man whose world view is so clearly impacted by how much he's been taught to hate himself and how much of it he's internalized. He becomes a very messed-up person rather than just another burly detective.
It's not a perfect book. The third act is a bit scrambled, and those first thirty pages go down hard, but it's worth it to experience the whole story and appreciate that the creators on this book wrote that hard-bitten detective pulp and found where it twist it on its stand. It is, I think, what Vertigo was going for with the whole series, and it's well worth the read....more
Gayle Francis
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Books:
august-2017
(7)
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