Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Skeletons at the Feast

by Chris Bohjalian (Goodreads Author)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 9,927 ratings · 1,504 reviews

A masterful love story set against a backdrop of epic history and unforgettable courage

In the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives.

At the center is eighteen-year-old Anna, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats, and her first love, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war named Callum. With his boyish good looks an...more

Paperback, 363 pages

Published February 10th 2009 by Broadway (first published January 1st 2008)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Nazi Germany in fiction

7th out of 23 books — 18 voters

WWII: Recommended fiction

7th out of 17 books — 3 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Aug 11, 2009 Allison (The Allure of Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, war_ww1-ww2-vietnam, 2009

I can handle reading a lot of fantasy violence and torture, because, no matter how connected to the characters I am-I know on some level as I’m reading that it did NOT happen. So, when I picked up Skeletons I knew that would be different, and I was right. Even the smallest acts of cruelty in this book twisted my guts because I know that what the Jews went through during the Holocaust is absolute reality. Just thinking about it makes me feel sick. So, in a way, this book was the opposite of fanta...more

13 likes · like · see review

Dec 24, 2008 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Skeletons at the Feast took me to a dark place - the Holocaust. If there weren't so many great books written about this black mark of the world's history, I would ban myself from reading any books on this topic in the future. I hate that such a horrific occurrence is repeatedly used as bait for novelists.

Bohjalian is a good author, though, and does a good job developing his characters, giving them interesting conflict, all the while threading bits of real history into his story that he obtained...more Skeletons at the Feast took me to a dark place - the Holocaust. If there weren't so many great books written about this black mark of the world's history, I would ban myself from reading any books on this topic in the future. I hate that such a horrific occurrence is repeatedly used as bait for novelists.

Bohjalian is a good author, though, and does a good job developing his characters, giving them interesting conflict, all the while threading bits of real history into his story that he obtained through diligent research. I'll give him credit for all of the above.

However, part of me felt like Bohjalian decided this was going to be his one and only time to write about the Holocaust so he was going to put it all in one book. The details he gives about the atrocities committed by the German soldiers, the Russian soldiers and the desperate and destroyed left in their wake is so graphic, so skin-crawling brutal that it borders on gratuitous. Including as much as he does has the opposite effect from the one I imagine the author intended and his book almost becomes a WWII caricature. I'm not saying the things he describes didn't happen. No, he seems to have read enough journals and letters to give each horror story credibility, but to include them all -- in the same book, witnessed by the same characters in the space of about a year -- it made these disturbing acts of cruelty seem made-up. I feel it was a disservice to take someone's real life nightmare and diminish it by setting it alongside so many other nightmares so that they all seem somehow....less. Because that is what happens. The first description was like a punch in the stomach, the next a slap on the face and all the rest...swats on an already numb backside.

As much as I wanted to, I didn't dislike this book. Bojahlian creates a complicated story about the fallout from ignorance, naivety, and privilege found among the rural aristocrats of Poland and Germany near the end of the war. Not forced to witness the daily disappearance of Jews and other minorities, the Emmerilich family was living in relative peace and prosperity, along with their polite relationships with the POWs helping out on their beet farm, until the ugly consequnces of their fuhrer's decisions found their way to the family's country manor, Kamenheim. Anna, The Emmerlich's teenage daughter, falls in love with Callum, a scottish POW, and convinces her parents to allow him to remain with their family instead of sending him back to the prison camps. As Callum and the Emmerlichs flee the approaching Russian troops, the blinders of this family's eyes are removed and they finally see first hand the destruction throughout their land. Along their west-bound journey, they meet and become dependent upon Uri, a young, vigilante Jew posing as a German soldier in order to survive. There is an additional, competely separate story involving a french, Jewish girl named Cecile who is trying to keep herself and her friend, Jeanne, alive while prisoners in a concentration camp that does eventually intersect with Uri and the Emmerlichs but not soon enough to be satisfying

There are plenty of lessons to learn within the pages of this book, but I can't say that it is one I recommend. The author tries to write too many stories at once-- a romance, a look at Nazi sympathizers, stereotypes the Polish people had of Russians, allied prisoners of war, a coming of age story, the gore and sadism of war, Jewish resistance, Jewish survival and an unnecessary epilogue, to make this novel truly great.(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Jun 10, 2008 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Based on real diaries, this is a fascinating subject, but mishandled. Bohjalian seemed to be trying to hit readers over the head with the horrors of WWII.

