Customer Reviews

Eve's Tattoo

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

but a decent book nevertheless, Eve's Tattoo is more about it's heroines journey through middle-age crisis and less about the Holocaust. Yes, Eva indeed gets a tattoo of the number of the woman from her photograph which reminds her of herself, and yes, she does tell interesting 'tailored to suit stories' to everyone that asks her about it (which is not uninteresting) but on the whole the book mostly deals with Eva's life - her tattoo is a way to show herself that she has some meaning.

I got this book because it was on sale - and I was in army and had nothing better to do. I can say it didn't disappoint me. It's moderately interesting and somewhat even intriguing read - but don't expect it to be life-changing. I'd say borrow it from a library instead.

In today's news, 25% of Germans felt that Nazi rule was not all bad citing the Nazi "high regard for the mother." If not for this book which I agree was not fun to read, I would not have the "trivia" of what it meant to be a German woman in Nazi Germany permanently embedded in my brain. Thanks a lot, Emily Prager. The Nazis turned their aryan women into baby machines compromising the health of women and shortening their life spans all in the name of patriotism. Do you think it was only scary for Jews under Nazi rule? This book tells in a roundabout way how Nazis were/are also the enemy of women.

Prager's novel does suffer at times - there are two or three scenes that don't seem to quite make sense. The character relationships are not as well-developed as they could be. However, it was interesting for me because it explored the female side of the Holocaust: how could Christian women continue to be involved? Eve's motivation - keeping the memory of the victims of the Holocaust alive - is admirable as she forces friends and strangers to remember that no one was safe. The stories that Eve produces, allegedly concocted from her research, are intimate and tailored to her audience. The best scene in the novel to me was when Eve encounters a male Holocaust survivor. Prager's books are hard to find, so good luck at your local used bookstore or library.

This is an incredible book. It is thoughtful, haunting, and tells the story of an uncompromising heroine

Loved the book. Had a lot of history regarding women in the during the early years of the Third Reich that I wasn't aware of. Worth reading.

When I first heard the premise of this book, I had my doubts about it. But I found it to have a lot of depth and historical interest. Very well written, and really made me think about my own life, history, and (lack of) generosity to and empathy for others and their varied situations.

I came across this book whilst doing an American Literature course in my English University. I am a self professed literary snob but will read anything that is offered to me, note recent delves into Snagged by Mary Higgins Clark and Lost by Gregory Maguire. I love literature in all its shapes and forms, the printed word is a beautiful thing. Having said that this book is not merely an affront to anyone remotely connected to any war or human induced suffering, but is an affront to language itself. Prager's self obssesed heroine and the author's inate ability to make mountains out of molehills and vice versa combine in a glorification of self indulgence and narcissism. It is not an intriguing study of a mid life crisis as is claimed. As a fan of Bridget Jones, Little Nell and Bartleby I hate this book.

From the very beginning, the premise of Eve's Tattoo is an affront to those who suffered in the Holocaust. The protagonist is a vapid, self-indulgent woman experiencing a mid-life crisis. By getting a tattoo of a Holocaust victim she has seen in a photo, she creates a counterpart about whom she can weave tales of what the Nazis did. She can go into a discotheque and point out to her "victim" the tattoos painted on the young musicians. This is not what the Holocaust is about. The way that this character embellishes her tales to indulge herself is a trivialization of the true catastrophe. This novel feeds into the deceit of Holocaust deniers and revisionists because the protagonist creates victims' stories for her own egocentric purposes. A reader can get no insight into the true nature of Nazi evil by reading this book. It is an exploitation of the topic and has no redeeming value. Actually, I would use it as an example of how the Holocaust is diminished by bad pop-art.