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14th out of 187 books
—
154 voters
The Twins
by
Tessa de Loo
Twins who were orphaned at six and sent to live with different relatives on opposite sides of WW II are reunited by chance seventy years later at a Belgian health resort. This international bestseller, a powerful novel, is both a European allegory and a poignant story of family ties.
Paperback, 356 pages
Published
July 1st 2003
by Soho Press
(first published October 1993)
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Feb 27, 2013
Patricia Rodrigues
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
meus,
livros-2013
Uma história de duas irmãs, gémeas, que por circunstâncias da vida foram afastadas uma da outra, e que passado muitos anos se reencontram por um acaso.
A escrita é fluída e cativa-nos logo nas primeiras páginas com a história de Anna e Lotte. Ao longo das páginas vamos acompanhando as suas vidas, através de lembranças que estão a partilhar uma a outra. Grande parte dos seus relatos são passados durante a 2ª Guerra Mundial, e são capítulos interessantíssimos. Afinal de contas, Anna ficou a ser edu...more
A escrita é fluída e cativa-nos logo nas primeiras páginas com a história de Anna e Lotte. Ao longo das páginas vamos acompanhando as suas vidas, através de lembranças que estão a partilhar uma a outra. Grande parte dos seus relatos são passados durante a 2ª Guerra Mundial, e são capítulos interessantíssimos. Afinal de contas, Anna ficou a ser edu...more
Absolutely loved this book! I liked how it went back and forth between the present and the lives of the twins especially through WWII. This takes place in Germany and Holland. The premise of the book is about twin girls who, due to the loss of their parents, end up being split up when they are 5 or 6 years old. 1 goes to German relatives who are farmers in Germany and 1 goes to Dutch relatives in Holland. They are to stay separated. Then at the end of their lives they run into each other at a me...more
Wat een prachtige roman!
De structuur van de roman is helder: twee vrouwen, kurend in Spa, ontmoeten elkaar. Anna herkent in de ander haar tweelingzuster Lotte. Zij hebben elkaar zeer lang gezien noch gesproken. Daarom hebben hebben zij veel aan elkaar te vertellen. Zij komen afwisselend aan het woord en – tamelijk filmisch – gaan de uitlatingen in Spa over in de geschiedenisscene van toen.
De spanning tussen de twee oude dames, het ongemakkelijke gevoel dat mede voortkomt uit de gedachte van elk...more
De structuur van de roman is helder: twee vrouwen, kurend in Spa, ontmoeten elkaar. Anna herkent in de ander haar tweelingzuster Lotte. Zij hebben elkaar zeer lang gezien noch gesproken. Daarom hebben hebben zij veel aan elkaar te vertellen. Zij komen afwisselend aan het woord en – tamelijk filmisch – gaan de uitlatingen in Spa over in de geschiedenisscene van toen.
De spanning tussen de twee oude dames, het ongemakkelijke gevoel dat mede voortkomt uit de gedachte van elk...more
A brilliantly-conceived plot. Lotte and Anna were born twins, in 1916, to German parents. Soon after, their mother dies, then their father. They were orphans at three. Relatives have to raise them. For some reasons, Anna remained in Germany with her grandfather's family; Lotte was brought up in the Netherlands with her uncle. World war two came upon them when they were young adults, one was German whose young husband, a German soldier, was killed in the war; the other was Dutch, who had sheltere...more
Mar 26, 2010
Suna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historic-fiction,
dutch
This book was a mega-hit in the Netherlands, its native country.
Becky below starts her review with "Yet another war novel" and that is exactly what I thought when it came out and everyone went crazy over it.
Normally, this isn't something I'd pick for myself but it was given to me as a present and I was surprised by how moved I was.
The story is fairly straightforward: Twin sisters get separated and sent away from their war-torn region to live with foster families.
One sister lucks out with the p...more
Becky below starts her review with "Yet another war novel" and that is exactly what I thought when it came out and everyone went crazy over it.
Normally, this isn't something I'd pick for myself but it was given to me as a present and I was surprised by how moved I was.
The story is fairly straightforward: Twin sisters get separated and sent away from their war-torn region to live with foster families.
One sister lucks out with the p...more
READ IN DUTCH
Sommige boeken moet je gelezen hebben. En dan heb je ook nog een literatuurlijst die je moet vullen. Ik had de film al verschillende keren gezien (zowel thuis als op school) en daarom moest ik meteen aan dit boek denken. Bovendien had ik al veel positieve verhalen over De Tweeling van Tessa de Loo gelezen.
