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Two Brothers (2012)

by Ben Elton(Favorite Author)

4.24 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0593062051 (ISBN13: 9780593062050)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Bantam Press

review 1: This book would have earned five stars but the first 100 or so pages were somewhat tedious in style. Also, Elton uses 21stC language (with ample swearing) for the 1920/30s which seemed entirely incongruous, to me.However, by page 150 I was addicted and devoured the rest of the book. The twists were good, and the detail fascinating and horrifying in equal measure.A reading group choice which provoked plenty of discussion.
review 2: To be honest I was thoroughly disappointed with this novel after hearing so many positive reviews for it. Characters, themes of the book, and the plot itself were really quite a big let down.I'll explain and breakdown my main issues with this book below(Spoiler Warning)1.) Obsession with attractiveness and Dagmar: Easily my biggest is... moresue with this novel is it's constant repetitiveness, Elton obviously holds attractiveness in high regard because I read about it in every other chapter. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against characters being attractive, but every (and I'm not over-exaggerating on this one) main character is described as being attractive and their looks are brought into pretty much every aspect of who they are as a person. Wolfgang, Frieda, Dagmar, Otto, Paulus, Silke, Bille are all seemingly highly attractive people and it's mentioned when ever Elton wants to mention their characterisation. Of course appearance is apart of who a person is but I'd wish he'd spend more time describing personality traits rather than equating a characters worth based off of their looks, for a holocaust novel I found this constant mention of appearance rather...shallow. Surely at a time like that, where innocent people were being slaughtered on the streets, the appearance of characters wouldn't need be mentioned in every chapter.This also annoyed me about Dagmar, almost every time her character was mentioned her looks were written alongside it, I get it Elton, she's "beautiful/stunning/gorgeous" and every other adjective under the sun but I don't need to read that every time her character is mentioned (and again I'm honestly not over-exaggerating). Not only this but that's all there really is to her character, never is anything other than her looks mentioned in relation to her so the boys devotion to her just comes across as empty and again...shallow. I understand a bunch of teenage boys only caring about looks but I'd of thought when they grew up and saw the horrors surrounding them they'd place different things in higher priority because besides her looks the book nor the boys give any real indication of what Dagmar has to offer as a person which makes their repetitive paragraphs declaring their love and admiration for her (which occurred every to every other chapter throughout the novel) extremely boring. I didn't root for love to triumph because I didn't see anything there besides lust/shallowness, and seeing as the novel completely focuses on this love triangle it just made it almost painful for me to read some chapters. It also made Otto's love for her, spanning over 17 years, rather ridiculous. He doesn't give a reason for why he loves her (besides her appearance) can you really tell me that you can love a person for 17 years without seeing the just because they're beautiful? The characters in this novel need to sort their priorities out big time. 2.)Characters: Not only was one of the main and most often mentioned characters, Dagmar, extremely dislike-able from the get go (self-ish/self-absorbed/manipulative/vain/mean-spirited) but the others characters complete, constant, and utter adoration for her would grate on my nerves even if she was likable to begin with.The brothers themselves were fairly well written but again their CONSTANT obsession with Dagmar made them rather dull, instead of them being shaped by growing up and being passionately moved by the tragic events around them every second thought and every action they commit revolves around this single girl which really made them quite boring. When you know every other paragraph or sentence within the novel will contain her name it just takes any interest out of their characterisation.3.) Plot: The plot had its ups and downs, I will admit there are some chapters I did genuinely enjoy but the biggest plot twist at the end of the novel (MAJOR spoilers) was not a surprise to me. Almost from the start of the novel I found Dagmar to be self-ish/self-absorbed/manipulative/vain/mean-spirited, so the massive plot twist that she was in fact all of those things was pretty lack-luster to me. So the ending really fizzled out. I read this book because I thought it'd be a tragic story about two brothers love and struggle for one another but really it could have just been called Dagmar, because the brothers both disregard each other, their morals, and family for her. If I was reading a romance novel then I really couldn't complain but I personally was hoping for a novel that looked at the bigger picture. less

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Reviews (see all)

thepacifier2k3

Brilliant book. If you want to have an insight into the lives of everyday people during pre war Berlin, and understand how the Nazis gradually increased their grip around Jewish throats, then this book is it. Among the horror is a forlorn attempt to carry on living, including a touching love story. As well as bringing a dark episode of human history to life, it's also a gripping page turner. Nobody weaves a morality tale around such great stories as Ben Elton

itsmeavaz

This book would have earned five stars but the first 100 or so pages were somewhat tedious in style. Also, Elton uses 21stC language (with ample swearing) for the 1920/30s which seemed entirely incongruous, to me.However, by page 150 I was addicted and devoured the rest of the book. The twists were good, and the detail fascinating and horrifying in equal measure.A reading group choice which provoked plenty of discussion.

ajay

Such a powerful and emotional story that truly depicts the evil of war and mankind. A must read!

Susan

An interesting plot, but the dialogue grated as very inauthentic.

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