Postcards From No Man's Land [Paperback]

 

 

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Chambers' story is an accurate piece of historical fiction; however, it is obvious after just the first chapter that Chambers does not intend for his novel to be primarily labeled as historical fiction. Rather, he intends his novel to be regarded as a coming-of-age story told in both the present and the past. As Chambers develops the narratives of Jacob and Geertrui, he shows that feelings of confusion, excitement and fear are common to all teenagers, regardless of their historical setting, as they struggle to come into their own.
Jacob and Geertrui are real, three-dimensional characters. They become persons with whom the reader can easily identify because Chambers allows the reader to hear their thoughts and observe how their emotions influence their decisions and often times change their rational or at the very least broaden their perspectives. I was thankful that Chambers explores the characters' emotions so in depth, because I believe that emotions are often more powerful than we realize and they are especially overwhelming during the teenage years. It is important that the emotions of Jacob and Geertrui are particularly potent for they find themselves in stressful situations.
The mature nature of Chambers' novel is shown in the first chapter. A mysterious, sexy stranger comes on to Jacob in an outdoor café. Jacob feels a rush of excitement because he's not used to attracting girls, but his excitement changes to bewilderment when Jacob realizes that he has struck a boy's fancy, not a girl's. I was just as surprised as Jacob to discover that Ton was in fact a boy, and I felt Chambers' description of this discovery was perhaps too vivid. (Jacob realizes Ton's true identity when Ton presses Jacob's hand to his crotch and Jacob feels his penis.)
Sexuality and sexual discovery are main themes in Postcards from No Man's Land. Chambers does not condone a particular lifestyle in his exploration of these themes, and I was thankful that he left the interpretation of Jacob's and Geertrui's sexual experiences up to the reader. However, I found it troubling that Chambers assumes Jacob is no longer a virgin because he is seventeen and that Geertrui and Jacob's grandfather can not restrain themselves from being sexually intimate.
Although Chambers does not seem to entertain abstinence as an option for teenagers, he does show that Jacob's and Geertrui's sexual choices, in particular, have consequences. Geertrui becomes pregnant with the child of a man who is never her husband, but the husband of someone else. Her pregnancy makes it necessary for her to marry another man who she does not love and to keep the true identity of her child's father a secret until her husband dies. Chambers accurately shows that Geertrui's relationship with Jacob's grandfather brings both pleasure and pain, but thankfully he illustrates how Geertrui's pain was tempered by the grace and forgiveness of others.
Overall, I was pleased with Chambers' novel. He writes with integrity and allows his reader to explore difficult issues without the fear of being judged. I would recommend this book to teenagers ages sixteen and above.

This book is very different. There are two main characters, one a 17 year old English boy in the 90's and a Dutch family friend who is dying in his time, but knew his grandfather during WWII. The book is set in Amsterdam, so it incorporates a lot of Dutch, which is frustrating at first, but then it becomes second nature to find the translation of the phrase, or to remember it from earlier, and this adds to the sense of place.

There are a lot of adult themes covered in this book, so it's best if you have a mature teenager reading it, and are prepared to discuss it afterwards. Some of those topics include: homosexuality, bisexuality, euthanasia, war, and marital fidelity.

This book is well written, so chances are that you won't get lost, and the different writing styles make it difficult to get bored. As soon as something gets exciting in one part of the story, it switches off, making you want more.

Belongs on the bookshelf of the mature adolescent, and the discerning adult reader of adolescent fiction.

I'm a teen and I think this book is really beautiful. The first word that comes to mind as I write this review is "sincere". Because it talks with you directly, it goes at once to the centre of the subjects It describes. It doesn't get lost in narrative embroidery and set-ups. As you read you can hear the characters talking and watch the narration with your eyes.
About the narration, it's really beautifully built: In a chapter we are told the adventures of Jacob Todd, teenager, through the city of Amsterdam, and in the following we get to know about Jacob Todd, his homonymous grandfather and the events he was involved in in the Netherlands as soldier during the II World War, then back to the young grandchild, and then again with the soldier: A continuous change of scene that more and more induces you to keep reading and to find out the link between the two characters.

I think the power of the book is due to the frankness and realism it uses to describe the story and to approach the very important thematics in it.
They are euthanasy and mainly love. Love is the centre of the book I think, and by love the book means a lot of things: the love between a grandmother and a grandchild, the love beetween a grandchild and his dead grandfather, the love between a girl and a boy. The book deals with this one with no emphasizing, just with a sentiment of naturalness and frank discovery I have seen nowhere else.

I was somehow shocked by this thought-provoking book, and I definitely suggest it to all the people (teens and adults) who are interested in a mature reading.

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1.0 out of 5 stars This book made me vomit.
First of all, I don't know a 17 year old kid who talks like this Jacob does. Warning: every character in this novel is brilliant; full of poetry quotes and witty comebacks. Read more

Published on Oct 8 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A sophisticated, emotionally charged work for mature readers
Winner of the Carnegie Medal--one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes--Postcards from No Man's Land is a powerful tale of past and present, told through dual... Read more

Published on Aug 7 2003 by Andrea Wong

4.0 out of 5 stars Youth Fiction?
I must begin by saying that I really like the book. The storyline was captivating and I felt as if I got to know the characters and make a connection with them. Read more

Published on Jun 25 2003 by Tonya B. Williams

1.0 out of 5 stars Zzzzzzzzzzz.........
Books dealing with the Holocaust, I believe, can be shockingly upfront, and wrenching...Postcards from No Man's Land was a terrible leafing... Read more

Published on May 4 2003 by Goneril

5.0 out of 5 stars "...dealing with life's emotional geography..."
The story is all encompassing with enough of "literary gaps" to draw the young adult reader in: heart, body and soul. Read more

Published on April 18 2003 by Karen L. Simonetti

4.0 out of 5 stars A mature novel for a mature audience
Chambersï¿ story is an accurate piece of historical fiction; however, it is obvious after just the first chapter that Chambers does not intend for his novel to be... Read more

Published on Mar 13 2003 by Megan Piersma

5.0 out of 5 stars For people who like to think
A book of suspense and ideas from a writer who recognizes the bravery of those who seek new experiences, whether of the mind, heart, or body.

Published on Jan 28 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the hype
If you like books with loads of boring, pseudo-intellectual dialogue and an obnoxious protagonist, then this is the book for you. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Stays with you
This is a book you will not forget. The way in which the book weaves back in forth in time (between WWII and the present) is well-crafted.. Read more

Published on Jun 28 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars a must read!!!
this book is beautifully written. the emotions bought to life in this books are magnificent, especially the parts about geertrui's life in holland in the war. Read more

Published on May 4 2002 by moocow500

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