10 likes · like · see review

Dec 19, 2011 Richard rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: 0.125* of five

GHASTLY. Made me so angry that I got out of my warm bed, got dressed, and drove to the next town to heave this drivel-fest into the local cathedral's charity bin, thus ensuring that only some Catholic would be subjected to it. Their happiness I don't care about protecting.

The finger-in-the-chest, accusatory "You ride your horse over the Jew" (paraphrase, not a quote) section made me so furiously angry that I scared the dog yelling at the book.

If you're a little slow on the...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 01, 2009 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ww2, europe-the-known-world, audio, refugee-experience, hist-fiction

this audio book has me running back to the car to take a drive... anywhere, anytime, just any opportunity to listen to more. It is a saga about a handful of people trying to get west from the ever encroaching Russians on the Eastern Front in Poland/Prussia at the end of WWII. You have the aristocratic Prussian family, sans menfolk, the Scottish POW who has worked for them as slave labor, the jew disguised as a German Officer in order to escape arrest and inevitable death, and you have the women...more

7 likes · like · see review

Aug 06, 2010 Dav'ne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the few WWII books I've read that is told from the German viewpoint. The brutality is frightening even after all these years. I remember my German Oma had nothing but bad to say about Adolph Hitler. She still had family in Germany in the 50s and they didn't have anything good to say about him. I also had a friend in WI who was in her 70s and had been a Hitler youth. It was interesting to talk with her about how they never questioned and how the whole "Jewish situation" was not believed by...more

9 likes · like · see review

Apr 14, 2010 Virginia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Virginia by: Jennifer Entwistle

Bohjalian got me with this one, as he has in the two other books of his I've read. It took me about 1/4 of the way into it to get hooked, but I stayed up until 1 am last night reading it. His writing is really quite nice, possibly underrated. His storytelling is incredibly compelling.

There are several stories woven together in this book, the main being the plight of an aristocratic Prussian family forced to march west in the waning months of WWII. The horrors and atrocities of the war are on ful...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2009 Megan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Right now, Chris Bohjalian is my favorite author (even if I can't pronounce his last name). This is not one of his strongest books, but neither is this his weakest--by far.

Clearly, when you look at his entire body of work, Bohjalian enjoys creating suspense by presenting a single (in many ways ancillary) question to the reader early on in the tale. What did Connie's mom know? (Midwives) Why is the main character so damned well-adjusted after a brutal rape? (The Double Bind) What happened to Ann...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2011 Christina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, library-book

Skeletons at the Feast explored an area of Nazi Germany few books I’ve read have explored — the people living in Germany, or those who considered themselves Germans, who were not intimately involved in the Nazi’s crimes against humanity.

“When this war was over, he and his family — all Germans — were going to have to live with the black mark of this (whatever this was) for a long, long time.” {pg. 192}

Anna, Mutti, and Theo are well-to-do Prussian beet farmers — who have always considered themsel...more Skeletons at the Feast explored an area of Nazi Germany few books I’ve read have explored — the people living in Germany, or those who considered themselves Germans, who were not intimately involved in the Nazi’s crimes against humanity.

“When this war was over, he and his family — all Germans — were going to have to live with the black mark of this (whatever this was) for a long, long time.” {pg. 192}

Anna, Mutti, and Theo are well-to-do Prussian beet farmers — who have always considered themselves German, and celebrated the return of their estate in Poland to Germany — fleeing the onslaught of Russian soldiers as World War II comes to a close. None of them had anything to do with the Holocaust, although Anna’s twin, Helmut, and older brother, Werner, all serve in Germany’s army. In fact, Anna, much to the amusement of Callum, had no idea what the Nazis were really doing to the Jews when they “relocated” them.