Twee vrouwen, die zussen blijken te zijn, ontmoeten zich voor het eerst in vijftig jaar weer in het Belgische kuuroord Spa. Toen ze klein waren zijn ze uitelkaar gehaald en Lotte...more
Sommige boeken moet je gelezen hebben. En dan heb je ook nog een literatuurlijst die je moet vullen. Ik had de film al verschillende keren gezien (zowel thuis als op school) en daarom moest ik meteen aan dit boek denken. Bovendien had ik al veel positieve verhalen over De Tweeling van Tessa de Loo gelezen.
Twee vrouwen, die zussen blijken te zijn, ontmoeten zich voor het eerst in vijftig jaar weer in het Belgische kuuroord Spa. Toen ze klein waren zijn ze uitelkaar gehaald en Lotte...more
Jan 02, 2013
Michelle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
owned-books,
read-in-2013
Vier jaar geleden probeerde ik de Tweeling voor het eerst te lezen... zonder veel succes. Ik vond het saai, wat ik nu absoluut niet het geval vond. Ik heb de film al meerdere malen gezien en wist dus hoe het boek zou gaan. Dit belette niet dat ik het boek minder was, het voegde veel toe.
Het boek verraste me positief. De zinsconstructies, beeldspraak en schrijfstijl van Tessa de Loo vond ik erg goed. Ze spraken allemaal erg tot de verbeelding.
Ook al ging het boek over een thema waarover ik al h...more
Het boek verraste me positief. De zinsconstructies, beeldspraak en schrijfstijl van Tessa de Loo vond ik erg goed. Ze spraken allemaal erg tot de verbeelding.
Ook al ging het boek over een thema waarover ik al h...more
In this book, two older women meet at a Health resort in a Belgian spa town and recognise each other as sisters, born in Germany and separated at the age of 6 when they were orphaned. They had met only once before as adults and had no further communication. Anna remained in Germany with an relative who abused her and made her work on the family farm, while Lotte lives as a cherished daughter with another relative in Holland.
During their time at the spa, the two women recount their lives and try...more
During their time at the spa, the two women recount their lives and try...more
Yet another war novel, this book focusses on the fortunes of twins, Lotte and Anna, who are taken to live apart when their parents die. Reared from the age of 6 in separate countries, they follow quite different paths as the Second World War consumes Europe. Years later, when they are old women, they meet in a Belgian town, and attempt to dissect the stories that led them there.
The Twins is a fantastic piece of writing, a truly unique viewpoint of a conflict that has been covered many times in m...more
The Twins is a fantastic piece of writing, a truly unique viewpoint of a conflict that has been covered many times in m...more
Voor Nederlands moesten we weer eens een lijst inleveren en mijn keuze viel daarbij op De Tweeling. Ik had de film al eens eerder gezien, maar uit ervaring weet ik dat de boeken toch altijd anders zijn.
Het is een aangrijpend boek. Het uiteengroeien van de twee zusjes vind ik hartverscheurend, omdat ik telkens bij nadenken over; wat als ze nou gewoon samen waren opgegroeid? Ik voel vooral mee met Anna; Lotte vind ik nogal verwend en vervelend.
Anna groeit op bij haar arme oom en tante die boer zij...more
Het is een aangrijpend boek. Het uiteengroeien van de twee zusjes vind ik hartverscheurend, omdat ik telkens bij nadenken over; wat als ze nou gewoon samen waren opgegroeid? Ik voel vooral mee met Anna; Lotte vind ik nogal verwend en vervelend.
Anna groeit op bij haar arme oom en tante die boer zij...more
A clunky translation fails to ruin this tragic story of two sisters who meet by chance as old women in a Belgian spa after almost a lifetime apart, lifetimes punctured by World War Two. One sister grew up desperately poor in rural Germany, the other in a cultured middle class home in the Netherlands. They begin to tell one another their stories, but the gulf betwen them isn't easily bridged. In fact it yawns open even as they try to understand one another. Their difficult lives come clearly and...more
De Tweeling, or the Twins in English is a Beautiful story by Tessa de Loo about twin sisters who got separated when they were 6. One of the sisters (Lotte) grows up in Holland and one Anna grows up in Germany. As two elderly women they meet in a Spa and soon figure out that they are each others long lost sisters. They take us back to their time in the war, Lotte having housed a Jewish family and Anna tells the story of the suffering of the normal people during the war.
It talks about the impact...more
It talks about the impact...more
I LOVED IT! Translated from the original Dutch. Two German sisters orphaned and separated in childhoood pre-WWII; one grows up in Germany during the war and one in the Netherlands. The book encounters them as elderly women accidentally back in touch with one another and takes the reader through their lifelong journey of vastly different experiences and perspectives.
