Reviews by chuckmuck

This book was full of wonderfully drawn characters, the best of which was Trudi, the main character and narrator of the story. Set in a small town in Germany, spanning both world wars and giving a very intricate account of how the Nazi party seeped in and infected the town. Trudi, who helps run the pay library with her father, lost her mentally ill mother at a very young age, runs the town's rumor mill and is also a dwarf, introduces us to everyone in town and their family stories, she also gives detailed accounts of their lives as the Nazis steadily take over the town.

For me this was the only book I have read that really showed how that would of been possible, how so many would have let the holocaust happen and even been percipients, Hegi shows the transformation of the decent, close knit community, to the hate filled, war torn town, in awful but very plausible detail. She also paints the picture of the everyday workings of their lives as the war progresses and how some do heroic deeds for strangers, while others turn their backs on close friends and relatives to try to save themselves.

I had not expected much from this story of a woman turned werewolf when I grabbed it of the 50 cent cart of my used book store. I thought it would be a Halloween read and nothing more but it was a fun book and well done for a first novel. I found the characters engaging and believable, the story was fast paced and straight forward. I will definitely look for more books in the series (Women of the Otherworld) and by this author.

This is one of those books I picked up because of the interesting cover and took home with no clue of what it was about. I did recognize the author's name from the Booker prize list this year for her book the Night Watch, but had read nothing by her.I thought Affinity was pretty good, I was wanting to know a bit more about many of the lesser characters but I think she did a very good job of building the relationship between the 2 main characters. The setting (a Victorian women's prison) was very detailed and my favorite part of the book. I just wish the lesser characters had been filled in a little more, especially in relation to the key characters, while much was hinted at there was never a sense of knowing for sure how they tied in.

This book is hard for me to summarize. I had heard very good things and it was a Booker Prize winner, I had very high expectations. When I started the book it was a bit confusing and I had a brief stirring of disappointment but then I realized how beautifully the story was being told, as I let go of trying to figure it all out and let the story unfold for itself at it's own pace, I began to really enjoy it. I can see why some readers gave up on it but I'm glad I didn't and I think it was well worth it.

Any gal that's lived in a small town will be able to identify with the characters in this book. I liked the way the story was told to you by different people in the town and they shared a recipe, too. While some of the topics were heavy and depressing (the book dealt with spousal abuse, infidelity, statutory rape, etc) it was all done in a very straight forward, realistic manner that was liberally seasoned with southern humor.