“The Jews were being herded into the first three cars — far too many for each one, it was clear; dozens and dozens were going to be forced to stand — and their luggage was being loaded onto the fourth car. A freight car. And then, as Uri watched, that fourth car was uncoupled, and the fist three pulled away. The luggage, he saw, wasn’t going with them. Luggage, he realized, never went with them.” {pg. 16}

In their trip across Poland and Germany to the western side and, therefore, the safety of the Brits and Americans, the family is accompanied by Callum — a Scottish POW who falls in love with Anna and a character so stilted, it’s unbearable — and, occasionally, Uri — a Jew who escaped a train bound for Auschwitz and posses as a German military officer to escape capture by the very people he pretends to be. Uri is a interesting character, but I had a hard time believing he could have gotten away with possing as a German officer and, later, Russian for so long.

“But there was still a part of him that craved the specifics: where and when and who was responsible. Who held the angry, barking dogs on their leashes? Who raised high the truncheons, who march them into the pits? Who fired the machine guns? Or, perhaps, switched on the gas? These were Germans and Poles and Ukrainians with faces and names, men adn women who before the war had had families and ran streetcares and bars and butcher shops — people he and his sister and his parents migh have seen on any sidewalk and hardly given a second look.” {pg. 330}

The other character, who in the beginning doesn’t seem to make sense, is Cecile — a Jewish woman being marched from a concentration camp on the east side of German to the heart of the Third Reich. Cecile’s account is heartwrenching, but very little attention is given to her throughout the book.

“Hours later they heard explosions that were louder than the distant rumbling they’d bee aware of for days, and Cecile told everyone that she wouldn’t be surprised if their rckety wooden barracks now were gone, if the piles of smoldering ashes — as well as the blackened but not obliterated bones that lay among the cinders at the perimeter of the camp — were buried beneath the churned-up dirt from the center commons. The idea gave her pause, and she wasn’t precisely sure how she felt about this: Though she didn’t want such unmbiguous testiony to cruelty and babarism to remain on the planet, she wondered if people would ever believe what she’d seen if there wasn’t concrete proof.” {pg. 104}

One of the things I disliked about Skeletons at the Feast was the placement of the prologue. The prologue actually occurs in the middle portion of the book and would have just been better served if it was correctly placed chronologically. Putting it at the beginning as a prologue gave the story absolutely nothing, and frustrated me when the story jumped backwards a few years with the first chapter.

On that note, my greatest frustration stemmed from the abundance of holes in this novel; it could have used at least 100 more pages of narrative to cover the big chunks of time that went missing with each chapter. I find it incredibly frustrating to read a good book, and then read the last couple and pages and suddenly weeks and months worth of time are passed over in an effort to keep the book at a certain length.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 14, 2009 Jody rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Jody by: Chris Bohjalian

I learned that Chris Bohjalian does not need to stick to just Vermont books.

I have to say that I was a little nervous. I love Chris Bohjalian because he writes about Vermont. He understands Vermonters. If you are not from Vermont and you think that it is a tiny little state and do not understand the type of people who live there, then you should read one of his other books, like Water Witches. It captures what it is like to be from small town Vermont. That being said I was a little apprehensive...more

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 06, 2008 Candice rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Ellen, readers of Holocaust literature

This was a fantastic book - another look at World War II and the Holocaust. This time frame is toward the end of the war, when it has become obvious that Germany will lose, and as the Soviet forces are moving westward.

There are basically three stories that come together. A family of well-to-do German farmers, the Emmerichs, living in what was then the western part of Poland, leaves their comfortable farm just ahead of the Soviet tanks and seeks refuge with the Allies. With them is a Scottish pri...more This was a fantastic book - another look at World War II and the Holocaust. This time frame is toward the end of the war, when it has become obvious that Germany will lose, and as the Soviet forces are moving westward.

There are basically three stories that come together. A family of well-to-do German farmers, the Emmerichs, living in what was then the western part of Poland, leaves their comfortable farm just ahead of the Soviet tanks and seeks refuge with the Allies. With them is a Scottish prisoner of war, Callum Finella, whom the Germans allowed to work on the Emmerichs' farm.