Well-balanced and historically plausible, but from an angle not already completely done to death. Great story.
Well-balanced and historically plausible, but from an angle not already completely done to death. Great story.
I tried and tried, but I just could not get into it.
The book tells the story of twin German girls separated at age six after their parents' deaths who, in a chance encounter, reconnect nearly 70 years later. The sisters are the vehicle for showing the impact of WWII from the perspective of Germans and non-Germans.
It is slow and plodding at the start and doesn't pick up much steam, until the latter part of the middle as the war nears its end. I found the ending fell flat and I never got a pay-o...more
The book tells the story of twin German girls separated at age six after their parents' deaths who, in a chance encounter, reconnect nearly 70 years later. The sisters are the vehicle for showing the impact of WWII from the perspective of Germans and non-Germans.
It is slow and plodding at the start and doesn't pick up much steam, until the latter part of the middle as the war nears its end. I found the ending fell flat and I never got a pay-o...more
This book describes the experiences of two sisters during the second world war. After their parents die, one sister spends the war with rich relatives while the other spends it laboring on a farm in Germany. Years later, when they are old women, the sisters meet up and tell each other their stories.
Op jonge leeftijd gelezen en mij altijd bij gebleven. Hieruit kom ook mijn fascinatie voor de oorlog. Een verhaal over twee zussen die van elkaar gescheiden worden en elkaar weer na lange tijd ontmoeten. Ik kon het boek niet weg leggen. Mooie schrijfstijl, alleen ietwat langdradig (enige minpuntje).
Ik vond het boek De tweeling een mooi boek met veel historische waarde. Het mooie vond ik eraan dat je ziet dat twee levens totaal verschillend kunnen lopen, door oorlog, familie en andere redenen. Ook vond ik het goed om te lezen over hoe het in de oorlog was en dat dan van verschillende kanten.
Twins, separated at age 6. One continues to grow up in Germany, the other in Holland. Years later they meet by accident in Spa, Belgium.
What follows is an attempt to find common ground after time and war, (experienced from opposing sides) have left their mark.
All the more intriguing, as my mother grew up in Holland and was only a little younger than they, during the war years that they describe.
What follows is an attempt to find common ground after time and war, (experienced from opposing sides) have left their mark.
All the more intriguing, as my mother grew up in Holland and was only a little younger than they, during the war years that they describe.
I've read this book for school, and I loved it. The switching perspective from Anna to Lotte and back makes the story interesting to read. The flashbacks are heartbreaking and made me relive the moments with the two sisters. This book is very well written.
I really enjoyed this book! 'Another' Holocaust novel, however the author manages to portay two differing / opposing attitudes/lives in a way that is emotionally and historically interesting. Highly enjoyable read!
I first heard about this novel via an article online at:
http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/73/rea...
It sounded interesting.
(Jackie at my group had recommended the article.)
http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/73/rea...
It sounded interesting.
(Jackie at my group had recommended the article.)
excellent story! I only recently found this book again. This is a book worth reading. The story is so sad. Some of the details are a little bit graphic, but the story is worth it.
Sensitively comes to grips with the ideas of guilt, responsibility, consequences and understanding in the context of the secoond world war. Very thought provoking. I loved it.
I was pretty much forced to read this book, therefore I did not like it. However, I imagine that if I'd read it voluntarily I might have sort-of liked it. Maybe.
Twee bejaarde vrouwen, een Nederlandse en een Duitse, ontmoeten elkaar bij toeval in het Thermaal Instituut van het fameuze kuuroord Spa. Spoedig ontdekken ze dat ze samen een sinds hun kindertijd gescheiden tweeling vormen. De verhollandste Lotte, die tijdens de oorlog joodse onderduikers heeft beschermd, staat aanvankelijk uiterst wantrouwig tegenover haar hervonden tweelingzus, maar ze wordt door de verhalen van Anna geconfronteerd met de keerzijde van haar eigen werkelijkheid: het lijden van...more
Interesting story about sparatedns in which one grows up int eh Nazi regime and the other grows up in Holland and marries a Jew.
Touching tale of the bitter divisions wrought by WWII. Interesting perspectives on Stalin, the US, and the Church.
Schitterend boek wat ik gelezen heb voor mijn Nederlands examen. Leest makkelijk weg en natuurlijk een mooi onderwerp.
An interesting book and the author did well in going back and forth between present day and each of the sister's remembrances of their past. I found that the story rambled on and on a bit. I found myself wishing the story were over!
To this day, it is still one of my favorite books! It is out of print, but worth the work to find it!
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Feb 23, 2010 12:31pm