He is always such a heavy read …
pickPowerful in the depiction of one child‘s experience through WWII, in which he endures endless horrors of every kind. I understand that this probably gives shape to what many children endured, especially those separated from their parents. It definitely does not fall within the current stream of historical fiction in its lighter tone. All the trigger warnings possible here. Valuable, indelible, but ugly & scarring too. #bookspin
#7days7books Day 1 Thanks for the tag @Graywacke
A book that deeply affected or influenced you.
I read this when I was 16, in 1966, shortly after it was published. I have never forgotten it. It‘s the story of a 6 year old boy, separated from his parents, wandering the wilds of Eastern Europe during WWII trying to survive. It is brutal and horrific, but not necessarily realistic. It reminded me of a Hieronymus Bosch painting.
It‘s 1939 in Eastern Europe. A 6-yo “Gypsy” boy has been separated from his parents. The white, superstitious peasants in the village where he was sent to be kept safe from the Nazis believe he is possessed by an evil spirit and that he can cast spells on them if they look him in the eye. They avoid him, run from him, and turn dogs loose on him.
Ever started a book on Kindle and then said “This book is so good I have to get the real book”? That just happened to me with Painted Bird. And when I say the book is “good” I don‘t mean a feel-good story. This book is non-stop monstrous brutality. It‘s no pleasure to read but I‘m rooting for this kid. I tend to read ebooks too fast so I want a physical book in my hands.
Book mail from the indefatigable book nut and Litsy-master @shawnmooney
I don't know what's cooler: the book itself or the fact that the SEA MAIL stamps and Japanese lettering make me feel like I'm living in a Wes Anderson movie.
Thanks Shawn!
bailedTRIGGER WARNINGS GALORE ON THIS, MY BAIL REVIEW: I abandoned this a quarter of the way in because of the violence. I can endure a lot but (AGAIN, TW, FOLKS) in Chapter 4 a man gouges his hired man's eyes out with a spoon for coveting his wife and in Chapter 5, the much-gang-raped village idiot and nymphomaniac Ludmila the Stupid is murdered by the village women by inserting and then shattering a bottle of manure inside her. I am done.
Browsing through the 40,000 audiobooks available to me with my new premium membership of TuneIn last night I previewed the first half a chapter of this one – fabulously narrated with a lovely thick Polish accent – and now I've just ordered the paper copy to read conjointly. This will replace HHhH, which I bailed on today, as my war novel for whatever reading challenge that task belongs to.
pickThis is an amazing book, full of strong feelings!
The Painted Bird | 
