Tuesday 21 June 2016

The House by the Lake - A Story of Germany by Thomas Harding



A fascinating premise - the author's family lived in a house situated near a lake that was on the border between East and West Germany. Research on the people who lived there resulted in this story.

I started with great interest, and read with high enthusiasm. Unfortunately though, my level of enjoyment waned as I continued. This is no "story". "account" may be a better word. It reads like a text book on the inhabitants of the house. As such, one finds it very difficult to engage with the characters, or to care in any way what happens to them. I got a strong sense that this book will be of interest to the author and his family, and perhaps the neighbors, but other than that, maybe an historian interested in researching that area.

3 stars
ISBN:9780434023226


You may like The Constant Queen by Joanna Courtney - a story of the Vikings, but a fictional account.

SaveSave

No comments: