For those who want action to appear early in a novel, this book may not be for you. The first few chapters of this book are rather bland. Despite this blandness, the absence of vivacity early in the novel is necessary in order to introduce all of the characters and explain the setting. As a reader, you must completely comprehend the circumstances within the novel in order to fully understand the concepts presented. That said, this slow start can, and most likely will bore you before you get to parts of the book that have more action involved.
Although the book lacks early action, Orlev's excellent use of imagery and unique character traits is entertaining. In later parts of the novel, when Alex begins to deal with the plethora of challenges he is presented with, Orlev’s fantastic imagery makes us feel as if we are in Alex’s shoes. Also, Orlev’s characters have a wide range of unique traits, which makes the story substantially more believable. However, I don’t feel that this makes up for the incredibly slow start.
At 176 pages, this novel is relatively short. I typically read books that are much longer, yet I still found the story to be entertaining. Although it is a fairly short book, it may take a while to read. This is due to the fact that the book is full of considerably “heavy” material which may be disturbing to younger readers. Overall, I would say that this book is a moderately easy read.
In conclusion, The Island on Bird Street by Uri Orlev is mediocre at best. Big fans of historical fiction may be disappointed by this novel. It had some positive aspects, but not enough to offset the horribly boring first half of the story. This book receives a 5/10 rating.
