615 Results with the "Historical Fiction" genre


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      Cellar

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with a vivid description of the cellar beneath the Hotel of Bees, a rugged space carved from bedrock and supported by ancient wooden beams. A single lightbulb casts wavering shadows, creating an atmosphere of tension and isolation. Werner Pfennig, the protagonist, is seated at a workbench with a radio transceiver, which connects him to military units across the city. The cellar is filled with confiscated treasures, including tapestries, clocks, and enigmatic plaster heads, adding to the…
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      Brittany

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      by testsuphomeAdmin Marie-Laure and her father flee Paris in an old furniture truck, crammed with other refugees under a canvas tarp. The slow, noisy journey feels surreal to Marie-Laure, who clings to the hope that their escape is merely a test and they will soon return home. The familiar comforts of their apartment—the model city, the sugar bowl, the chestnut tree—linger in her mind as she struggles to reconcile the disruption of war with the ordinary rhythms of life she once knew. Despite the absence of immediate…
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      Plage du Môle

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      by testsuphomeAdmin Marie-Laure, a blind girl whose father has been missing for twenty-nine days, is awakened by Madame Manec's determined footsteps. Despite Etienne's objections, Madame Manec insists on taking Marie-Laure outside, asserting that she can no longer stand by idly. The old woman helps Marie-Laure dress, ties a scarf over her head, and leads her out into the rainy February morning. Marie-Laure hesitates, her heart racing, but Madame Manec reassures her they are doing nothing wrong as they step through the…
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      East

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "East" follows Werner, a young soldier, as he travels by train through war-torn landscapes, witnessing the devastation of cities like Lodz and Warsaw. The journey is marked by bleak surroundings—overturned railcars, endless plains, and a sunless sky. Soldiers around him sleep despite the harsh conditions, numbed by exhaustion or medication. Neumann Two, a fellow soldier, urinates off the train and takes pills, casually noting their arrival in Russia. The air reeks of steel, reinforcing the…
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      Big Claude

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with von Rumpel, a determined and calculating figure, visiting Levitte the perfumer, who is portrayed as self-important and physically unappealing. Von Rumpel struggles to maintain his composure amid the overpowering scents of the shop, while inwardly reflecting on his recent facade of inspecting art collections along the Breton coast. His true purpose for being there remains concealed, hinting at a deeper mission. The perfumer’s obsequious demeanor and fleeting attention to von…
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      Paris

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      by testsuphomeAdmin Marie-Laure and her great-uncle Etienne return to Paris after the war, renting the same flat where she grew up. Etienne obsessively scans newspapers and listens to radios, hoping for news of her missing father, while Marie-Laure relies on her heightened auditory perception to navigate their grim reality. Each day, they wait at the Gare d’Austerlitz, surrounded by the hollow-eyed survivors of war, their hope dwindling as the station clock marks time. The chapter paints a poignant picture of their shared…
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      The Professor

      The Professor Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with siblings Jutta and Werner discovering a length of copper wire in a creek near their home. Jutta insists Werner swear an oath before they take it, hinting at the clandestine nature of their project. They rig the wire to their radio, transforming it into an antenna that pulls in distant broadcasts. Their first capture is a foreign language transmission, sparking their curiosity about faraway places like Hungary, which Werner estimates is a thousand kilometers away. This moment marks…
    • The Sum of Angles Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin Werner is called into the office of Dr. Hauptmann, a professor whose study is filled with scientific curiosities and guarded by elegant hounds. The atmosphere is tense as Werner notices the imposing presence of Frank Volkheimer, a legendary upperclassman whose physical prowess and rumored brutality loom large in the academy's lore. Hauptmann immediately tests Werner's knowledge of trigonometry, presenting him with a formula to solve. Despite the intimidating environment—Volkheimer's watchful gaze, the…
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      Intoxicated

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "Intoxicated" depicts the militarized environment of Schulpforta, a Nazi elite school, where Werner, now fifteen, navigates the oppressive atmosphere. The cadets are consumed by wartime fervor, celebrating Germany's advances in Russia and idolizing figures like Volkheimer, who has become a brutal sergeant. Werner, however, feels isolated, haunted by memories of his friend Frederick, who was severely injured and left the school without justice. The new cadets are aggressive, obsessed with…
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      Fever

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter "Fever" depicts Werner, a German soldier, grappling with illness and the brutal realities of war during the winter of 1943-1944. Stricken by a debilitating fever and diarrhea, he crouches behind a truck, feeling as though he is losing his last vestiges of humanity. His physical suffering mirrors the moral decay around him, as he declines offers of coffee and painkillers from his comrades. The passage highlights his isolation, underscored by his failure to write to his sister Jutta, whose…
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