Uri Singer, a Jew known by various aliases, has escaped from a train heading to Auschwitz and lives by his wits, doing things he never would have thought he would ever do.

A group of female concentration camp inmates is herded on a forced march from the camp toward the west to work in factories that will aid the Reich. It is a horrible trek with cruelty and privation.

Some parts of the book are unbearably cruel. When I came to the first passage that illustrated the inhumanity of the human race, I asked myself, "Why did he have to put that in?" And then I said, "You idiot! Because things like this happened!" No matter how many books, fiction and non-fiction, that I read about the Holocaust, I continue to be saddened by how cruel and hateful people are capable of becoming. When I read the part about the women in the concentration camp, I was reminded of Gerda Weissmann Klein's book All But My Life. Then I got to the acknowledgements at the end and I found that the author had read and been moved by that book. I hope that Mr. Bohjalian has had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Klein and to hear her speak. I was lucky enough to meet her and was impressed with her message of hope in the human race, despite what she endured during the War.

The ending of the book was satisfying. Rather than give anything away, I will say that books about the Holocaust rarely give "happy" endings. But like in real life, we learned what became of some of the characters, but not all. While some might find that frustrating, remember that in war there are people that disappear and we never know what happened.

I have read almost all of Chris Bohjalian's books now, and I am never disappointed. His characters are believable, his story lines interesting, his descriptions vivid, and his research thorough. Another excellent book from this author!(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Sep 22, 2008 Emilie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Blech. I have heard such good things about Chris Bohjalian, but I must say I was deeply disappointed. This book was based loosely on an actual journal kept by a German woman who fled the Russians as they swept into Germany at the end of World War II. The plot had such great potential! So many issues though.
1. The character development was stale. The characters didn't change over the course of the novel, even in the face of life-changing circumstances (loss of loved ones; leaving one's home behin...more Blech. I have heard such good things about Chris Bohjalian, but I must say I was deeply disappointed. This book was based loosely on an actual journal kept by a German woman who fled the Russians as they swept into Germany at the end of World War II. The plot had such great potential! So many issues though.
1. The character development was stale. The characters didn't change over the course of the novel, even in the face of life-changing circumstances (loss of loved ones; leaving one's home behind never to see it again; a difficult, dangerous journey over several months, political upheaval...). These are all things that change a person, but somehow the characters here seemed to arrive at the end of the novel in exactly the same way that they started. Why did we not see more evidence of the guilt that Anna and Mutti MUST have been feeling? Why was there less exploration of Uri's search for his family and the way that changed him? What about Callum, didn't HE feel guilty? He did basically desert his unit, and he did manage to escape actually having to engage in conflict.
2. Unecessarily graphic violence much? I think we all get that the Holocaust was a terrible time in history- people endured horrible, horrible things. Do we have to hear the intricate details of brains being spilled out or inhuman brutality? The details were a little over the top and didn't seem to add to the story enough to make them useful.
3. Weird sex scenes. So they've been marching for months, Anna is exhausted beyond words. She finally gets to sleep in a bed with blankets for the first time in recent memory. You could almost feel how warm and comforted she felt. Then Callum wakes her up in the middle of the night so they can see the Northern Lights, when they (naturally!) have sex. Outside in the frigid cold. When she is recovering from pneumonia or whatever it was she had. When he is an enemy soldier that could be shot if caught out in the open. Sounds plausible to me! And comfortable.

Don't bother with this one. I hear Bohjalian's other books are good. Hopefully they are better than this one.

