Skeletons at the Feast, Chris Bohjalian
Skeletons at the Feast, Chris Bohjalian
6 Rating(s)
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
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Skeletons at the Feast

Author: Chris Bohjalian

Narrator: Mark Bramhall

Unabridged: 12 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/06/2008


Synopsis

In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines.

Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family’s farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred—who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz.

As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–assuming any of them even survive.

Perhaps not since The English Patient has a novel so deftly captured both the power and poignancy of romance and the terror and tragedy of war. Skillfully portraying the flesh and blood of history, Chris Bohjalian has crafted a rich tapestry that puts a face on one of the twentieth century’s greatest tragedies–while creating, perhaps, a masterpiece that will haunt readers for generations.

About The Author

Chris Bohjalian is the critically acclaimed author of eleven novels, including Midwives (a Publishers Weekly Best Book and an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Before You Know Kindness, and his most recent New York Times bestseller, The Double Bind. His work has been translated into nineteen languages and published in twenty-two countries. He lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter. Visit the author at www.chrisbohjalian.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Karen on January 22, 2015

5 SOLID [image error] Exceptional. This book has left me kind of speechless. I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out how to review it. It is a book I will never forget. It will be right up there with my favorite books EVER. It is very sad. It is horrifying at times. But in the end, it left me w......more

Goodreads review by Tammy on August 30, 2018

5 ☆ A bittersweet story not just about love, this story is so MUCH more than that.. “I thought we were all going to die” You and all the other prisoners? “No. The Jews. All of us. I tried to keep my hopes up but these last weeks.. it was gone all gone. I thought they were going to exterminate us all.” T......more

Goodreads review by Crystal on November 02, 2021

Skeletons at the Feast was my second Chris Bohjalian novel. I enjoyed it far more than I did The Night Strangers, which was the first book I read written by him. The novel was one of the four group reads voted in for the month of April in my book club. Yes, I know, I'm a little ahead of the game, bu......more

Goodreads review by Lucy on December 24, 2008

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 nove......more


Quotes

“A tightly woven, moving story for anyone who thinks there's nothing left to learn, or feel, about the Second World War.”The Los Angeles Times

“Harrowing.”The Washington Post Book World

“Bohjalian has given us an important addition to the story of World War II, and, not at all incidentally, may expand the vision of those who may have avoided 'Holocaust literature' in the past.”The Boston Globe

“The perfect novel for a book club . . . this book sucked me right in. It’s vivid and heart-wrenching.”—The Today Show

“Right and wrong shift depending on the situation. Ignorance is tolerated and murder is justified. ”—USA Today

“Rich in character and gorgeous writing.”—Jodi Picoult, Real Simple

“This story mixes the nail-biting brutality of The Kite Runner with the emotional intimacy of Anne Frank's diary.”Austin American-Statesman

“Immensely readable . . . Bohjalian takes a fresh perspective and details the brutal realities of World War II in a novel that for once does not focus entirely on the Allies. Recommended for fiction collections.”Library Journal

“Careful research and an unflinching eye . . . Bohjalian's well-chosen descriptions capture the anguish of a tragic era and the dehumanizing desolation wrought by war.”Publishers Weekly

“Bohjalian is especially good at conveying the surreal 'beauty,' the misshapen lyricism, of the war-torn landscape: 'Even the stone church had collapsed upon itself . . . the once imposing pipes of the organ reshaped by heat and flame into giant copper-colored mushrooms.' From harrowing to inspiring.”Kirkus Reviews

“A compelling read with its mix of history, romance and portrayals of strength in the midst of severe adversity: War really is hell, the book says, but the human spirit is ultimately salvageable.”Bookpage