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| The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite |
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The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite
John Murray
by Beatrice Colin
Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Product Details |
ISBN/ASIN: 1848540310
Release Date:
Sales Rank: 6159
Average Rating: 
Media: Paperback
Audience Rating:
Product Group: Book
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| Product Description |
| A rich, romantic historical novel showcasing the glamour, spectacle and theatrical energy of the Weimar Republic |
| Customer Reviews: Average Rating: 4.0/5 | | The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite: Rating: 5/5 |
| Choosen for our book club, all agreed this was the best book we have read to date, totally thought provoking and at times horrifying but captivating. | | Too much sadness: Rating: 2/5 |
I think the book is pretty nice written, with a lot of historical elements, based in real information, so it makes you feel the exitation of the German people before the wars, their feelings about superiority, the consequent horror of the wars, the people starving,... In that point the book is really good.
For me the bad part is that there isn't a single chapter in the book with a sweet sensation. The girl is some kind of accident prone, never happens something really good for her. Or to the people that surrounds her. I think is to make the book dramatical, to have more credibility, I suppouse. Because usually the drama is more valorised than the comedy. Sometimes is a mistake.
Finally I got bored of reading it. Too sad for me. | | very disappointing: Rating: 2/5 |
| too unremittingly grim and depressing; not one sympathetic character; I gave up on this book halfway through. | | not a luminous life at all....: Rating: 3/5 |
| I have just finished reading the book in a translated version (greek) and felt so sorry for Lilly and her childhood friends that I do not think the title represents the content and the story line. So much pain and rejection in one's life is overwhelming. | | More than just a good story - beautiful depiction of Berlin between the WWs: Rating: 5/5 |
Lilly Nelly Aphrodite is the daughter of an "off the beaten path" nobleman and an actress, who both die when Lilly is very young. She is placed a couple of years with a couple, but ends up at a Catholic orphanage in Berlin in the beginning of the 20th century. At the orphanage, Lilly encounters two people, who will have a big influence on her, Sister August and Hanne.
In their early teens, Lilly and Hanne leave the orphanage going their separate paths in an unsteady time in an unsteady city. Lilly ends up a big movie star in the dawn of the business when silent movie were the biggest thing.
I find that the proximity to the budding movie business is one of the pluses of the novel. Every chapter starts with a short "authentic" shapshot from the business and movies (going to the cinema, auditions, movie studios, and acting) as a continuous red thread through the novel.
I also loved the picture of Berlin in the hustle and bustle - and the depression between the two world wars. The author depicts the vivacious colours and the sinister desperation.
Finally, the story of Lilly and Hanne, who are so very different in personality, is interesting. I especially like the way Lilly fills the roll of main character, even though she is the more passive and introvert of the two. Somewhere there is a skewed sense of justice in the fact that the introvert Lilly becomes the movie star, while the loud and extrovert Hanne comes to a quiet end.
All together, I would recommend "The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite" to someone interested in a good story with an excellent depiction of the time and place of that story. In short: someone who wants more than just a good story.
Louise. | |
