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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
This was an incredibly beautiful story about a horrible atrocity. Many historical fiction books have been written about what happened in Germany during WWII. What I appreciated about this story, and what made it stand out, is that the main character, Eva, comes to realize what truly happened years later. She has to come to terms with her role in the atrocities, and wrestles with the idea of being an "innocent bystander" and being complacent. The author does all of this with upholding the dignity of those who experienced this horrendous crime and never falling into the trap of downplaying it. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a rich read for the end of the year.
I gave it 4/5 not 5/5 because of a few things: Eva's sister's arc felt weirdly wrapped up in a bow and I wish there was a little more to her. Also, some things in the end I wasn't completely on board with.
I gave it 4/5 not 5/5 because of a few things: Eva's sister's arc felt weirdly wrapped up in a bow and I wish there was a little more to her. Also, some things in the end I wasn't completely on board with.
Uff, ich weiß gar nicht, wo ich anfangen soll.
Ich habe sehr viel von dem Buch erwartet, bei dem die Auschwitzprozesse eigentlich eine sehr interessante Basis bieten müssten. Ich habe mich auf einen intensiven Prozess vorbereitet, wobei die Hauptfigur am Rande mit ihrem sozialen Umfeld zu kämpfen hat. Leider war es umgekehrt.
Ich hatte beim Lesen permanent das Gefühl, dass der Prozess gar nicht so wichtig für Eva war, sondern dass ihr ihr eigenes Leben, trotz all der Gräueltaten, die im Prozess geschildert wurden, einfach wichtiger war. Man findet sich also in einem Wirrwarr zwischen Annegrets Arbeit auf der Kinderstation, den Problemen in der Kneipe und Evas Beziehung mit Jürgen wieder; der Prozess ist zwar präsent, aber eher im Hintergrund.
Ein weiterer Punkt, der mich sehr gestört hat, war, dass Eva erst richtig bewusst wurde, um was es bei diesen Prozessen wirklich ging, als sie persönlich darin involviert wurde. Sie hatte zwar eine böse Ahnung, dass ihre Eltern möglicherweise Dreck am Stecken haben könnten, aber erst als sie den Namen ihres Vaters im Verzeichnis gelesen hat, ist ihr aufgefallen, dass in den Lagern furchtbare, unverzeihliche Gräueltaten begangen wurden.
Auch die Charaktere blieben nicht wirklich greifbar. Besonders bei Eva und Jürgen wurde nicht mit stereotypischen Charaktereigenschaften für die 1970er gespart. Wirkliche Weiterentwicklung der Charaktere lässt lange auf sich warten und alles spielt sich sehr oberflächlich ab. Ich fühlte mich permanent hin und hergerissen, da die Charaktere an der einen Stelle endlich einen Schritt in die richtige Richtung zu machen schienen, jedoch im nächsten Moment wieder in alte Verhaltensmuster zurückfallen und unnahbar erschienen. Was sich mir absolut nicht erschließen mag, ist die Geschichte mit Davids Hintergrund und seine Verhaltensmuster. Für mich war er ein irrationaler Charakter, bei dem sich herausstellte, dass diese Irrationalität nicht gerechtfertigt war.
Das ganze Buch liest sich eher zäh. Zwei Sterne gab es nur, weil ein paar Stellen (hauptsächlich die vor Gericht) mehr oder weniger gelungen sind. Keine Leseempfehlung, aber jede Auseinandersetzung mit dem Nationalsozialismus bedeutet Aufarbeitung und Weiterentwicklung.
Ich habe sehr viel von dem Buch erwartet, bei dem die Auschwitzprozesse eigentlich eine sehr interessante Basis bieten müssten. Ich habe mich auf einen intensiven Prozess vorbereitet, wobei die Hauptfigur am Rande mit ihrem sozialen Umfeld zu kämpfen hat. Leider war es umgekehrt.