(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 06, 2008 Renee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Chris Bohjalian is becomming one of my new favorite authors. This book was outstanding.
Outlining the brutal landscape of Nazi Germany as German refugees struggle westward ahead of the advancing Russian army.the novel exhumes the ruin of spirit, flesh and faith that accompanied thousands of such desperate journeys. Prussian aristocrat Rolf Emmerich and his two elder sons are sent into battle, while his wife flees with their other children and a Scottish POW who has been working on their estate....more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2008 Pamela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Was unsure what to rate this book, as it's kind of hard to say that you enjoyed reading a story about the Holocaust. And to tell the truth, there was a lot of this book that I didn't enjoy. It's evident that Bohjalian thoroughly researches all his topics before writing on them - the depth of knowledge for each of his books is astonishing - but at times this book was too graphic for me. The details were too gory and disturbing, and sometimes I felt as though he was just restating some of the horr...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 22, 2009 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have loved every book that I've read by Mr Bohjalian & I'm just about to begin page 1 ....
Once again - Chris Bohjalian doesn't disappoint. I wasn't sure that I was going to love this book as it took me out of New England & off to wartime Europe. However, Mr Bohjalian did (once again) give the characters the primary role & the time & place served only as support for the inter-relationships that grip the reader. I found myself riveted by each character in this story. They came in...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 03, 2008 Carol Hunter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book I've read by this author and I love his work. I got very little sleep last night because I had to keep reading. This is a masterfully done work that explores a group of people crossing Germany at the end of WWII and trying to escape the advancing Russian army. They are a Prussian family, a Scottish prisoner of war and a Jew from Germany who has disguised himself as a German soldier. We also follow young Jewish women who are getting moved from their concentration camp on a...more

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 22, 2012 Gaile rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, wwii, emery-s-2012-challenge-gaile-kenne, rhfl-2012-challenge

In this novel, a family of aryans leave their home in what was once Poland and then became German to escape the advancing Russian army. They take with them a POW, a Scottish soldier captured and sent to work on their farm. He and the daughter Anna had fallen in love. On the way they meet a Jewish refugee in disguise. Danger lurks around every corner. They cannot even trust the SS, their own army. They have to leave in winter and sleep in what ever shelter they can find. Danger is not only on the...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 20, 2010 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't think I'd actually read this one once I found out the topic (WWII, Russians, Jews, Nazis). But I'm about 1/3 of the way through and enjoying it very much. I'm a bit surprised at the level of graphics the author goes to in explaining certain things - however, I recognize and appreciate that the graphic parts are truth and as such must be told.

1 like · like · see review

Mar 15, 2009 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was intrugued by his sensitive and captivating story of one family's journy as they attempt to cross from Poland to Germany to reach the British and American lines during World War !.

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 22, 2010 Erika rated it 5 of 5 stars

A German family must flee their home and head west to try to outrun the Russian army. A young French Jewish girl is living through the atrocities of a concentration camp and death marches. This story is told from a variety of viewpoints (Cecile, the French girl; Anna, the German daughter; Theo, the German son; Callum, the Scottish POW; Uri, the vigilante Jew living a double life) which makes for a very interesting story. It is moving, deeply disturbing, and shows the horror of war. Recommended i...more

3 likes · like · see review

Apr 02, 2009 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow, best Bohjalian I have read. In my previous review of his work I said he has a tendency to go on for too long...his books can drag a little at times. Not this book!

The story is set in the waning days of WWII in Germany. The Russians are pouring in from the east; raping, pillaging, and seeking revenge for the many atrocities the German soldiers had been inflicting upon Russian citizens earlier in the war. German citizens are packing whatever they can and fleeing to the west, hoping to surren...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 12, 2009 Audra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 11, 2009 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Chris Bohjalian is a good storyteller - he knows how to draw readers in, keep them interested, and finish a book. So many other authors start out well, but can't seem to find a way to end it.

Skeletons at the Feast is a WWII story of a German farming family (and Scottish POW assigned to work on their farm) who retreat to the west during the collapse of the Third Reich. To save their lives, they have to avoid the advancing Russians and hope for the best from the Allies. They are joined by a German...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 24, 2013 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013march

If I thought Bohjalian's Secrets of Eden was a painful read ... Skeletons at the Feast doesn't even belong in this sentence with it.

