Home :: Books :: Gay & Lesbian  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian

Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943

Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $10.17
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a good read
Review: a very interesting story, and one that isn't told often. i picked the book up without seeing any reviews, and i'm glad i took the chance. the historical context which whese women lived puts their relationship into another deminison. following the different relationships does get a little confusing at times (the key helps) but besides that, i loved the different insight/rememberence of the women who are remembering the same events from their own viewpoints. the lesbian relationships and their political activism were wonderful, leaving me wanting more.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Moving, yet exasperating
Review: Before the praise, the criticism. As someone who is perhaps overly fond of straightforward chronological narrative, I was quite frustrated with Fischer's inconsistencies. The story of Felice and Lily is told beautifully; I can only wish that she had invested an equal effort in constructing an intelligible parallel account of the destruction of the Jews. Some of the grand emotion of the story was spoilt for me by Fischer's inability to better integrate Nazi history into the text.

That said, it is a captivating, moving, heart-rending story that is a welcome addition to the still-growing number of Shoah narratives.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Moving, yet exasperating
Review: Before the praise, the criticism. As someone who is perhaps overly fond of straightforward chronological narrative, I was quite frustrated with Fischer's inconsistencies. The story of Felice and Lily is told beautifully; I can only wish that she had invested an equal effort in constructing an intelligible parallel account of the destruction of the Jews. Some of the grand emotion of the story was spoilt for me by Fischer's inability to better integrate Nazi history into the text.

That said, it is a captivating, moving, heart-rending story that is a welcome addition to the still-growing number of Shoah narratives.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A facsinating book about that time
Review: I am responding to previous reviews - I do not think this book is about romance, and I did not feel lack of personal "data".
This is an incredible documentry book that document a time (1943) and place (Berlin). Yes, it is about love story. More so, it is about the human tendency to except the current situation and ignore warning bells, the systematic Nazi optression etc.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: -
Review: I basically read through this book in one sitting - it is emotionally gripping and interesting from a historical standpoint as well. Though I am left with a few unanswered questions and am frustrated at certain blanks in the narrative, the sincerity of the story makes up for this (if the exact chronology were easier to follow, I would have given the book five stars). The format of the book also works well; the mix of diary entries, historical back-ground, poems, letters, and personal testimonies permits the reader to piece together herself the many elements of this touching story. Not only is _Aimee & Jaguar_ difficult to put down, it is also difficult to leave down: there is a strong temptation to pick up the story of Lilly and Felice again and re-read the lines of discovery, love, and loss.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: worth the money
Review: I bought this after seeing the film. I think the book does fill in a lot of the gaps that the film might leave a subtitle-reader such as myself.
I loved that there are actual photos inside the book. Well researched.
I don't share the shock of some of the previous reviewers about the epilogue written by the author. The author is a German Jew and is upset. Who wouldn't be?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: not what I anticipated, still worth the time
Review: I came to the book after seeing the film a few times since it's release. Erica Fischer is not a lesbian and indeed her angle on the book is more historical. There is a distance the author keeps in reporting their feelings for one another. I got the feeling from reading the book that to focus more on the passion would perhaps trivialize the plight of Jews for Erica Fischer. The letters and quotes held great interest for me. And after adjusting to the fact that the narrative would feel a little cold and dry, I also found the backround information quite interesting. I did feel that there was a lack of objectivity on the authors part. But then we all have our particular perspective through which we see the world. Hers is as a Berlin heterosexual Jew. If you are a lesbian who has assumed the author is a lesbian and came to the book looking for a full bodied love story, there is an adjustment to make. You might want to skip the epilouge or at least brace yourself. This is the part of the book that I felt was inappropriate. Erica Fischer told me that more information has come forward since this English translation, and can be found in the later German version. This information helps further explain some of the obvious distaste she still holds for Lili. All said, this is a thought provoking book, though not a scintillating love story. I am thankful to the author for the enormous amount of research that went into this book and do recommend it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Sorely disappointing....
Review: I had heard a lot about this book on various lesbian websites, about how wonderful and affirming it was. Needless to say I was excited when my girlfriend gave me the book for my birthday. My excitement didn't last through the first twenty pages, however.

Someone else already stated earlier the problems I had with this book: poorly organized writing, too much emphasis on dates and names that aren't important to the story. The author paints the main lesbian characters in the book as sex-crazed women who are merely lesbians because they've been burned by men. She seems to think that a few paragraphs of a graphic sex scene between Aimee and Jaguar is enough to make us swoon at their apparent "love" for each other. I didn't swoon, I rolled my eyes. I am sure Ms. Fischer is a wonderful author, but I don't think this story is one suited for her. She breaks what I think is a cardinal rule of writing someone's biography: stay objective. It was obvious as I reached the end of the book - after some struggle - that Ms. Fischer thinks of Lilly's Jewish lover as a saint, while Lilly is portrayed as a spoiled little rich Nazi. Ms. Fischer's disdain for Lilly Wust is evident throughout the book, and she even goes so far as to say she doesn't believe that Lilly and her lover would have stayed together! She also states that she has much more sympathy for Lilly's lover than for Lilly herself. I would have thought that subjectivity had no place in Aimee & Jaguar. All in all, despite my respect for Ms. Fischer at attempting to tackle such a deep issue, this book was a profound disappointment. What should have been "A Love Story" instead comes off as a boring history lesson, and a platform for the author's grievances against the Nazis.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Sorely disappointing....
Review: I had heard a lot about this book on various lesbian websites, about how wonderful and affirming it was. Needless to say I was excited when my girlfriend gave me the book for my birthday. My excitement didn't last through the first twenty pages, however.

Someone else already stated earlier the problems I had with this book: poorly organized writing, too much emphasis on dates and names that aren't important to the story. The author paints the main lesbian characters in the book as sex-crazed women who are merely lesbians because they've been burned by men. She seems to think that a few paragraphs of a graphic sex scene between Aimee and Jaguar is enough to make us swoon at their apparent "love" for each other. I didn't swoon, I rolled my eyes. I am sure Ms. Fischer is a wonderful author, but I don't think this story is one suited for her. She breaks what I think is a cardinal rule of writing someone's biography: stay objective. It was obvious as I reached the end of the book - after some struggle - that Ms. Fischer thinks of Lilly's Jewish lover as a saint, while Lilly is portrayed as a spoiled little rich Nazi. Ms. Fischer's disdain for Lilly Wust is evident throughout the book, and she even goes so far as to say she doesn't believe that Lilly and her lover would have stayed together! She also states that she has much more sympathy for Lilly's lover than for Lilly herself. I would have thought that subjectivity had no place in Aimee & Jaguar. All in all, despite my respect for Ms. Fischer at attempting to tackle such a deep issue, this book was a profound disappointment. What should have been "A Love Story" instead comes off as a boring history lesson, and a platform for the author's grievances against the Nazis.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Emotional love story during a horrible time in history
Review: I just finished Aimee and Jaguar. What an incredibly written book. Ms Fischer did a beautiful job of tracing back to the meeting between Lilly and 'Lice as well as, the stress of the Nazi Germany. Not only was this an excellent love story but also a great biography....I thank Ms. Fischer for giving me a little piece of these two womens love story and lives.


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates