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Cindy Knoke's Reviews > HHhH
HHhH
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I am addicted to reading about the history of WWII and I really wanted to like this book.
Binet's book however frustrated me. The constant insertion of the author into the text and his continuous use of the word "I" was incredibly distracting. Who was this book about precisely, the author or Heydrich? The purported topic, Heydrich was interesting, the author's pathos? Not so much.
His short chapter format consisting of 257 chapters, some of which were only a few sentences long, resulted in a choppy, stilted flow.
His constant debunking of historical novels, and their fictionalized aspects, gets a bit tired, but I found his statement that, "I am struck all the same by the fact that, in every case, fiction wins out over history," provocative. But I also was then, confused by his many discussions of Hollywood movies about the era and his continuous insertion of fictionalized vignettes that he explained were to serve as examples of how he wasn't fictionalizing. One senses he is really fascinated with historical fictionalized accounts but thinks he is doing something far superior. I think he may not have achieved this goal.
He is an interesting, intelligent man, and this should have been a better book.
If you want a recommendation for a riveting read on the era, try, "Endgame, 1945: The Missing Final Chapter of World War II," by David Stafford.
Binet's book however frustrated me. The constant insertion of the author into the text and his continuous use of the word "I" was incredibly distracting. Who was this book about precisely, the author or Heydrich? The purported topic, Heydrich was interesting, the author's pathos? Not so much.
His short chapter format consisting of 257 chapters, some of which were only a few sentences long, resulted in a choppy, stilted flow.
His constant debunking of historical novels, and their fictionalized aspects, gets a bit tired, but I found his statement that, "I am struck all the same by the fact that, in every case, fiction wins out over history," provocative. But I also was then, confused by his many discussions of Hollywood movies about the era and his continuous insertion of fictionalized vignettes that he explained were to serve as examples of how he wasn't fictionalizing. One senses he is really fascinated with historical fictionalized accounts but thinks he is doing something far superior. I think he may not have achieved this goal.
He is an interesting, intelligent man, and this should have been a better book.
If you want a recommendation for a riveting read on the era, try, "Endgame, 1945: The Missing Final Chapter of World War II," by David Stafford.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
July 3, 2012
– Shelved
July 3, 2012
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Finished Reading
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Nancy
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rated it 3 stars
Nov 03, 2012 12:29PM
Ditto.
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Glad to hear this echoed! Thanks.
Twenty pages into the book, I was thinking, "I wished the author would just shut up and tell the story already."
Hilarious & EXACTLY how I felt. Too much of HIS ego! Thank you for the validation.
I couldn't finish this book. I kept forcing myself to return to it, but continued to be frustrated by the author's enduring efforts to make this a novel about himself.The comments you make above are right on the money.
Very disappointed.
Mongoose wrote: "I couldn't finish this book. I kept forcing myself to return to it, but continued to be frustrated by the author's enduring efforts to make this a novel about himself.The comments you make above a..."
Thank you for the validation!
I have just finished reading HHhH and was about to write a review but didn't need to after I read Cindy's, I agree 100 per cent with everything she wrote
Very appreciate of your concurrance Ray. Thank you~
I did not care for this book at all. It would have been great if, if he had just told the story. It annoyed the heck out of me to read a great chapter and then the next chapter states he made it all up. Just tell the story and in an epilogue, tell us how much it meant to you.
Wow! I had this one on my (paper) "to read" list. After reading your review, and the comments by others, I think I'll skip it!
Cheryl wrote: "Wow! I had this one on my (paper) "to read" list. After reading your review, and the comments by others, I think I'll skip it!"Why don't you see if Amazon has a "read a section: function to see how his writing style works for you?
totally, there is this one sentence where he says 'if i were an egocentric writer' and all i could think was: but you are, bastard
This is metaliterature and not just a book of history. It's a pity that you miss the point along the reading.
Nic wrote: "Spot on Cindy"Thank you and I appreciate the validation! Cheers~
Veerle wrote: "totally, there is this one sentence where he says 'if i were an egocentric writer' and all i could think was: but you are, bastard"Exactly! Thank you~
Hey, I totally agree with you. I only managed to read about 30-40 pages before deciding enough is enough. The amount of "I"s in this book is insane and it is not at all what I expected. What a bad surprise. I kept the bookmark in for a couple of months but only thinking about starting it again, made me feel like I had homework to do and books you bought for fun should never feel like homework.
We are in complete accord!
It's not a new form of novel-writing, as it was exaggeratedly heralded to be. And it is very tedious at times. It is actually like watching a DVD, and listening to a 2nd audio track as the director explains his narrative decisions....
If you thought this book was about Heydrich, I'm afraid, you missed the entire point. The book is about the writing of history, and authorial intent. The story of Heydrich is the means, not the end.
Veerle wrote: "totally, there is this one sentence where he says 'if i were an egocentric writer' and all i could think was: but you are, bastard"Exactly!
Veerle wrote: "totally, there is this one sentence where he says 'if i were an egocentric writer' and all i could think was: but you are, bastard"Exactly!
Mike wrote: "It's not a new form of novel-writing as it was exaggeratedly promised to be. And it is very tedious at times. It is actually like watching a DVD and listening to a 2nd audio track on as the directo..."I love your analogy and agree with it.
I started reading this book more than a year ago. I never finished it. The author's constant, distracting digressions about himself are just too tiring if not to say annoying. Frustration lead me here, determined to warn others not to waste their time on this book... Then I read your review, and I couldn't agree more!
Cindy wrote: "Mike wrote: "It's not a new form of novel-writing as it was exaggeratedly promised to be. And it is very tedious at times. It is actually like watching a DVD and listening to a 2nd audio track on a..."Glad you do & thank you!