Like Eden, Skeletons is brutally unflinching. The difference is, Eden is a small story. It's one family's horrors, though we all know pieces of it play out in the closed doors of our neighborhood, and we'll never know exactly who or where. But Skeletons is huge. It's the same basic structure, with multiple narrators who don't quite fit together telling one story of...more

like · see review

Dec 16, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story begins in Poland at the estate Kaminheim, owned by the Emmerich family. The Russians are advancing and due to the stories being told of their brutality against civilians, most people are fleeing in advance of them. The Emmerichs, consisting of Irmgard and Rolf and three of their children, Anna, Helmut and Theo. They also have with them Callum, a POW from Scotland who was working on their farm and whom Anna is having a secret relationship with. They must cross the frozen Vistula river...more

like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Lorri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, holocaust, inspiration, novels, jewish-history, jewish-fiction

“Skeletons at the Feast“, by Chris Bohjalian is based on a Prussian diary, and is an intense novel, filled with historical fact, within the pages of fiction. It is a poignant, harsh, realistic, descriptive, and an inspirational novel, depicting the last year of World War II, as seen from varying unique perspectives of those who are trying to flee the Germans, and also flee the Russians, and whose lives come to relate on some level. It isn’t your typical World War II novel, strictly filled with a...more
“Skeletons at the Feast“, by Chris Bohjalian is based on a Prussian diary, and is an intense novel, filled with historical fact, within the pages of fiction. It is a poignant, harsh, realistic, descriptive, and an inspirational novel, depicting the last year of World War II, as seen from varying unique perspectives of those who are trying to flee the Germans, and also flee the Russians, and whose lives come to relate on some level. It isn’t your typical World War II novel, strictly filled with atrocities of the Holocaust, but a book that focuses on Jews, on German citizens and Prussian refugees, and how they try to survive before the Russians take over, and how the war affected them.

The characters appear as different as night and day, yet they have the same goal, to escape their current circumstances. We have a German Jew who managed to escape deportation to a concentration camp by throwing himself off of the train that was taking deportees there, and is now disguised as an SS officer; a Prussian aristocratic family who is holding a Scottish Prisoner of War (POW), and two women inside a concentration camp who are witnessing horrific atrocities. The various characters eventually blend together in their transitions and journeys to avoid the Russians and/or Germans, and no matter how minute, they do manage to relate to each other, as each one is a piece of the whole in the weaving of the tapestry.

Anna is one of the main characters, and she falls in love with the Scottish POW. We see how she begins to view things, slowly, in new perspectives, and her image of Hitler changes, and we see how Callum, the Scottish POW views the war from an allied view point, and from that of a POW. Anna’s mother admires Hitler immensely, meanwhile her father and two brothers, are ordered into the German Army. Bohjalian manages to bring insight to mother and daughter, as they begin to grasp the intensity and reality of what is happening, as they cross paths with labor camp victims, as their expectations and visions are diminished with realizations they don’t want to face. There is Uri the Jew, trying to survive within the confines of Nazi Germany, yet he manages to help, and save, some Germans along the way.

Lives intertwine, compassion illuminates within the diversity and confines of war, and some of the characters are left wondering how they believed what they did, how could they not see what was happening, why didn’t they see the realities? So many questions are asked, but there is no clear answer, and they feel the burden of guilt begin to weigh on them. What is right, what is wrong, the lines are blurred.

Denial played a big role during World War II, and many could not fathom and believe all that they were hearing, or they were in denial and didn’t want to comprehend that the Nazis could be committing all of the murders, atrocities and exterminations that the radio news and grapevine stories stated were occurring. Their Germany was civilized and filled with arts and culture, their Germany would never stoop to the tactics they were hearing about. Their Germany was about to fall, and they slowly began to understand the severity of the situation.

I don’t want to go into the depth of the story line , as I feel you need to read “Skeletons at the Feast” for yourself in order to understand the intensity of the situation thrust upon the characters. They were the defeated, the vanquished, striving for survival, unable to handle their circumstance in an organized manner, as they fled westward.

Bohjalian has a deep sense of time and place, and an strong insight into the historical events that took place during World War II. From the atrocities of the Holocaust, to the Russian occupation about to unfold, he brings us a story of people on the edge of life, people fleeing, fleeing in fear, frenzied, in denial, not able to grasp the complexities of their circumstances, people similar to those I read about in Irene Nemirovsky’s masterpiece of a novel, “Suite Francaise“, French people in a panic, not knowing who to trust, where to turn, where to run, how to act, how to flee. Bohjalian manages to encapsulate all of that and so much more into his masterful writing.

