Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointed. Am I missing something here?
Review: This book was nothing like I expected. I have read numerous books on the Holocaust, all written by survivors, and this one has been the biggest disappointment. An earlier review of this book, written by a friend of the author, said the English translation of the book is very poor and not up to the standards of the nobel prize. After reading this, I have to agree. I have not read the Hungarian version as I don't speak it so I have nothing to compare this version too, but definitely don't understand why this book won anything.
The back sleeve of the book says "Upon his return to his native Budapest, still clad in his prison strip clothes, Fourteeen-year-old George Koves senses the indifference, even the hostility of people on the street." So here I am thinking a good portion of the book is dealing with society once he got out of the camp. Wrong. There are only 15 pages left in the book from the time he leaves the camp, to the time he makes it home. The book is not that long only 191 pages. The back sleeve also mentions a journalist, which again this journalist is only 2 or 3 pages of the book, at the end.
George is a complete loner. He has almost no communication with anybody, on the way into the camp or in it. All he does is observe, analyze. Its almost irritating reading how he takes up a page to describe someones face, or nose. He actually acts like he likes the camps, at one point calling Beuchenwald "beautiful." Instead of telling the reader about his daily life in the camp or his experiences, all he does is analyze people. A good portion of the book he's ill and in the camp infirmary, which leaves more unanswered questions. Why was he kept alive so long when he was injured and unable to work, when most of the time the nazi's just exterminated the sick and weak.
He never mentions his family once from the time hes in the camp, until he finally looks for them in the very end again showing no emotion whatsoever. It seems he could care less what happened to them.
I have to wonder as well why George made so many flattering comments about men in this book. In one part he writes about a man he saw come in the infirmary "Underneath his hair is soft, chestnut colored fell around his neck and ears. His longish but oval face was average-looking and very pleasant;his pink skin and the expression on his rather large, soft lips were very appealing. In other words, he was beautiful, and I certainly would have feasted my eyes on him for a long time if he had no immediately looked for the Doctor, who in turn, pointed me out to him." Okay. Is this guy supposed to be wearing a yellow star for being jewish, or should it have been pink? Also he contradicts himself several times. For instance, saying he dislikes Hungarians, even though he is one?
All this book is though is descriptions. You get no exciting or heroic stories on daily camp life. Its George talking about people's faces and hair,the camp grounds, hardly any interaction with anyone. No helping anyone out.In fact he takes a sick persons food in the infirmary, and this person later dies. He sure is quick to take any handouts given to him though.
Again very disappointed. I kept putting this book down and needed alot of ambition to pick it up and start reading it again. I only finished the book because no matter how bad a book or movie is, I always finish it. 1 out of 5 stars. This book lacks heart and soul. Its dead on arrival.
Rating: 
Summary: Understanding
Review: This book, although morbid (let's face it, it's about the Holocaust) is spellbinding. The perspective and the conclusions drawn regarding the Holocaust are unexpected and profound. A short, beautiful read.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-Provoking
Review: This book, although morbid (let's face it, it's about the Holocaust) is spellbinding. The perspective and the conclusions drawn regarding the Holocaust are unexpected and profound. A short, beautiful read.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: This is a fascinating book. So many interesting aspects to the story that it's difficult to describe. Probably too difficult for most teenage readers, although on one level the narrative is reminiscent of Holden Caulfield. I must admit that for some reason, until about 3/4 of the way through the book, I kept wondering what was so special about it. Somewhere around the point where he is put in an infirmary in Buchenwald I realized it was more than "just another holocaust memoir." By the time I had finished the book, I understood why the author had won the Nobel prize for literature, even if I don't really understand the narrator's point-of-view. But it's something I will think about for a long time, and probably bring me back to read the book again.
Rating:
Summary: superb
Review: This is an austere but brilliant semi-autobiographical account of a year's time spent in German concentration camps by a 15 year old Hungarian youth. It is essentially an existentialist novel, somewhat reminiscent of Camus' The Stranger and The Plague. I have seen complaints about the quality of the translation, but unless one is familiar with the Hungarian original these seem beside the point.
