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A review by kba76
The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Little Liar is far from an easy read, but it feels a timely one, and I have to admire Albom for taking on a topic such as the Holocaust that is fraught with potential pitfalls. Even thinking about how to word my review has me floundering rather, so I can only imagine how difficult it is to tackle a topic such as the Holocaust and to present your chosen story in a way that pays testimony to the truth experienced by those who lived it, without offending any of the survivors/their families. It might not be to everyone's tastes, but this is a book that I would certainly recommend to anyone interested in the time period, or who wants to explore structurally interesting ways to present a story.
The novel opens with a quotation about it not being our memories that haunt us but the things we have forgotten, and need to spend our lives forgetting, that we are plagued by. That seems an appropriate sentiment for looking at such a period in history, but I do feel it is important we do not stop trying to raise awareness of such events and to try to encourage exploration of the circumstances that lead to such occasions.
Albom chooses to tell the story of the Holocaust through the perspectives of a number of characters that we see at key moments in their lives. One of the main characters is Nico Krispis, a young Greek Jew who is widely praised in his village for not being capable of lying. Nico is, however, exploited by Udo Graf, a Nazi officer, and the first lie he tells - that the trains coming to take the Jews out of Greece will be taking them to new homes - becomes one which will haunt him for the rest of his life. Along with Nico we follow the stories of his older brother, Sebastian, their family friend, Frannie, and the officer, Graf. We are shown snippets of each of their lives through the war period, and after, and this allows us to see the choices each makes and to understand the potential consequences our decisions may have (even if we cannot see them at the time).
While the voice of Truth as the narrator may seem unnecessarily elaborate, it allows judgments to be passed on the characters and their actions. It allowed an element of distance from the situations described and, once we reach the end, it offered an interesting moment of reflection on what we had just read.
The novel opens with a quotation about it not being our memories that haunt us but the things we have forgotten, and need to spend our lives forgetting, that we are plagued by. That seems an appropriate sentiment for looking at such a period in history, but I do feel it is important we do not stop trying to raise awareness of such events and to try to encourage exploration of the circumstances that lead to such occasions.
Albom chooses to tell the story of the Holocaust through the perspectives of a number of characters that we see at key moments in their lives. One of the main characters is Nico Krispis, a young Greek Jew who is widely praised in his village for not being capable of lying. Nico is, however, exploited by Udo Graf, a Nazi officer, and the first lie he tells - that the trains coming to take the Jews out of Greece will be taking them to new homes - becomes one which will haunt him for the rest of his life. Along with Nico we follow the stories of his older brother, Sebastian, their family friend, Frannie, and the officer, Graf. We are shown snippets of each of their lives through the war period, and after, and this allows us to see the choices each makes and to understand the potential consequences our decisions may have (even if we cannot see them at the time).
While the voice of Truth as the narrator may seem unnecessarily elaborate, it allows judgments to be passed on the characters and their actions. It allowed an element of distance from the situations described and, once we reach the end, it offered an interesting moment of reflection on what we had just read.