Bohjalian has brought us a novel on a grand historical scale, in “Skeletons at the Feast“. He is brilliant with his word visuals, and our senses are heightened throughout each page. The novel is riveting, intriguing, compelling, brutal and harsh, yet there are the moments of love, humanity and inspiration, and the moments of clarity, within the disbelief, for the characters. There were times when certain things were beyond their control, and when survival becomes a prime force in their actions. Some might differ with this opinion, and to be sure, I am certain there are those who will disagree. But, for me, the message was extremely clear, and the metaphor was strong and illuminating…how war affects everyone…no matter who they are…and how man’s humanity and kindness can survive under adverse conditions…through all the horrors set before him…and how humankind can react with acts of kindness purely for the sake of helping another, selflessly, no matter their race or religion, and no matter if they give their life up for another.

Redemption and illumination, love and war, violence and compassion, time and place, are all a part of the epic tapestry. One must read each line carefully, and take in each word with thoughtfulness, pondering the circumstances in the lives before them on the pages, as the war affects everyone involved. Once a person has done that, they will then begin to understand the depths to which Chris Bohjalian has written a magnificent and historical novel, and an extremely incredible and overwhelming story in “Skeletons at the Feast“. His message is timeless, and could apply to certain circumstances occurring in the world, currently.

(less)

like · see review

Sep 02, 2012 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"When this war was over, he and his family--all Germans--were going to have to live with the black mark of this (whatever this was) for a long, long time." Of course 'this' refers to the atrocities perpetrated on the Jews by the Nazis during WWII, and it is a little German boy named Theo who is expressing this thought because he has no idea what his fellow countrymen have been doing to the Jews. What Chris Bohjalian does is tell the story of a German family who, in the waning months of the war i...more

like · see review

Aug 08, 2012 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hadn't read any books by this author, but just saw a new one that was well reviewed that came out, so decided to try one of his earlier (and cheaper) novels. I am always fascinated by World War II and the Holocaust, so this book really grabbed me right from the start. It's always amazing to think of the indignities and pain the Jewish people suffered and that they survived - they fought when they had nothing left to fight for. Simply amazing.

This book chronicles a few separate people's lives b...more

like · see review

May 15, 2012 Stacie Pittard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As someone who has an interest for history, I'm very appreciative of this book. As someone who simply likes reading, I had a great experience reading it. Skeletons at the Feast shows a perspective of World War Two not often considered. It's the perspective of rural Germans, who are both affected by Hitler's nationalist propaganda, yet unaware of just how evil their nation has become. The characters are real, conflicted, and believable. Their situation is a piece of history not often discussed, a...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 03, 2012 Becky Rose rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book. I listened on 10 CD's. Set in winter and spring of 1945, just before the war ends. An aristocratic family in Poland are some of the main characters, who consider themselves Germans need to leave their farm and most of their beloved animals, because the Russians are coming. They join the long line of people doing the same- children, the old, etc. The older son is off fighting and instead of going with his wife, small boy and pretty 18 year old daughter, he and the daughters twi...more I loved this book. I listened on 10 CD's. Set in winter and spring of 1945, just before the war ends. An aristocratic family in Poland are some of the main characters, who consider themselves Germans need to leave their farm and most of their beloved animals, because the Russians are coming. They join the long line of people doing the same- children, the old, etc. The older son is off fighting and instead of going with his wife, small boy and pretty 18 year old daughter, he and the daughters twin brother go to save a bridge. With them is the girls lover, a prisoner of war that is from Scotland who was captured on his first parachute jump. He is spared and sent to the farms to help families. This family hides him and takes him with.

Along the journey they meet a supposed SS officer, who is really a Jew who has survived by jumping off the train on the way to the camps. He mascarades as Russian soldiers, as SS and who ever he kills so he can take their clothes and papers. He becomes a part of the family while skill keeping his secret from them.

Also in the story is a few women in the camps. Stories or survival, of helping one another, of almost giving up, of torture, of long walks while starving, all the while hoping that the Americans, British or Russians will come and save them.

While the family travels from town to deserted towns, they stay with a few families, mostly family who has not left. What is shown through these experiences is the opinions and beliefs of the Germans. Some naive at to why this is happening to them, some who believe that the Jews were just sent somewhere else to live and don't believe the stories about the camps. Others who think the Jews are dumb, others who try and save them. Some who truly believe that German's heads are better shaped of all races making them better. The others are more like monkeys. Some who are stupid enough who think they will not be found or they can walk up to the Russians, shake their hands and because they fought in the first war together all will be well. In the end some Germans realize what their country has done, is ashamed, and does not want to come back and realizes the consequences of what their country has done and how the world will feel about them.

I loved this book because my father fought in WWII. I have been to Berlin and Nuremberg and wish my father was a live to talk to about it, but I buried him 6 days before I got on a plane and headed to Europe. I would also talk to my dad about this book! (less)

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (16)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

1 comment

Genres

Historical Fiction

296 users

History > World War II

72 users

Book Club

49 users

World War II > Holocaust

44 users

War

35 users

Cultural > Germany

32 users

Adult Fiction

17 users

Cultural > Poland

13 users

Adult

10 users

Novels

8 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Anya
by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
My Enemy's Cradle
by Sara Young
The Kommandant's Girl
by Pam Jenoff
Far to Go
by Alison Pick
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
by Louise Murphy

About Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian is the author of sixteen books, including The Light in the Ruins, arriving July 9, 2013 from Doubleday. Set in Florence and rural Tuscany between 1943 and 1955, it began as a re-imaginging of "Romeo and Juliet."

His other books include the New York Times bestsellers, The Sandcastle Girls, The Night Strangers, Secrets of Eden, Skeletons at the Feast, The Double Bind, Before Your Know...more Chris Bohjalian is the author of sixteen books, including The Light in the Ruins, arriving July 9, 2013 from Doubleday. Set in Florence and rural Tuscany between 1943 and 1955, it began as a re-imaginging of "Romeo and Juliet."

His other books include the New York Times bestsellers, The Sandcastle Girls, The Night Strangers, Secrets of Eden, Skeletons at the Feast, The Double Bind, Before Your Know Kindness, and Midwives.

He has called The Sandcastle Girls the most important book he will ever write. Published in July 2012 to great acclaim, this story of the Armenian Genocide debuted at #7 on the New York Times bestseller list, and appeared as well on the Publishers’ Weekly, USA Today, and national Independent Bookstore bestseller lists.

USA Today called it “stirring. . .a deeply moving story of survival and enduring love.” Entertainment Weekly observed, “Bohjalian – the grandson of Armenian survivors – pours passion, pride, and sadness into his tale of ethnic destruction and endurance.” And the Washington Post concluded that the novel was “intense. . .staggering. . .and utterly riveting.” The Sandcastle Girls was also an Oprah.com Book of the Week.

It was also a Washington Post, Library Journal, a Kirkus Reviews, and a BookPage "Best Book" of 2012.

Chris's awards include the ANCA Arts and Letters Award for The Sandcastle Girls, as well as the Saint Mesrob Mashdots Medal; the New England Society Book Award for The Night Strangers; the New England Book Award; a Boston Public Library Literary Light; and the Anahid Literary Award. His novel, Midwives, was a number one New York Times bestseller, a selection of Oprah's Book Club, and a New England Booksellers Association Discovery pick. His earlier novels have been selected as "Best Books of the Year" by the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hartford Courant, Publishers' Weekly, and Salon. His work had been translated into over 25 languages and three times become movies (Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers).

He has written for a wide variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and has been a columnist for Gannett's Burlington Free Press since 1992. Chris graduated from Amherst College, and lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter.

You can learn more about him on the Q and A on www.chrisbohjalian.com, as well as on Facebook . And, if you like, follow him on twitter as well.(less)

More about Chris Bohjalian...

Books by Chris Bohjalian

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Skeletons at the ...

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: Skeletons at the Feast
avg rating	preview: Skeletons at the Feast Goodreads rating: 3.95 (9927 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6218909-skeletons-at-the-feast?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320527499l/6218909.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6218909-skeletons-at-the-feast?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian[/url]

Skeletons at the Feast

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website