An ambitious failure., 25 May 2001
Hugely ambitious, poorly proof-read, full of irritating missed errors. Sometimes the attempts to out-tolstoi Tolstoi work, and there are even moments when a Lawrentian insight into thoughts and motives are quite compelling. But what happened to the British army, who apparently had no part in the war against Hitler? What happened to the Jews? did none of Thakara's characters ever meet a Jew who really made them think about what was happening? And the most disappointing part of the book is that after the war, some of which is brilliantly described, the book falls apart completely. I did, though, want to stay with the book the whole way - apart from the very flat last twenty pages or so. I'm glad to have read it, but grieved at the lost opportunities and the ultimate failure to create living, breathing people who interact with each other rather than being posturing mouthpieces.

An ambitious failure., 25 May 2001
Hugely ambitious, poorly proof-read, full of irritating missed errors. Sometimes the attempts to out-tolstoi Tolstoi work, and there are even moments when a Lawrentian insight into thoughts and motives are quite compelling. But what happened to the British army, who apparently had no part in the war against Hitler? What happened to the Jews? did none of Thakara's characters ever meet a Jew who really made them think about what was happening? And the most disappointing part of the book is that after the war, some of which is brilliantly described, the book falls apart completely. I did, though, want to stay with the book the whole way - apart from the very flat last twenty pages or so. I'm glad to have read it, but grieved at the lost opportunities and the ultimate failure to create living, breathing people who interact with each other rather than being posturing mouthpieces.

A powerful, beautiful work., 01 Mar 2002
I read this novel many months ago, and images from it still surface in my thoughts. Each character's story is completely engaging, and in interweaving their experiences, Thackara creates a brilliant & unique telling of the story of WWII. I'm a woman in my 20's and I've recommended it to my friends, to my parents and their friends, and to my grandparents and their friends. A gorgeous book.

Excellent book, but requires plenty of patience., 27 Jan 2002
The storyline is a little slow at first, and sometimes quite hard to follow, but once into the action I was not disappointed. The Book of Kings gives the reader a very accurate picture of what life was like for all cultures living in Europe during the Second World War. I am not really a war novel fan but I enjoyed the book's historical aspect and the continually twisting storyline.
I would recommend the Book of Kings to anyone who enjoys a challenging read but doesn't necessarily enjoy war novels.

Boring, 19 Jul 1999
I spent $25.00 on a book whose author is not only impressed with his own intelligence, but who cannot even make it interesting. Big in scope, and at times, very well written, it is very hard to wade through a story where the reader is supposed to understand French, know the city of Paris as if they had been there numerous times, and try and understand page after page just what the author is actually trying to say by speaking through boring and troubled characters. A big waste of money and an even bigger waste of time.

OK, 15 Jul 1999
There are a lot of words to wade through here, THE BOOK OF KINGS is 800 pages. I prefer hard-hitting, intense, fast-paced war novels like THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY or THE KILLER ANGELS to stuff like this. But if you have the time and patience to stick with The Book of Kings it does have many fine moments.

An ambitious failure., 25 May 2001
Hugely ambitious, poorly proof-read, full of irritating missed errors. Sometimes the attempts to out-tolstoi Tolstoi work, and there are even moments when a Lawrentian insight into thoughts and motives are quite compelling. But what happened to the British army, who apparently had no part in the war against Hitler? What happened to the Jews? did none of Thakara's characters ever meet a Jew who really made them think about what was happening? And the most disappointing part of the book is that after the war, some of which is brilliantly described, the book falls apart completely. I did, though, want to stay with the book the whole way - apart from the very flat last twenty pages or so. I'm glad to have read it, but grieved at the lost opportunities and the ultimate failure to create living, breathing people who interact with each other rather than being posturing mouthpieces.

A powerful, beautiful work., 01 Mar 2002
I read this novel many months ago, and images from it still surface in my thoughts. Each character's story is completely engaging, and in interweaving their experiences, Thackara creates a brilliant & unique telling of the story of WWII. I'm a woman in my 20's and I've recommended it to my friends, to my parents and their friends, and to my grandparents and their friends. A gorgeous book.

Excellent book, but requires plenty of patience., 27 Jan 2002
The storyline is a little slow at first, and sometimes quite hard to follow, but once into the action I was not disappointed. The Book of Kings gives the reader a very accurate picture of what life was like for all cultures living in Europe during the Second World War. I am not really a war novel fan but I enjoyed the book's historical aspect and the continually twisting storyline.
I would recommend the Book of Kings to anyone who enjoys a challenging read but doesn't necessarily enjoy war novels.

Boring, 19 Jul 1999
I spent $25.00 on a book whose author is not only impressed with his own intelligence, but who cannot even make it interesting. Big in scope, and at times, very well written, it is very hard to wade through a story where the reader is supposed to understand French, know the city of Paris as if they had been there numerous times, and try and understand page after page just what the author is actually trying to say by speaking through boring and troubled characters. A big waste of money and an even bigger waste of time.

OK, 15 Jul 1999
There are a lot of words to wade through here, THE BOOK OF KINGS is 800 pages. I prefer hard-hitting, intense, fast-paced war novels like THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY or THE KILLER ANGELS to stuff like this. But if you have the time and patience to stick with The Book of Kings it does have many fine moments.

An ambitious failure., 25 May 2001
Hugely ambitious, poorly proof-read, full of irritating missed errors. Sometimes the attempts to out-tolstoi Tolstoi work, and there are even moments when a Lawrentian insight into thoughts and motives are quite compelling. But what happened to the British army, who apparently had no part in the war against Hitler? What happened to the Jews? did none of Thakara's characters ever meet a Jew who really made them think about what was happening? And the most disappointing part of the book is that after the war, some of which is brilliantly described, the book falls apart completely. I did, though, want to stay with the book the whole way - apart from the very flat last twenty pages or so. I'm glad to have read it, but grieved at the lost opportunities and the ultimate failure to create living, breathing people who interact with each other rather than being posturing mouthpieces.