Have you ever read a book that you weren’t sure you could finish
Have you ever read a book that you weren’t sure you could finish – not because it 
wasn’t good, but because some of the things happening were just too horrible to dwell on? When I was reading A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, I would have to put it down from time to time so I could think happy thoughts for awhile. The author made you care deeply for the characters, and then terrible things would happen to them … And yet, this is one of the best books I have ever read, and I recommend it highly.
There are many novels which are hard to read, but when you persevere, you’re glad you did, because they teach you something about life, and often, another part of the world, or an earlier time in history. I recently read such a book: Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada. It’s set during the Second World War in Germany, and it deals with the lives of ordinary Germans. The author himself was German and wrote it barely one year after the end of the war, so it has a sense of immediacy, combined with great detail. The fear of the people is palpable.
Although there are a number of characters, the story centres on a foreman who is apolitical and unsociable. But after his son is killed at the Front, he decides to protest the policies of the Third Reich. His plan is to write anonymous postcards which will rally the citizenry to revolution … you can imagine how well that turns out!
In the end, we have a real feel for what life was like in 1940-44 Germany. We witness acts of pettiness and acts of courage. The foreman becomes an inspiration to us all.
Other good “Hard Times” novels:
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