Alex Schulman

De overlevenden

sehr mitreißend, spannend und schön geschrieben

Cristina

Cariena

Mooi boek. De dynamiek in de familie is heel interessant om te observeren en je voelt gelijk al dat er iets is wat je nog niet weet. Tegen het einde van het verhaal kom je dit te weten en valt (bijna) alles op z’n plek. Ik heb het verhaal met plezier gelezen, maar het gaf me geen wow gevoel. Het deed me overigens een beetje denken aan We Were Liars van E. Lockhart, qua opbouw en het gevoel van onwetendheid als lezer.

Lauren

Lisa van der Heijden 

Title: De Overlevenden 
Author: Alex Schulman
Pages: 237
Published: May 2021
Rating: 5.0/5.0

I love when I’m in a bookstore and I find an interesting book unknow to me. That is how I found de Overlevenden. The cover captured my attention and the synopsis made me buy it. Turned out this is a five-star read for me!

This book is a fascinating about childhood and brotherhood. Three brothers must return to their summer house after their mother’s passing. The story isn’t told chronologically. Instead, different timelines are interwoven making the reader put the pieces together. 

The story engaged me from the first page. From the beginning I noticed that something is wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it but there is this feeling that the family isn’t as normal or healthy as they same to be. There is a complex family dynamic of the heart of story. The revelation of the unreliable narrator at the end made the story for me. 

De Overlevenden is very much a character-driven story. All family members are hyperrealistic in all their life stages. Their characters are explored in depth. I was emotionally invested in the boys and how the childhood influenced them as grown men. 

While I read the Dutch the translation, I thought the writing atmospheric and beautiful. The author has a unique way of telling this story and it worked very well. The atmospheric is build up through the story in a clever way. 

In conclusion, I thought this was a great debut and a great exploration of fragile childhood. This book is perfect if you are in the mood for a moody summer book. 

Rating breakdown: plot (5/5), characters (5/5), writing (5/5), worldbuilding (5/5), overall enjoyment (5/5)

Trigger warnings: Death of a loved one, sibling rivalry, divorce, neglect, childhood trauma.  

De overlevenden

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