Review: Suffer the children by Craig DiLouie

English

I received this book free from the Simon & Schuster publishing in exchange of a honest review. Thank you very much!

Review

A strange (this word is not even near to what I want to express) syndrom has taken over the world. Herod, as people called it, killed all the children that haven't reached puberty. Everybody is mourning, the time seems like it stopped passing. Unfortunately, the bodies are rotting. The kids have to be buried, which is a very difficult thing to do; especially when there are milions of children and the parents don't want to say their goodbyes.
But, just like a gift from God, the kids are revived. They go back home, to their parents. But something is wrong with them. They crave for blood and, if they don't get it, they will die again and their bodies will rot again. So, how far will the parents go?
Oh, let me tell you. They will go all the way so 'till the end.

My rating: 5/5

My thoughts

This book was terrifyingly beautiful; the idea of this book was to show everybody how far a parent will go for their children and that they will do anything that stands in their power. After Herod took over their lives and destroyed their world, every parent used the syndrome as an ally. When they found out that blood was the medicine that could cure every kid, everybody adapted to this thing. People start to donate, to sell and to trade blood for services; Money became worthless and so blood took its place; all that mattered was another hour to spend with your kid. One pint meant two hours of being alive. When you think of it, it is just horrifying. 

Firstly, I really liked the narration. I prefer the first person, but DiLouie's writing style made me devour the book, made me want more and, even though I read a lot of books, this is the only one that made me constantly feel sorry for reading more; I just didn't want to finish it, to finish the story. I never read a book like this. 

Secondly, what made "Suffer the children" so disturbing was the details; think about it: all the children are dead. The economy will fall forever; what about peditricians, toy stores, schools? Nobody bothered to think of that, they just thought "I need more blood to feed my kid with". That's why my favourite character was David, a doctor. He didn't have kids. He didn't had to sacrifice himself and his wife and his kinsmen just to keep a body from not rotting.

Thirdly, I know that the concept of a syndrome that turns children into vampires is not very realistic, but it didn't feel like that. While I was reading, everything felt real. I was sitting at a table, in a caffee shop, and when I glanced over I saw two kids with their parents and, for a second - and that second was amazing -, they were actually dead. A book that makes you feel that... you can't deny it, is a good book.

Finally, what I loved most about this book was the atmosphere. It's just like the silence before the storm. Just like that. In the first hundred of pages, we get to know the world and the characters. But after the shit hit the van... nothing was like before, not anymore.

Romana

Recenzie

Un ciudat sindrom a preluat controlul asupra lumii. Herod, cum oamenii il numesc, a omorat toti copiii ce nu au ajuns inca la pubertate. Toata lumea e in doliu, timpul pare ca s-a oprit in loc. Din pacate, corpurile copiilor putrezesc. Copiii trebuie sa fie ingropati, iar acest lucru este destul de greu de facut; in special cand sunt milioane in toata lumea, iar parintii nu vor sa-si ia la revedere.
Dar, ca si un cadou de la Dumnezeu, copiii sunt inviati. Se intorc acasa, la parintii lor. Dar ceva e in neregula cu ei. Poftesc la sange si, daca nu il primesc, mor din nou. Deci, cat de departe vor ajunge parintii lor?
Oh, lasati-ma sa va spun. Vor merge pana la capat.

Nota mea: 5/5

Parerea mea

Cartea asta a fost infiorator de frumoasa; ideea acestui concept era de a resta vointa parintilor de a face orice pentru copiii lor. Dupa ce Herod a preluat controlul asupra vietilor lor si le-a distrus lumea, fiecare parinte s-a folosit de sindrom drept un aliat. Cand au aflat faptul ca sangele este tratamentul care ar putea vindeca orice copil, toata lumea s-a adaptat la acest lucru. Oamenii au inceput sa doneze, sa vanda si sa dea la schimb sange pentru servicii; banii au ramas fara valoare, asa ca sangele le-a luat locul; tot ce mai conta era inca o ora petrecuta cu copilul tau. Un litru insemna doua ore de viata. Cand te gandesti in modul asta, este pursi simplu infricosator.

In primul rand, mi-a placut foarte mult naratiunea. Prefer la persoana intai, insa stilul de scriere al lui DiLouie m-a facut sa devor cartea, m-a facut sa-mi doresc mai mult si, desi am citit o multime de carti, aceasta este singura care m-a facut sa-mi para rau, in mod constant, ca citeam mai mult; nu voiam sa o termin, nu voiam sa termin povestea. N-am citit niciodata o carte ca asta.

In al doilea rand, ceea ce au facut cartea "Suffer the children" atat de rascolitoare au fost detaliile; ganditi-va, toti copiii sunt morti. Economia se va prabusi pentru totdeauna; ce se va intampla cu pediatricienii, cu magazinele de jucarii, cu scolile? Nimeni nu s-a mai obosit sa se gandeasca la asta, ei au gandit doar "Am nevoie mai mult sange pentru a-mi hrani copilul". Tocmai de aceea personajul meu preferat a fost David, un doctor. El nu a trebuit sa se sacrifice, pe el, pe sotia lui si pe rudele lui, doar pentru a tine un corp sa nu putrezeasca.

In al treilea rand, stiu ca (,) conceptul unui sindrom care transforma toti copiii in vampiri nu e foarte realistic, insa chiar nu s-a simtit asa. In timp ce citeam, totul pare real. Stateam la o masa, intr-o cafenea, si cand m-am uitat in jur am vazut doi copii cu parintii lor si, pentru o secunda - si acea secunda a fost extraordinara -, ei chiar erau morti. O carte care te face sa simti asta... nu poti sa negi asta, este o carte buna.

In sfarsit, ceea ce mi-a placut cel mai mult la aceasta carte a fost atmosfera. Exact ca linistea de dinaintea furtunii. Exact asa. In primele o suta de pagini, suntem introdusi lumii si cunoastem personajele. Dar dupa ce totul a luat-o razna... nimic nu avea sa mai fie ca inainte.