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4.0étoiles sur 5
An Intriguing Answer to An Intriguing Question, Aoû 3 2009
Since there have already been so many reviews for this book, and some pretty good reviews I must admit, I will keep mine short.
I enjoyed this book, the whole concept (and the larger print) allowed me to shoot through all 555 pages in just three days, which considering I'm usually a very slow reader, is pretty good.
Shortly before I heard of this book, I was wondering to myself what would have happened if Hitler hadn't been around in the 1930s and 40s, would WW2 have happened the same way it did here in our world? Would it even have qualified as a World War at all? Or would the tension and depression of Germany brought on by the Versailles Treaty have brought in another person to fill the void? And would that person have been as bad as Hitler, or better, or even worse?
Those questions in mind, it was nice to get a well done and researched answer by Mr Fry, who proves that things never do work out quite the way you think they will, especially if time travel is involved. I do agree with a reviewer below, however, who found it to be a disappointment that the first part of the novel takes place in England while the second takes place in America so we don't see the full effects of the change in a Europe now controlled by the Nazis in 1996, we just hear about it. It was a shame.
But still, it was a very well thought out story based on an interesting idea that puts a new spin on WW2 What Ifs. Since Axis victory stories are without a doubt the most popular in Alternate History (to the point of being greatly overused), it was nice to see a different approach to the whole thing.
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4.0étoiles sur 5
A funny, crazy, and irreverant view on history!, Sep 15 2007
The point of trying to understanding Fry's novel, "Making History", is that there is no point. It is just another one of his nonsensical satires on how we choose to see life through the time-honored prism of history. The 'what if approach" to history, as an alternative form of understanding where we've come from, leads to some very bizarre and funny outcomes in the story. While going back in time in a spaceship to relive the past is old hat, doing it as a joint venture of a mad scientist/inventor and an idealistic young historian trying to expunge the existence of Hitler is really taking off. Once out there, Fry, in truly untrammeled fashion, starts treating his readers to a bevy of ironies and oddities that perhaps underline the idea that life, whichever way one chooses to live it, either forward or backward, is hardly predictable under the best of circumstances. Once you understand Fry's modus operandi, his loose writing style and fast pace narrative style become easy to take. There is no sense wasting your time trying to understand why Fry does what he does. Simply read to have some fun.
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4.0étoiles sur 5
It has it's weak points, but overall a very good read, Fév 8 2003
Par Un client
Whenever the words "time machine" end up in a book there's always this little voice in my head screaming "DANGER! Lay down the book and step away from it" but in this case Stephen Fry seems to get away with it. Not so much because of the plot, which is rather thin and contains too many 'mistakes', but because of his amazing style of writing (quick, funny, detailed).In the book Michael Young, a history student specialised on Hitler's youth, and scientist Leo Zuckermann, highly interested in WW II since his father was a Nazi 'doctor', decide to create a time machine (how else can you survive boring sunday afternoons?) so they can stop Hitler from being born. Not a bad start for a book and a pretty interesting idea to work with (how would you stop Hitler from being born, Kennedy from being shot, planes from crashing into trade towers and what would happen if you would?). They succeed but since history has been changed their own lives change too and they both end up in Princeton, USA where Michael knows about his 'former' life (the first chapters of the second part with Michael walking around without having the faintest idea what's going on are dead funny) but Leo doesn't (god knows why). Even worst Hitler has been replaced by another dictator, Rudolf Gloder, who succeeds where Hitler has failed and conquered Europe and pretty much killed all Jews. Therefore Michael, Steve, a friend of the American Michael, and Leo create ANOTHER time machine to redo what they've done and they all end up back in Cambridge (where both Michael and Steve CAN remember what happened and Leo can't, again god knows why). The mistakes made, besides the fact that the effect on memory seems to change per person there's also the time schedule when they return in Cambridge (Michael and Leo meet some time before Michaels girlfriend leaves for Princeton herself, when they all return Michael and Leo HAVEN`T met but his girlfriend is already living in the USA), are irritating but don't spoil the entire book. The American Michael, and therefore the English Michael, being gay seems a bit odd and Fry doesn't give any extra info on that part. But besides all that this book is a very good read!
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