Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - Grad lopova

This book is part of that tired, old genre, “Oh, You Thought WWII was Bad? You Have NO Idea.” Yes, truly horrifying, awful things happened in WWII, but here they’re played for shock more than anything else, as if cannibalism and torture and rape were less tragedy and injustice and more spectacle and opportunities for shallow, serendipitous “heroism.” Not to mention, the prologue frames the book as a fictionalization of events in the life of the author’s grandfather, which one must actually google to find out is it’s own fiction. In short, a fairly self-focused and self-exultant perspective.

I will say, the story was plotted and paced well, even gripping in spite of the exploitative use of fictionalized historical pain and tragedy. And I loved the absurdity of a mission to find a dozen eggs. But the main characters felt flat, as did my feelings toward them; it was hard to care one way or another about their success. And such a non-empathic depiction of human suffering, especially with regard to historical events, was off-putting.

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chupacobbruh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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booksandmo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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xhelat's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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ranireadsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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mandi_lea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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thecatinthehat__'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is SO engaging and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire read. I definitely can't read this book in one sitting but it's the type of book that I don't want to put back down once I pick it up. The twists and turns feel natural and add real risk to our characters.

The last like 3 chapters are so sad and hopeless tho but it works for a story like this

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itshrewsbury's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I understood anything about Russian literature and history, but it was still a compelling read wherein I cared about the characters and how the story would end. While vulgar, it truly encapsulates what it is to be a boy and what it is to be at war.

18+

TW/CW: Torture, cannibalism, graphic animal death, dismemberment, mention of rape

“It made me happy that poems are referred to in the present tense even when the poet is in the past tense.” (109)

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