10. Read five books.

Can’t quite believe it, but I’ve managed to tear through two more books in the last month — Damals war es Friedrich and Half of a Yellow Sun — bringing me closer to my goal of five this year on my 33 Things list.

After finishing Der Vorleser, I was determined to try another novel in German.  Damals war es Friedrich (or simply Friedrich, if you’re reading the English version) appealed to me because it was already on my bookshelf, relatively short, and written for young adults (which made it pretty easy to read in German).  The story is certainly a moving one told from a young boy’s perspective.  I appreciated the descriptions of  how Germany turned into Nazi Germany — not over night, but through small changes over time in society and politics. This should certainly serve as a lesson for all societies.

That being said, I found the book’s ending a bit too abrupt.  I wasn’t exactly expecting a happy ending, but I was hoping for some sort of attempt to draw a lesson out of it all, or some kind of reflection or conclusion. Nope, nothing.  Mein Schatz says that’s a very American way of looking at things.  Perhaps, but it still would have been nice to have some closure. Also, the book was clearly written for young adults who have either had very little exposure to Judaism and/or don’t know anyone Jewish, and so some parts come across as a little obvious and overdone.  Even so, I would still recommend this for a quick read.

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I was planning to review them both in one post like I did for the last two books, but it turns out I have more to say than I thought I did, so I’ll share my thoughts on Half of a Yellow Sun with you tomorrow.