Skeletons at the Feast: A Novel
by Chris Bohjalian
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chris BohjalianEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-02-10
ISBN: 0307394964
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of Skeletons at the Feast: A Novel
Book Review: The Great Flight
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought Chris Bohjalian's novel, SKELETONS AT THE FEAST, because it dealt with the massive, bloody flight of Baltic Germans from their ancient homeland of East Prussia in 1945. East Prussia no longer exists nor are there any Prussians at all left in what for 700 years was an important kingdom.
Bohjalian's description of a Prussian family's mad dash through the snow to escape the advancing Red Army brings that to life. He does a good job of reconstructing that chaotic period from the perspective of a Prussian family. I enjoyed his characters, even the more unlikely ones like Uri Singer, a Jew who'd jumped off a train bound for Auschwitz and managed to survive on the Eastern Front by pretending to be a Landser, an ordinary German soldier.
I can see why the author created Uri. This character allows him to explain the military collapse of the Third Reich as well as address the issue of the Holocaust from a German perspective.
One of his characters, a ten year old boy named Theo, gives one of the most insightful comments on this (p.191) when he asks himself if "those prisoners ... [in the concentration camps were] why the whole world seemed so mad at his country?" This question brings him to the realization that "When this war is over, he and his family - all Germans -were going to have to live with the black mark of this (whatever this was) for a long, long time."
And so they do. The Holocaust sits like a dark cloud over Germany and its history even in this enlightened age.
Bohjalian has a clear, unaffected style of writing and has clearly done a lot of research on this subject. The novel even has a study guide appended to it.
If you like historical fiction, adventure stories and just enjoy good writing, you'll enjoy SKELETONS AT THE FEAST.
Summary of Skeletons at the Feast: A Novel
A masterful love story set against a backdrop of epic history and unforgettable courageIn the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives.
At the center is eighteen-year-old Anna, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats, and her first love, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war named Callum. With his boyish good looks and his dedication to her family, he has captured Anna?s heart. But he is the enemy, and their love must remain a closely guarded secret. Only Manfred, a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, knows the truth. And Manfred, who is not what he seems to be, is reluctantly taken with Anna, just as she finds herself drawn uncomfortably to him.
As these unlikely allies work their way west, their flight will test both Anna?s and Callum?s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred?and will forever bind the young trio together.
Includes special bonus material: Chris Bohjalian responds to questions from book groups and readers
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