Describe Books Concering The Twins
| Original Title: | De tweeling |
| ISBN: | 1569472610 (ISBN13: 9781569472613) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Publieksprijs voor het Nederlandse Boek (1994) |
Tessa de Loo
Paperback | Pages: 356 pages Rating: 3.62 | 4187 Users | 215 Reviews
Specify About Books The Twins
| Title | : | The Twins |
| Author | : | Tessa de Loo |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 356 pages |
| Published | : | July 1st 2003 by Soho Press (first published 1993) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. European Literature. Dutch Literature |
Interpretation Conducive To Books The Twins
Let me simply start off by saying that this is not the only time I will read this book. If I live long enough, this is one of the books I will be reading for a second time. Also, this is not the only book I shall read by this author. After I finish this review, I will order more of her books.I have read many novels about the first and second World Wars, and I have not figured out exactly where I will place this one on that list, but it will be very high up... In that rarefied category with DOS Passos', "Three Soldiers," "All Quiet on the Western Front," "The Naked and the Dead," "A Farewell to Arms," and "The Book Thief."
"The Twins," by Tessa De Loo is told in the third person narrative. It is two separate stories, told by twin sisters... Anna and Lotte... Who are separated at about six years old after their father passes away. Lotte is taken in by relatives that live in Holland, and Anna is taken in by relatives living in Germany. Between the time they are separated, and then meet as old ladies at a spa where the water supposedly has rejuvenated effects, they have only seen each other twice.
It is during their treatments at the spa, that they tell their harrowing but different experiences during World War 2. Anna, a volunteer nurse and Red Cross worker, tells her story through the eyes of a German woman trying to survive, and still support her country and its wounded soldiers. In one horrific scene, she walks into a room of a hospital that has been sealed off and on the floor soldiers are rolling around like beach balls with no limbs.
Lotte spends her time during the war sheltering Jewish families and friends from the SS. She looks upon the German people, even though she herself is German, as though they deserved everything that happened to them. Anna's stories about the devastation of Germany has little effect on her, at least not to the very end.
They both have very tragic stories... Personal stories about loved ones that were killed on the battlefield and gassed to death in the Camps. There are many characters, all that are wonderfully developed. The writing is sublime, and there are passages in this book that remind me of Joseph Conrad and that is the highest praise I could ever bestow on a writer.
This is not a book for the faint of heart. There were times I had to put it down because of the horrific inhumanity being described. Lotte and Anna's experiences during the war are different, but the one thing they share, in my opinion, is their humanity. When giving a chance to help, they reach out and do just that, despite the deadly consequences. According to Dante, doing nothing when you could help gets you a spot right next to Lucifer in hell, whereas helping when it is the most difficult gets you a spot in Paradise.
I want to thank my friend Hans for this wonderful gift. It is a piece of literature I will cherish.
Rating About Books The Twins
Ratings: 3.62 From 4187 Users | 215 ReviewsRate About Books The Twins
Read for an international book club, this novel takes two 6 year olds, separates them with one in Holland and one in Germany, and has them meet at old women recounting their life stories from those perspectives. The hardships of life in general, complicated by the war and the kind of peace they each achieved afterward are described in depth. The book was not well received in Holland when it first came out in the 90's because of the understanding it seeks to portray of an every day German duringA 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
I vacationed in The Netherlands a few years ago. It amazed me how the memories of WWII and the German occupation still hung in the air. We were dining in a restaurant on Liberation Day and the locals actually soluted us. I was astounded. This wonderfully written novel underscores the animosity between the Dutch and the Germans by telling the story of fraternal twins separated at the age of 5. One then grows up in Germany and the other in the Netherlands. They meet nearly 70 years later and relay
The Twins is not an easy book but it is worth persevering with. I wonder if a little is lost from the original Dutch?Anyway the idea of the book is very clever. German twins separated before the war. Anna remains in Germany, marries a soldier and suffers the horrors of war. Lotte in Holland becomes 'Dutch' and sees the evils committed by the Nazis.The sisters meet again in the 1990's and have so much in common except their perceptions of the war. As an English person it was intriguing to view
The blurb made me think of Erich Kaestner's book The Double Lotte (made into the several Parents Trap movies).What would happen to them if they didn't meet till they were old ladies? Tessa de Lootells such story.Belgium, 1991. Lotte is Dutch, staying at a famous Spa.She meets Anna, who is German.They start talking (Lotte knows German) and realize both were born in Cologne, Germany,in 1916.They are...twins,separated in 1922 upon the death of their parents.Anna went to their grandfather and uncle,
I enjoyed this book very much. It was very interesting reading about the different lifestyles of two twin sisters during WWII who were separated at age six. They went to live with relatives - one sister in Germany and the other sister in Holland. I found this book to be a gripping emotional read and I would recommend it for those who are interested in historical fiction.
3.5 stars.There are aspects of this book that were quite wonderful. I found the plot well-conceived, intriguing and complex. The idea of looking at a good person who happens to be a German is an important one because it is easy to think in hindsight that all Germans were bad people. In fact, we often think that all Germans were evil. It is a simplistic idea and this book gave us a reason to think more deeply. How do good people allow an evil man to reign over them? What do we learn from it?Anna
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