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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
En ole mikään suurin WW2-ajan historiallisen fiktion ystävä, koska jotenkin se osuu edelleen liian lähelle kaikkine kauhuineen. Tämä kirja sen sijaan oli kiinnostavaa luettavaa, koska käsitteli vuoden -63 oikeudenkäyntejä ja niitä tulkkaavaan Evaan.
Todella koukuttavaa kuunneltavaa, joskin lukujen puute teki kuuntelusta välillä hieman raskasta ja tauottaminen oli vaikeampaa.
Todella koukuttavaa kuunneltavaa, joskin lukujen puute teki kuuntelusta välillä hieman raskasta ja tauottaminen oli vaikeampaa.
A must read translation of a German novel describing one woman’s reaction to the culpability of her fellow citizens in the atrocities of the holocaust. Book is gripping immediately and although it is fiction, the author did her research and has created an important work for our time. We must never forget- we all are responsible to do what is right. Now more than ever, a book for our time.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eva's life is coming together. She has a good job helping translate documents and other court needed things, she has a man she has been seeing and is hoping for a proposal. She can soon get out from her parents house, and helping with their restaurant. She is ready to start her own life.
She get's offered a very interesting position, to help translate testimony during an upcoming trial. This trial is for those who are being accused of committing terrible war crimes during WWII. She is excited by the concept of taking this on, but when she brings this new position up to her family and boyfriend they are all against her doing it. She doesn't understand why? She is just translating testimony, what is the worse that can happen?
Her boyfriend proposes but upon agreement that Eva quits this position. She doesn't need to work, he makes plenty of money with the family business after all and his wife should be home to have kids. Her parents are really also pushing her to leave the job and start a family and every time she tries to bring it up, her parents shut down and change the subject.
There's something lurking in the past, and Eva can't let it go. The trails start and Eva quickly learns that atrocities that happened, and she now is the one to make sure she is translating correctly, and exactly what is being said no matter how horrendous the event that happened. As she translates, she has these vivid memories that start coming to the surface.
Then one day, one of the witnesses and his wife comes into her parents restaurant and there is scorn and anger shown to her mother. The man and his wife then quickly leave the place and no matter how hard Eva tries to pry her parents make some excuse as to why they left just seconds after. But Eva knows there's more to it. He acted like he recognized her mother.
One day, Eva decides she needs to find out for herself since everyone is still against her doing these trials. She finds the list she is looking for and it is written there in black and white. Then a few days later, a witness is called to the stand that changes the truth that Eva thought she knew and these vivid memories are accurate and did happen after all.
A very good read! I have not read much about trials and things happening after WWII, so it was interesting to read about these trials. I also really enjoyed how the author twisted all the characters together, including Eva's involvement career and personally.
Thank you to Goodreads, HarperVia and the author for the arc I won!
She get's offered a very interesting position, to help translate testimony during an upcoming trial. This trial is for those who are being accused of committing terrible war crimes during WWII. She is excited by the concept of taking this on, but when she brings this new position up to her family and boyfriend they are all against her doing it. She doesn't understand why? She is just translating testimony, what is the worse that can happen?
Her boyfriend proposes but upon agreement that Eva quits this position. She doesn't need to work, he makes plenty of money with the family business after all and his wife should be home to have kids. Her parents are really also pushing her to leave the job and start a family and every time she tries to bring it up, her parents shut down and change the subject.
There's something lurking in the past, and Eva can't let it go. The trails start and Eva quickly learns that atrocities that happened, and she now is the one to make sure she is translating correctly, and exactly what is being said no matter how horrendous the event that happened. As she translates, she has these vivid memories that start coming to the surface.
Then one day, one of the witnesses and his wife comes into her parents restaurant and there is scorn and anger shown to her mother. The man and his wife then quickly leave the place and no matter how hard Eva tries to pry her parents make some excuse as to why they left just seconds after. But Eva knows there's more to it. He acted like he recognized her mother.
One day, Eva decides she needs to find out for herself since everyone is still against her doing these trials. She finds the list she is looking for and it is written there in black and white. Then a few days later, a witness is called to the stand that changes the truth that Eva thought she knew and these vivid memories are accurate and did happen after all.
A very good read! I have not read much about trials and things happening after WWII, so it was interesting to read about these trials. I also really enjoyed how the author twisted all the characters together, including Eva's involvement career and personally.
Thank you to Goodreads, HarperVia and the author for the arc I won!
Thanks to the publisher, via Netgalley, for an advance e-galley for honest review.
While World War II era fiction is abundant, I haven't seen as many stories written about the long lasting reaches of the war in the decades after. The German House focuses on the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963, and it's absolutely fascinating (and heartbreaking) to read about the attitudes of the Germans towards the trial and the actions of Germans in World War II in general. Reading about Eva's awakening to the role those close to her played in the war, and the true impact of the Holocaust, was an interesting character exploration. As she'd been a small child during the war, her memories had been formed more by what she'd been told than by what she experienced. It's infuriating to read at times as characters try to deny, minimize, or twist their role or the impact.
While World War II era fiction is abundant, I haven't seen as many stories written about the long lasting reaches of the war in the decades after. The German House focuses on the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963, and it's absolutely fascinating (and heartbreaking) to read about the attitudes of the Germans towards the trial and the actions of Germans in World War II in general. Reading about Eva's awakening to the role those close to her played in the war, and the true impact of the Holocaust, was an interesting character exploration. As she'd been a small child during the war, her memories had been formed more by what she'd been told than by what she experienced. It's infuriating to read at times as characters try to deny, minimize, or twist their role or the impact.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve read my fair share of WW2 books, but this one felt a bit different. Perhaps because it was during the aftermath of the Holocaust or told from a German point of view. Regardless, I was captivated.
Eva Bruhns is a twenty-four-year old living a quiet life with her family in Frankfurt, Germany. The Bruhns own The German House, a once bustling restaurant, and live in the apartment above it. When she isn’t working as a Polish translator on business contacts and disputes, she helps her family around the restaurant. Eva is hopeful she will soon have a proposal from her wealthy boyfriend, Jürgen, that will whisk her out of the mundanity.
To her surprise, Eva is tapped to translate Polish for the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963. The atrocities of Nazi Germany quickly become apparent as she listens to witness after witness describe their horrifying experiences at Auschwitz. And soon, her childhood memories begin to unravel out of a haze. How could her family turn a blind eye to what the SS officers did to the prisoners? Why do her parents refuse to talk of the war?
The German House is packed full of a few different storylines, each interesting in their own right. I couldn’t put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content