Ich hatte beim Lesen permanent das Gefühl, dass der Prozess gar nicht so wichtig für Eva war, sondern dass ihr ihr eigenes Leben, trotz all der Gräueltaten, die im Prozess geschildert wurden, einfach wichtiger war. Man findet sich also in einem Wirrwarr zwischen Annegrets Arbeit auf der Kinderstation, den Problemen in der Kneipe und Evas Beziehung mit Jürgen wieder; der Prozess ist zwar präsent, aber eher im Hintergrund.
Ein weiterer Punkt, der mich sehr gestört hat, war, dass Eva erst richtig bewusst wurde, um was es bei diesen Prozessen wirklich ging, als sie persönlich darin involviert wurde. Sie hatte zwar eine böse Ahnung, dass ihre Eltern möglicherweise Dreck am Stecken haben könnten, aber erst als sie den Namen ihres Vaters im Verzeichnis gelesen hat, ist ihr aufgefallen, dass in den Lagern furchtbare, unverzeihliche Gräueltaten begangen wurden.
Auch die Charaktere blieben nicht wirklich greifbar. Besonders bei Eva und Jürgen wurde nicht mit stereotypischen Charaktereigenschaften für die 1970er gespart. Wirkliche Weiterentwicklung der Charaktere lässt lange auf sich warten und alles spielt sich sehr oberflächlich ab. Ich fühlte mich permanent hin und hergerissen, da die Charaktere an der einen Stelle endlich einen Schritt in die richtige Richtung zu machen schienen, jedoch im nächsten Moment wieder in alte Verhaltensmuster zurückfallen und unnahbar erschienen. Was sich mir absolut nicht erschließen mag, ist die Geschichte mit Davids Hintergrund und seine Verhaltensmuster. Für mich war er ein irrationaler Charakter, bei dem sich herausstellte, dass diese Irrationalität nicht gerechtfertigt war.
Das ganze Buch liest sich eher zäh. Zwei Sterne gab es nur, weil ein paar Stellen (hauptsächlich die vor Gericht) mehr oder weniger gelungen sind. Keine Leseempfehlung, aber jede Auseinandersetzung mit dem Nationalsozialismus bedeutet Aufarbeitung und Weiterentwicklung.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read, but as I was looking at the synopsis for this book, I realized I have read tons about World War 2, but not much about the years after the war. In this novel, Eva is a translator who finds herself thrust into the Frankfurt Nazi trials of the 1960s. As the trial progresses, she starts to feel like maybe people close to her know more than they have let on throughout her life. I was enthralled with this book, from about 25% on. I thought it started a bit slow, and the storyline jumps from character to character without warning, which can be disconcerting, but I adapted to pretty quickly. Overall, a good and enjoyable read. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.
Wow - this book.
I just couldn’t put it down.
The German House follows Eva - whose parents own a restaurant appropriately named German House.
Eva struggles with hearing witness testimonies during the trial, and then struggles to stay close to her family after their dismissive attitude towards Auschwitz. Things take a turn for the worse when her fiancé starts to control what she can and can’t do, and she discovers a dark secret about her family’s past...
Set in 1960s West Germany during the Auschwitz Trials, The German House captures the generation gap between those who lived the war and those too young to remember that they lived through it. It could be that I find German history particularly fascinating, but I just could not put this book down.
I did, however, struggle with some of the side plots bu expected in the end for them to all come together and culminate in a big event. But I guess this adds to the appeal of the novel in a way - it keeps it real and makes you believe that Eva Bruhns really did experience all this.
Nonetheless, I really would recommend this book.
I was provided with a free e-book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.
I just couldn’t put it down.
The German House follows Eva - whose parents own a restaurant appropriately named German House.
Eva struggles with hearing witness testimonies during the trial, and then struggles to stay close to her family after their dismissive attitude towards Auschwitz. Things take a turn for the worse when her fiancé starts to control what she can and can’t do, and she discovers a dark secret about her family’s past...
Set in 1960s West Germany during the Auschwitz Trials, The German House captures the generation gap between those who lived the war and those too young to remember that they lived through it. It could be that I find German history particularly fascinating, but I just could not put this book down.
I did, however, struggle with some of the side plots bu expected in the end for them to all come together and culminate in a big event. But I guess this adds to the appeal of the novel in a way - it keeps it real and makes you believe that Eva Bruhns really did experience all this.
