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Christine Leunens

Caging Skies: THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE 'JOJO RABBIT' Paperback – 20 December 2019

by Christine Leunens (Author)

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INSPIRING THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE JOJO RABBIT BY TAIKA WAITITI

This extraordinary novel is seen through the eyes of Johannes, an avid member of the Hitler Youth in the 1940s. After he is severely injured in a raid, he discovers his parents are hiding a Jewish girl called Elsa behind a false wall in their large house in Vienna.

His initial horror turns to interest, then love and obsession. After the disappearance of his parents, Johannes finds he is the only one aware of Elsa's existence in the house, the only one responsible for her survival. Both manipulating and manipulated, Johannes dreads the end of the war: with it will come the prospect of losing Elsa and their relationship, which ranges through passion and obsession, dependence and indifference, love and hate.

This gripping, masterful work examines truth and lies at both political and personal levels, laying bare the darkest corners of the human soul.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

John Murray
Publication date

20 December 2019
Dimensions

12.8 x 2.6 x 19.6 cm
ISBN-10

1529396352
ISBN-13

978-1529396355
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Product description

Review

Enthralling throughout... ― My Weekly

A vivid and deeply compelling novel, Caging Skies is an existential battle of moral and ethical extremes. Christine Leunens is an adept and eloquent storyteller -- Georgia Hunter ― New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones

The good-natured humour and quirkiness of the film and the drama of the novel are quite fun to contrast, and both are impactful in their own right. ― Cherwell

The best part of this interesting novel is its ability to show parts of our history which others dismiss: why suffering can make some people more sensitive but others more cruel, and how a war, such an outrage to human dignity, blurs the line between the victorious and defeated ― Elle

Leunens said the film showed moviegoers that "we have a choice, are we going to go back to this kind of thinking ... superior, inferior ... or are we going to move on and bring more love and compassion to our relationships?" ― Guardian

Totally compelling ― Woman's Weekly (NZ)

Leunens has an ear for language and the ability to create a vividly sensual world for her characters that I found highly satisfying -- Cushla McKinney

A novel that breaks all the rules. In spite of this, or maybe because of it, the result is a disturbing and gripping novel that has haunted me ever since I finished reading it. ― New Zealand Books

Disturbing, moving, eminently readable - this is a story you won't be able to put down ― My Weekly

. . . a novel about Hitler's Third Reich without equal ― Design Observer

Review

Totally compelling - Woman's Weekly (NZ)

The best part of this interesting novel is its ability to show parts of our history which others dismiss: why suffering can make some people more sensitive but others more cruel, and how a war, such an outrage to human dignity, blurs the line between the victorious and defeated - Elle

Leunens has an ear for language and the ability to create a vividly sensual world for her characters that I found highly satisfying - Cushla McKinney

A novel that breaks all the rules. In spite of this, or maybe because of it, the result is a disturbing and gripping novel that has haunted me ever since I finished reading it. - New Zealand Books

A vivid and deeply compelling novel, Caging Skies is an existential battle of moral and ethical extremes. Christine Leunens is an adept and eloquent storyteller - New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones

Enthralling throughout... - My Weekly

A vivid and deeply compelling novel, Caging Skies is an existential battle of moral and ethical extremes. Christine Leunens is an adept and eloquent storyteller - New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones

The best part of this interesting novel is its ability to show parts of our history which others dismiss: why suffering can make some people more sensitive but others more cruel, and how a war, such an outrage to human dignity, blurs the line between the victorious and defeated - Elle

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Murray; 1st edition (20 December 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1529396352
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1529396355
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 2.6 x 19.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 48,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 668 in Political Ideologies & Doctrines
- 1,150 in European Literature (Books)
- 2,396 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
852 ratings

About the authors

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Christine Leunens
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Christine Leunens
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Christine Leunens is born in Hartford, Connecticut to an Italian mother and a Belgian father.
She holds a Master of Liberal Arts in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. She has published three novels and has been translated into eighteen languages.
In 2012 she was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing by Victoria University and her novel A Can of Sunshine was selected as 'Best Books of the Year 2013' by the NZ Herald. Her novel Caging Skies, has been adapted to theatre in 2017.
Taika Waititi’s film adaptation, JoJo Rabbit, has been released in October 2019 by Fox Searchlight.
The French translation of Caging Skies was nominated for the Prix Médicis Étranger and the Prix du Roman FNAC.
She currently lives in New Zealand with her family.
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Customer reviews

5 star		58%
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3 star		14%
2 star		6%
1 star		5%

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Jane S

Won't be watching

Reviewed in Australia on 4 March 2020

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I hadn't seen the film so didn't know what to expect but this book was only about cruelty and domestic violence. I won't be watching the movie now.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Shining a light on darkness

Reviewed in Australia on 6 March 2020

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Caging Skies gives us an insider's view of nazism: the effects of brainwashing an entire population from their earliest days are made clear. Ordinary people can be converted into monsters easily. It is not an uplifting tale, quite dark, but an important read.

