I can't say much about this book without giving too much away, so I'll simply say I really enjoyed it. I found it reminiscent of some early Vonnegut (Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle). It's very thought-provoking. Although I could certainly see why some people might not enjoy it as much as I did. ( )

I really had no clue what to expect when I picked this up, but wow, mind blown. This is a book that keeps you on the edge the whole way through. ( )

This started out a little slow, interesting but nothing to push me to continue in the first two chapters, and then it took hold of me. I read the rest of the book in one morning. Couldn't put it down. Gripping and fascinating. The whole time I was entranced and couldn't wait to see what came next. ( )

The main problem that I had with the book was the inconsistency of themes. Quinn would switch back and forth between the themes of accuracy of history and what it means to be a true individual. The former theme was only portrayed well in one chapter, in which the school girls retell the history of the world. However, that is not persuasive at all and feels entirely fabricated and unnatural. The latter theme was even more poorly developed. It felt as though it was intended to be a central theme of the novel, but it really didn't even begin to be discussed until the very end (the hints towards it by the Uncle were terrible foreshadowing/set up). When the theme is being discussed at the end, the reader really doesn't know what Quinn is doing since Quinn has deviated from the goal of the book.

Ishamael was intriguing and eye-opening. The Story of B was ok. But this was ... not worth my time.

My friend Helen recommended After Dachau by Daniel Quinn to me, so I checked it out. When I told her I had finished it today, she said she had never got around to reading it.

I saw a lot of potential with the story of Mary Anne Dorson but Quinn chucks that to the side in favor of a confusing story line. Plus, the middle of this book is not very good. By the end Quinn has pulled it all together and it finishes fairly strong.

However, I felt no connection to the characters, the writing is overly simple and he doesn’t fully develop his ideas. ( )