The Blindness of the Heart: A Novel (Books That Changed the World)

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Synopsis
The international phenomenon and winner of the German Book Prize. &“A devastating novel about war, love, and the art of survival&” (Marie Claire). Julia Franck&’s unforgettable English-language debut, The Blindness of the Heart is a dark marvel of a novel by one of Europe&’s freshest young voices—a family story spanning two world wars and several generations in a German family. In the devastating opening scene, a woman named Helene stands with her seven-year-old son in a provincial German railway station in 1945 amid the chaos of civilians fleeing west. Having survived with him through the horror and deprivation of the war years, she abandons him on the station platform and never returns. The story quickly circles back to Helene&’s childhood with her sister Martha in rural Germany, which came to an abrupt end with the outbreak of the First World War. Their father is sent to the eastern front, and their Jewish mother withdraws from the hostility of her surroundings into a state of mental confusion. As we follow Helene into adulthood, we watch riveted as the costs of survival and ill-fated love turn her into a woman capable of the unforgiveable. &“Enthralling, richly imagined and remorseless.&” —The New York Times Book Review &“Spellbinding . . . The young woman at the center of Julia Franck&’s acclaimed novel The Blindness of the Heart ranks among the most haunting characters to be found in European fiction about twentieth-century horrors . . . At times, the novel feels more like an eyewitness account than historical fiction.&” —Vogue &“Disturbing, original, and brilliant.&” —Guardian (Best Books of 2009)
Copyright:
2007

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
433 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780802196217
Publisher:
Grove Atlantic
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Literature and Fiction, Parenting and Family
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.
Translator:
Anthea Bell

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