Nonetheless, I really would recommend this book.
I was provided with a free e-book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.
I am a huge fan of WWII history, whether it’s fact or fictional. I find the entire time period to be incredibly interesting. One thing that has always had me wondering, is how the German people were able to excuse the atrocities of the Holocaust and how they were able to come back as a nation from that time period. It astonished me to see how ignorant Eva was about her own history in the war and how the prejudices continued in people’s attitudes. (Naive? Yes I am.) I also found it incredible how people just wanted to cover up what happened, to forgive and let these people go live their lives, after they murdered millions of people. The most pressing problem wasn’t that they were free, it was that the prosecution had the audacity to pursue a trial, which was a “waste” in the German people’s eyes. I found this novel to be immensely powerful and a read that deserves to be taught about post WWII actions. Although I detested Jurgen’s character (seriously, what a misogynistic jerk) and the grammar/transitions into new segments was rough, I found the novel to be incredible. How do you forgive a loved one’s past, when they’ve participated in the worst atrocity in the world?
Historical fiction, especially about WWII and the Holocaust have always fascinated me. I bought this book just knowing that and without reading the rest of the plot. I felt like I was feeling Eva’s emotions as she learned more and more about the horrors that happened and the secrets within the people she was close to. I wasn’t thrilled about the ending and would like to rate this book a 3.5/5. To me, it was abrupt and I felt like some parts of the story were rushed to finish. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-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:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought the topic was interesting: the trial of ss officers. However, I found the audiobook narrator to have been a bit of a distraction for me due to the cadence and pronunciation of some words. I also found all of the charcters to be hard for me to relate to, and some storylines seemed to be completely unneccessary.
The German House takes place in 1960s Germany, where many are trying to forget about the war & it's tragedies. The story centers around Eva, a young woman in her 20s, helping out at her her family's restaurant, The German House, & working as a Polish translator. Eva is too young to have known what transpired during the war herself, & everyone she knows refuses to talk about it. As she is living her life of finding herself, as well as finding a husband, she is pulled into translating during the Frankfurt trials. Naturally, her family & boyfriend vehemently oppose to Eva taking part in the trials.
Eva's boyfriend, Jurgen, is one of the worst characters in the book (although her sister, Annegret, is by far the most awful person in Eva's world.) However, it is to be taken into consideration that the time frame this takes place, a woman's role is very different and Eva struggles with becoming an independent woman or a potential & traditional wife. She is also at odds with her family, who begins acting strangely when she accepts the job to translate during the trial. She wonders what secrets they are keeping from her.
I love historical fiction, but there are so many historical fiction novels that take place during WWII that I almost avoid them at this point. But, The German House is a different take on the horrific aspects of the war, specifically from the German viewpoint. It is a story of a country with a generation trying to heal & rebuild, while ashamed of the atrocities that occurred & the juxtaposition of a modern generation trying to moving forward, while forcing those to acknowledge their actions as well as those who chose subservience.
I really enjoyed The German House as both a historical retelling of the Frankfurt trials, as well as Eva's personal story & her family.
*Thank you to BookishFirst & HarperVia for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.*
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Eva's boyfriend, Jurgen, is one of the worst characters in the book (although her sister, Annegret, is by far the most awful person in Eva's world.) However, it is to be taken into consideration that the time frame this takes place, a woman's role is very different and Eva struggles with becoming an independent woman or a potential & traditional wife. She is also at odds with her family, who begins acting strangely when she accepts the job to translate during the trial. She wonders what secrets they are keeping from her.
I love historical fiction, but there are so many historical fiction novels that take place during WWII that I almost avoid them at this point. But, The German House is a different take on the horrific aspects of the war, specifically from the German viewpoint. It is a story of a country with a generation trying to heal & rebuild, while ashamed of the atrocities that occurred & the juxtaposition of a modern generation trying to moving forward, while forcing those to acknowledge their actions as well as those who chose subservience.
I really enjoyed The German House as both a historical retelling of the Frankfurt trials, as well as Eva's personal story & her family.
*Thank you to BookishFirst & HarperVia for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.*
Blog