One person found this helpful

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Rose

Weird

Reviewed in Australia on 18 February 2020

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Very weird. Started off promising but descended into very weird.
Trying to find 8 more words.......oh 2 more. Just weird really

One person found this helpful

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Joanne Watkins

Came very quickly

Reviewed in Australia on 21 July 2020

Verified Purchase

Haven't read it yet but The Movie JOJO Rabbit was based on this book and that movie was amazing

One person found this helpful

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M. Dowden

Lies and Deceit

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2020

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This novel was the inspiration behind the film ‘Jojo Rabbit’, which I will admit that I have not seen, so I cannot comment on the similarities or otherwise between the two. Narrated by Johannes, the main character of the book so we are taken back to just before the Second World War begins, as Austria becomes annexed to Germany. Living with his mother and father, as well as paternal grandmother so we see how he becomes indoctrinated into the Hitler Youth, and how what is taught to children at school is altered, to meet the new thrust of Nazi Germany, and its ideals.

This is a deeply psychological novel with moments of dark humour, and from the first page of the story we are told by the narrator that this is about lies and how they can develop over time, and so we are never sure how reliable his tale is, as well as only seeing things through his eyes. Christine Luenens thus then gives us a very dark story, but one that is far from being perfect or great as there are certain discrepancies that appear throughout. We see that Johannes is very much a child of Nazi glorification, but certain parts of his world start to unravel. There is the fact that he is seriously injured and disabled as a member of the Hitler Youth whilst guarding an anti-aircraft gun in a raid, and then his father is always being pulled in for questioning. As Johannes starts to recover from his injuries though, so he becomes aware that there is someone else in the house, and thus he finds Elsa, a young Jewish woman, who was a friend of his now deceased elder sister being hidden.

As we read of what happens to his parents, so we see what is happening with Johannes and Elsa, as he starts to take care of her – or does he? Falling into an obsessive love, so this becomes a story of power games, which continue after the war has ended, and indeed the tale does not end unto 1949. Elsa, fearing for her life is as much a prisoner inside the house as someone trying to hide from harm, and we see this in a deeper context than in some other tales. We thus see humiliation and dependence by her, all told to us through our narrator.

This does work to a certain degree, but we see that our narrator does not seem too bothered about the disappearances and sudden reappearances of his father, or when his mother suddenly goes. Due to this you cannot really ever work out whether the latter part of this tale is a fabrication of the narrator, in the possibility that he has informed on his parents and not only sent them to their deaths, but also Elsa. The story does fly through the years somewhat as we only ever hear from Johannes and what he wishes to tell us, and indeed at the end we are told by him that he has not told us everything. Strange and compelling in many ways, and also with some lovely stark prose, it has to be admitted that although I did like this book and was glued to the page, at the end you do not actually know for sure whether this is a lie by the narrator to cover up for what horrors he committed, or whether it is about the horrors that are committed in a violent and corrosive relationship. Perhaps this is something that could be suited to book groups, as this does certainly leave a number of topics open to discussion.

6 people found this helpful

mSm

JoJo Rabbit an inspired adaptation of an awful book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 January 2020

Verified Purchase

I bought the book on the back of seeing JoJo Rabbit. What a mistake. This has to be the oddest oil I have read in a long time. The film covers the essence of the first half of the book....and a few pages into the second half you can see why.

It’s almost like two different stories welded together but with overlapping characters. The book is not uplifting. The prose, described as “muscular” is thick heavy and clunky. (The description should have been a pointer to “avoid”)

If you have seen the film and are drawn to the book, avoid
If you haven’t seen the film and have come across the book, avoid....go see the film.

It’s getting 1 * because I can’t give it any less.

7 people found this helpful

Zulu Warrior

Inspired The Film Jo Jo Rabbit

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 February 2021

Verified Purchase

First I must say what a disappointment, loved the film but the film is very loosely based on the book

Johannes was born in Austria 1927, he lived with his 74yrs old grandmother and his mother, he was 11yrs old, Austria had become a province of Germany, he was of the perfect German race, they were to fear the Jews, they worshiped Satan and sacrificed christian children, on his Birthday he was to join the Hitler Youth, there first assignment to burn books, imagine his distaste when he found his mother was hiding a Jew in the house, should he report his mother, he decided not to

During his duties he was shot at by an Ally plane and ends up in hospital, he lose his forearm, part of his cheek bone, whilst at home resting he actually makes friends with Ellie the Jew, this is where the book goes into a totally different story to the the film, it became a chore to finish the book

The film gets 10 out of 10, the book 2 out of 10, how they managed to get such a good film out of this story is a wonder

One person found this helpful

reecejennings04

A wonderous tale of growing up even when one doesn't want to.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2020

Verified Purchase

A fun and well intentioned novel that differs greatly from the film it inspired. As someone who hails the film as a masterpiece, I found it jarring at first settling into this tale featuring JoJo, one with far less satire and more brutal honesty. This made it an altogether different spectacle but one I still immensely enjoyed and appreciate. It holds back no punches in covering heavy themes but approaches them with a playful optimism that makes the book feel engaging and entertaining even at it's most depressing. It's a must read for times like this.

2 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Gripping

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 February 2020

Verified Purchase

I could not put this book down. I want to know what happened next. I wonder how the film compares to the book?

3 people found this helpful

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