Pedro A A itibaren General Morales, Ekvador
I'm not sure if I liked it. Because in a way, you know, it's kind of romantic to think that we're all predestined to be with someone, no matter what, and that even after they're gone we'll go on loving them right to the end. On the other hand, that's pretty fucking depressing. My grandfather died in the '70s and my grandmother never got over it, and sure it's a little romantic that there will never be anyone else for her -- but at the same time, she's one of the loneliest, most unhappy people that I know, and I don't think any love is worth that. But of course that's exactly what the story sells: the idea that it's better to be really, really happy for only a short time than to be just okay forever. I don't believe that, and because I don't believe that, I was never quite sold on the story. That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it. It was very well-executed, and it completely broke my heart. But in the end, I disagree so fundamentally with the message of the book that it just made me uncomfortable. I wanted to come out of it with my faith in love reaffirmed, or something, but I just ended up more depressed than I was going in. Though maybe that was the point. I don't know.
When I finished it, I couldn't believe I actually wanted to read book two. The main character is a Mary Sue, the villains practically have twirly mustaches, and the hero is a Manly Man, except when he's not being a giant cat with wings. Everything is very black and white, except for the sex scenes, which are very purple, and all the names have apostrophes (a fantasy convention that drives me nuts). But. When I finished, I wanted to read book two. And I did. And I'm happy to report that the story and the writing get better in two and three, and I'm now looking forward to the conclusion.
A fascinating back-story of the pre-eminent position nitrates held in human lives and how a chemical process averted genocide by starvation for the human race, and lets the present civilisation live way beyond the means of "organic" production. Also engrossing is the story of inventors Carl Bosch and Fritz Haber and their different paths and contributions to modern science and society, and of course the jewish-nazi conflict. A very good book because it draws a parallel between an earlier crisis that was bested by human ingenuity and the as yet unknown fate that will befall society after its stand-off with climate change.