Rating:
Summary: Unique view of the Holocaust
Review: This is the most shocking book about the Holocaust I know. What makes the book so unique is the narrator, a 15-year-old Hungarian Jew whose language reminded me of Salinger in the beginning. The perspective of this naive boy allows Kertesz to describe the narrator's and his father's deportation without any idea of what's going to happen next. - Kertesz experienced much of this in his own life, and yet he had enormous trouble getting the book published. It was regarded as a scandal that the hero says that even in the concentration camps he experienced moments of happiness. This does not mean, however, that Kertesz makes it appear to be fairly harmless in the manner of "Life is Beautiful". No, his perspective, which is free from any hindsight makes us see the Shoa in all its horror for the first time.
Rating:
Summary: Great in spite of the translation
Review: This translation is unquestionably rough in spots and it can be distracting, but the book still flows well and is easy to get into. All I've learned about the concentration camps has focused on the horrors without really looking at *life* there from the eyes of someone experiencing it. It was a revelation to me to read about the intimate details of day to day life in the various types of camps, and to read the character's thoughts about what made it tolerable. It says some very interesting things about the nature of imprisonment and suffering. Truly a great book!
Rating:
Summary: A different perspective
Review: This year's Nobel prize winner Imre Kertesz's book about the Holocaust is one of the most powerful and touching books ever writen about this theme. Kertesz was a surprise Nobel-prize winner but after reading this book you'll probably see it was a well-earned prize for a very talented and gifted writer. At the time the story is going on, it is 1944 and a Jewish boy is departed to a Nazi concentration camp along with his father. The book gives a different perspective of the horror, because it is written in an "I" form. As a reviewer mentioned before, this is not a "Life Is Beautiful" story. This is a "Life Is Horrible" story and it is a shocking experience you will never forget. Though the book is not about the writer himself, Kertesz experienced much of the story. The book is never boring and makes you going on with the things to come - most of them unexpected and even more horrible than the ones before. Imre Kertesz survived this mayhem and he is the living proof of fate, even though this book's title is Fateless. It could only be fate that saved him and the survivors of the darkest times of the 20th century. The only shame: he is not well known in his home country. Many Hungarian writers say: Hungary is a "language island" with a language barrier that can't be put down. I hope Kertesz's success shows every writer in the world that language can't be a barrier. Good stories make a writer. And if they're true - as this is case with Fateless - they can make very good writers. I recommend this book everyone with a heart and soul.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful writing, and a good translation
Review: Two thoughts presented in this exceptional book will stay with me for quite some time. The first is Kertesz's reflection that the first day of any horrific ordeal like a concentration camp remains more vivid in the memory than subsequent days, even though the subsequent days are more recent. The second is that at the end of such an ordeal, one cannot simply start a new life. The experiences will have shaped who you are, and the memories will always stay with you. Both points strike me as profound, absolute truths. I am ashamed to admit that I had not heard of Imre Kertesz prior to his receiving the Nobel Prize several months ago. It is a shame that he is not better known in the U.S. Hopefully the Prize will bring with it the recognition that he deserves. One thing that struck me from the outset about this book is that it is not as horrific as one might expect a book about concentration camps to be. At the same time, though, it feels genuine. Kertesz himself was a survivor of a concentration camp, so we should expect nothing less. The fact that Kertesz presents a balanced picture of this life - yes, there are even some moments of humor and beauty in a concentration camp - makes it seem that much more real. I was especially moved by his insistence that often the primary emotion is not fear, but boredom. Kertesz's prose is graceful and powerful throughout. He paints a vivid picture of the confusion and bewilderment that the prisoners initially feel. Many of the characters in the camps are nameless, a powerful testament to the countless anonymous victims of this tragedy.
Lastly, a note to readers who may have been discouraged by comments about the translation. Granted, one can't know how faithful it is to the original without reading it in Hungarian first. However, I can say that the book reads quickly and easily in English. I never felt myself struggling with awkard prose, so in that sense the translation is quite good.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest book ever!
Review: Well, I read it in Korean. It was a great translation, and honestly, I could not stand any Holocaust- realted books before, because everything about it was killing, losing hope about yourself, and giving up things. But this book taught that there still is a happiness inside the death camp, even the small things. I am not that old to fully understand it, but the Korean translation was a great one. I felt how the author, or the narrator felt in those situations. I am one of a big fan of this book.
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