A Meal in Winter

A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mingarelli, Sam Taylor (translator)

I found this book at the library in a list of “books to read this winter”.  I read the back and saw it was a WWII story and snatched it up. It was a short read so I figured I would give it a try, even considering the slightly lower Goodreads rating.

I honestly don’t know what this book was.  It was originally in French and was translated to English so I’m hoping there was just a lot lost in translation.  It’s basically a short story about 3 Germans who are sent out in to the woods to track down a Jew who has escaped.  They are anxious to find this guy so they can be praised by their commander (general? I don’t know military lingo) and be able to go out the next day as well instead of participating in the killing of the Jews.

Half of this book is basically a struggle for one of the Germans and how he needs to convince his son to not smoke, while smoking the entire book himself.  Maybe quitting yourself would be a start?  The other half is them making soup and waiting for it to cook.  I kid you not, I know every detail about what went in this soup but can’t tell you the characters names.  Then a Polish guy shows up and wants to trade adding his potato liquor to the soup in exchange for eating some of the soup.

Based on all the reviews I have seen, this is supposed to be some book about moral dilemmas and how people have change of hearts and all that mushy crap. No.  They find the Jew, store him in a pantry and give him food only because it makes the Pole mad that he has to eat with a Jew.  Then the Germans go back and forth about how they should just let him go because it would make them feel a lot better.  Just when you think, “wow, they’re going to have a change of heart!  I understand this book!” the book ends with them taking the Jew back to their commander or whatever and going out the next day to find more.

So many reviews I saw said that it was a deeply moving book and blah blah blah.  Sure they gave the Jew some soup, but only to make the Pole uncomfortable.  Then they didn’t even save him.  So I’m not really sure what I was supposed to take from this story other than most people were awful then just like I imagined.

It was pretty much 140 pages of making soup and discussing smoking and how grossed out they were by the Polish guy who was missing teeth.  You’re not missing anything.

Likes: I liked that it was only 140 pages so I didn’t have to spend too much time trying to figure out what I just read.

Dislikes: Everything else.

1/10