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Gretel and the Dark Eliza Granville 9780241146453 Books

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Gretel and the Dark Eliza Granville 9780241146453 Books

I am a sucker for rewritten fairy tales and I don’t mind if they are dark and twisty. However, this book will not be to everyone’s taste. In Gretel and the Dark, horrible things happen in life and in fiction. Childhood innocence does not last long.

As another reviewer noted, it is hard to write a synopsis without spoiling the things that make this book different from the rest. There are two parallel stories told in alternating chapters. One takes place in turn of the century Vienna. Dr. Josef Breuer is a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and they have some differing opinions. Dr. Breuer discovers a beautiful and mysterious young woman. She claims to be a machine and she wants to stop a monster. He names her Lillie and tries to cure her “delusion” and uncover her past. Unfortunately, both he and his gardener become rivals for her affection. The second story takes place some years later in Nazi Germany. Krysta is a contrary and immature child. The housekeeper tells her horrifying tales in an effort to make Krysta behave. Krysta’s father is also a doctor. He abandons their home and takes Krysta to a “zoo full of animals.” Through a series of events, Krysta comes to realize what is really going on. She also learns some horrible truths about her father. Krysta befriends a “boy-animal” and her stories keep both of them alive.

The author spins fairy tales within fairy tales within fairy tales. The book requires close reading to see all of the interconnections. This is not a beach read! You will recognize some popular fairy tales. The story of Hansel and Gretel is frighteningly clear at the end. This book is 5 stars for telling a story about Nazi Germany in a unique way. I gave it 4 stars because the story was a bit uneven. Also, and this is solely a personal opinion, I did not like the way that the two stories were connected in the end. I wanted it to end with more magical realism. If you are an adventurous reader who is not looking for a quick and easy read, Gretel and the Dark is an excellent choice.


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Gretel and the Dark Eliza Granville 9780241146453 Books Reviews

hard to put down.
Good
I'm sorry this book was not at all engaging for me. Probably just my personality and not the author.
I liked this book. There were times when I thought I could see how it was going to end, but it definitely was a surprise.
some may find this good,it just was not what I expected-could not get into it. To each their own. I hesitate to give it such a low rateing just because it didn't please me.However, I ,personally,did not like it.
This book starts with a lovely premise. I like magical realism, but this book disappointed me. The chapters are interwoven with time changes and with fairy stories. Set in the chaos before and during World War II, Josef is based on the doctor who inspired and participated in the birth of psychoanalysis. He has had a new patient brought to him by his servant Benjamin. Lillie was naked and mute at first. She was battered. With the return of speech, she insists she has traveled through time as a machine to destroy the monster. Krysta in another thread is the spoiled daughter of a Nazi camp doctor. Set in Austria and Germany, the fairy stories are the scary German based tales of terri invoked upon the children, and the psyche, of the German state.

I found the execution to be clumsy. Often instead of deepening the suspense of the story, the turns of the chapters were very confusing I have a high tolerance for confusing, but this problem seems to be rooted in poor writing and not in furthering the plot. In addition, I found the fairy tales to be annoying. They became repetitive and tedious. They really didn't add anything to the understanding of the Nazi horror. Despite using the scarier stories, I think they belittle the setting.

Of the characters, I like the young apprentice Benjamin the best. This is probably not a coincidence since he is the single character not given to telling fiction. I also enjoyed the evolution of the character Lillie. I did not care for Krysta. Her brattiness was magnified. Her language was not convincing. Her speech seemed exactly as if an adult had written an imaginary child, and this was irritating. The contrast with the words in her fantasy with the ones she spoke was stark.

I did find the mystery compelling despite the stops and starts. And I did in fact like the ending very much. I am sad with this book because I waited for it with anticipation. I still think this writer has promise, but I am not a fan of her editor.
Gretel and the Dark is a beautiful and gut-wrenching novel. The story unfolds itself slowly, one detail at a time. The characterization is interesting, but without giving away spoilers all I can really say is that similarities between certain characters are subtle.

I was on the fence about whether to give this a 4 or 5 star rating but I knocked it down a star because I was able to predict the ending fairly early on. I don't think everyone will experience that problem, but I do read a lot of novels and I write novels, which occasionally spoils the ending a bit. However, there were a lot of interesting details to the ending that I couldn't predict. The ending was very beautiful and well done.
I am a sucker for rewritten fairy tales and I don’t mind if they are dark and twisty. However, this book will not be to everyone’s taste. In Gretel and the Dark, horrible things happen in life and in fiction. Childhood innocence does not last long.

As another reviewer noted, it is hard to write a synopsis without spoiling the things that make this book different from the rest. There are two parallel stories told in alternating chapters. One takes place in turn of the century Vienna. Dr. Josef Breuer is a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and they have some differing opinions. Dr. Breuer discovers a beautiful and mysterious young woman. She claims to be a machine and she wants to stop a monster. He names her Lillie and tries to cure her “delusion” and uncover her past. Unfortunately, both he and his gardener become rivals for her affection. The second story takes place some years later in Nazi Germany. Krysta is a contrary and immature child. The housekeeper tells her horrifying tales in an effort to make Krysta behave. Krysta’s father is also a doctor. He abandons their home and takes Krysta to a “zoo full of animals.” Through a series of events, Krysta comes to realize what is really going on. She also learns some horrible truths about her father. Krysta befriends a “boy-animal” and her stories keep both of them alive.

The author spins fairy tales within fairy tales within fairy tales. The book requires close reading to see all of the interconnections. This is not a beach read! You will recognize some popular fairy tales. The story of Hansel and Gretel is frighteningly clear at the end. This book is 5 stars for telling a story about Nazi Germany in a unique way. I gave it 4 stars because the story was a bit uneven. Also, and this is solely a personal opinion, I did not like the way that the two stories were connected in the end. I wanted it to end with more magical realism. If you are an adventurous reader who is not looking for a quick and easy read, Gretel and the Dark is an excellent choice.