- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc; Bilingual edition (1 Dec 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1573229164
- ISBN-13: 978-1573229166
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 12.7 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,171,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little gem,
By
This review is from: In Our Strange Gardens (Tpb) (Om) (Paperback)
As a child the main character of this novel is very embarrassed when in his free time his father, who is a respectable teacher, dresses up as a clown and tries to make people laugh. Then after a movie his uncle tells him what happened in the past; this makes it possible for him to understand and respect his father.
In only very few pages Michel Quint beautifully handles big themes like the shame children feel for their parents' behaviour, love and understanding when they learn what is the cause of their actions, but also friendship, treason and selflessness. From the beginning the reader feels that something awful must have happened in the past and in the course of the book the tension mounts. A beautiful little gem of a book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Delightful Surprise,
By R. Chaffey "beckahi" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: In Our Strange Gardens (Tpb) (Om) (Paperback)
I wasn't sure what to expect when reading "In Our Strange Gardens". It has the depth of a large work of fiction, but is intricately told in a short amount of pages. Michel Quint crafts his story through flashback, demonstrating the powerful role memory plays in shaping our lives.
"In Our Strange Gardens" is the recollection of the author - the memory of his family and the secrets that shape the lives of his father and his uncle. During World War II, his father and uncle were held prisoners and forced to make terrifying decisions that would affect their lives as well as the lives of others. Quint's characters are vividly drawn, brief and poignant character studies that examine the true nature of all human beings. The story surprisingly comes full circle, as the author learns the truth behind his father's life, and that of his uncle's. Once I was finished reading, I was tempted to start over again to see where this circle had all begun. It is a tender and sweet memorial to the ties that bind us to family and the decisions that shape our lives. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a MUST read,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: In Our Strange Gardens (Tpb) (Om) (Paperback)
I rushed to read this book after seeing a rave review in the NYT, and my God, I wasn't disappointed. Its deceiving simplicity, its humanity, its bitter-sweet humor, it's the kind of book you read in one go, and want to share with others... Short, intense but with a lingering resonnance... If you enjoyed books like Bernard Schlink's The Reader, you'll love this!!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal!,
By JMack - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: In Our Strange Gardens (Tpb) (Om) (Paperback)
Some stories are so well written that they are one of those books that make you lie awake at night pondering. These are the books you tell your friends that they have to read. "In Our Strange Gardens" is one of those books. Having family members who survived the Nazi atrocities of World War II, this book really hit home for me.
Although only 80 pages long (unless you read the French translation too), the story is very thorough. A story does not have to be long to be good! The main character, Michel tells the story as told to him by his father's cousin, Gaston. Michel's father, Gaston, and two other men are blamed in an act of sabotage against the Nazis. From a historical perspective, people do not usually survive once they are accused by the Nazis. The story of survival gives Michael's father and Gaston a new perspective on life. It also changed the foolish light Michel saw his father in. Few books attain the status of international bestseller. There is a reason this one did. It is that good. |
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