Christopher New

A young boy is growing up in a half-Jewish half-Aryan household at the dawn of World War II. He is thoroughly confused as to what all of this means, especially because his father is a Lutheran minister and his mother had converted long ago. All he is aware of is that danger is all around. His mother, Gabi is forced to enter her own fight for her survival and for the rights of her children, now classified as half Jews. The children’s education is constantly attacked and Gabi is ferocious in her determination to have her children educated. Classified as a Jewish woman, but a privileged Jewish woman since she is married to an Aryan, Gabi must be extra careful, especially when she speaks. For this, she employs the Kaminsky cure, holding water in your mouth for a minute before you speak.

Told from the point of view of the youngest Brinkmann son, a unique experience unfolds. Through his eyes, the confusion, frustration and bleakness of WWII is shown in an honest manner. With many moments of light humor, the plight of the half-Jewish Brinkmann's is portrayed. My heart bled as our narrator struggled with understanding what was happening, his confusion of being half-Jewish and whether or not he should say "Heil Hitler" or feel for the Jewish cause; as he grows and the war progresses his understanding increases and his attitude changes. Overall, a different, heartbreaking and insightful story of WWII.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (mehr)

This book raises some interesting questions, but New's method of answering them is throughly obnoxious. He presents other theories in brief and proceeds to shoot them down without giving a reader ample chance (or information) to contemplate any theory but his own. Also, there are mistakes in describing certain theories. The chapters are: What is literature? clearing the ground; What is literature? Definitions and resemblances; Fiction; Psychological reactions to fiction; Imagination; Metaphor; Interpretation and Intention; Literature, truth, and morality; and Literary appraisals. The book is theory-oriented, and if literary theory is what you're interested in, look elsewhere. New's book is inadequate both in the areas of explanation (of any theories except his own; incidentally, his prose is not good at all) and argument (as there is never adequate chance to explore other theories, which are described poorly and sometimes incorrectly). If you want to learn about literary theory, keep looking.… (mehr)