Now a Major Motion Picture: in Lore, Rachel Seiffert powerfully examines the legacy of World War II on ordinary Germans–both survivors of the war and the generations that succeeded them. It is spring of 1945, just weeks after the defeat of Germany. A teenage German girl named Lore has been left to fend for herself. Her parents have been arrested by the Allies, and she has four younger siblings … younger siblings to care for. Together, they set off on a harrowing journey to find their grandmother. As we follow Lore on a 500-mile trek through the four zones of occupation, Seiffert evokes the experiences of the individual with astonishing emotional depth and psychological acuity.
more
Have you ever come across a new author and thought to yourself, wow, this author really knows the meaning of showing and not telling? Ms. Seiffert is definitely that kind of author. From the very first opening scenes, I marveled at her literary skill. I mean, can you write the entire story (the book consists of three) without using a dialogue once (!) and keep it so riveting and vivid that in the end no one even needs that dialogue? I, for one, can’t.
As I have already said, the book consists of three, seemingly unrelated, novellas, unified only by the common theme – Nazi Germany and WW2. The first novella centers around a young German man who carefully observes the changes his country undergoes through the lens of his camera while struggling with the inferiority complex due to his handicap. The trains come and go carrying soldiers along with civilians; scenes of brutality unraveling in the streets between the SS and the gypsy population; the first bombs devastating the layout of the familiar streets – I don’t know how Ms. Seiffert managed to compress the entire era into a novella, but the result came out brilliant.
The second novella, which was eventually made into a movie which I highly recommend, features a daughter of an SS man; after a disappearance of her parents at the end of the war, she finds herself having to take care of her young siblings while making a seemingly impossible track to her grandmother through several occupation zones. The mounting desperation, the gradual realization of the horrible truth behind the Nazi regime, the resentment and eventual coming to terms with such grim reality – “Lore” is a brilliant psychological study of a young mind that has to undergo a quick and brutal change and face the consequences of the atrocious actions of the people, to which her own father could have belonged.
The third novella is a conclusion of sorts; it takes place in more or less modern times (late 90s Germany) and tells a story of a young teacher who finds out that his grandfather could have possibly been a war criminal in the former Nazi-occupied Byelorussia. In his quest to uncover the truth, he may well destroy his relationship not only with his family but his fiancée Mina as well; however, the need of closure and almost self-destructive drive to face the unimaginable won’t let him rest until he finds in himself to strength to admit what generations before him so thoroughly tried to sweep under the rug. His trip to Byelorussia (both trips, in fact) are so powerful in their message, you will find yourself holding your breath as you follow the lines.
Extremely powerful and masterfully-crafted, “Lore” is something that has to be on any historical fiction lover’s and any history buff’s bookshelf. I can’t recommend it enough. Simply brilliant.
I didn’t care for this book and stopped reading it. It was boring for me.
Hard to read. Did not know where the author is going. It was just a narrative…not a plot or interesting characters. Hard to follow. Only read part of it and didn’t care to finish.
The book is very different than others that I have read – interesting characters. Addressing times we don’t often think about – different views. Does not fit into any standard catagory.