Book Review: All That I Am by Anna Funder

About:
All That I Am by Anna Funder is an award winning novel by this Australian author. The book won the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award, Australia’s most prestigious literary award.

• 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062077570

The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post.

 

 

 

 

My rat­ing for  All That I Am — 4

Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format*

More Recommended World War II books on Man of la BookStore

Thoughts:
All That I Am by Anna Funder (website | Facebook) is a very good book, well written and interesting. That being said, it took me a while to get into it and, for me, a bit confusing and distracting.

However, this is a profound book which I found that I liked a lot more after I finished. The story slaps the reader in the face, making them come to terms with the human condition of the past. The political turmoil described in the book is merely a backdrop to the people who are caught up in it, screaming and warning with no one to hear except the astute reader who knows how events will eventually unfold.

The story is that of playwright Ernst Toller, his lover Dora and their friend Ruth, trying to flee their own country while being caught up in a personal struggle which tests their political beliefs.  An interesting aspect of the book was the espionage story which is told from the viewpoint of those being spied upon. The feelings of claustrophobia, mistrust and paranoia are all over the book.

My biggest complaint about the book would be a silly one but still…here it goes.
The cover for this edition sucks. I don’t normally say that, but this is a very good book and the cover totally misrepresents what’s inside. It is not a love story which is what the cover implies. Frankly, if I was in a book store I wouldn’t even have picked this book off the shelf. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but we all know that’s bull.

Even though I had to get used to skipping from one era to the other, from location to another, and back again the book is worth reading and interesting. The personalities involved are unique and sad, but the tale is full of deception, emotions and will give you a lot of fodder to think about.

Related Reading:
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

Synopsis:
Jewish playwright Ernst Toller, his lover Dora and their friend Ruth suddenly become criminals when Hitler comes to power. The friends try to warn the world of the Nazis, only to find that many of those in power do not believe them and that they are not safe even in England.

Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format*

More Recommended World War II books on Man of la BookStore

Give­away

• Give­away ends: February 14, 2013

• US/Canada Ship­ping Addresses Only

• No PO Boxes

• Win­ners will have 24 hours to write back with their address, oth­er­wise an alter­nate win­ner will be picked

Congratulations: singitm@

TLC Book Tour for All That I Am by Anna Funder :

• Wednesday, January 23rd: No More Grumpy Bookseller
• Thursday, January 24th: Walking With Nora
• Friday, January 25th: Lisa’s Yarns
• Friday, January 25th: Kristen’s Book Nook
• Monday, January 28th: Peppermint Ph.D.
• Tuesday, January 29th: Savvy Verse & Wit
• Wednesday, January 30th: From L.A. to LA
• Thursday, January 31st: Reflections of a Bookaholic
• Thursday, February 7th: Man of La Book
• Monday, February 11th: nomadreader
• Wednesday, February 13th: 5 Minutes For Books

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free from TLC Book Tours.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account