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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Originally posted here
I need to start this review with the obvious about me: I have my undergrad degree in History, with my thesis in World War II and France, which I gave to my advisor just as Inglourious Basterds came out. This is all to prepare you for the fact I’m fairly picky about World War II fiction. After a full year of nothing but World War II non-fiction books, I required a break from them. Prisoner of Night and Fog is the first one I remember wanting to read. I mean, Uncle Dolf? I AM HERE FOR THIS.
And I was here for this, and then I was disappointed that I was here for this. It is not that Prisoner of Night and Fog is a bad book, because it is not bad at all! It is a really solid book, but it was not the amazing book that I was expecting from my friends’ reviews. What Blankman does well, however, is to humanize Hitler. That is, what Hitler used to win over people was be charming, and lovely, and be this human that everyone wanted to be friends with. Throughout Prisoner of Night and Fog, I felt for Hitler. Don’t get me wrong, I know he’s an asshole, but that is how well Blankman humanized him. In real life, he was awkward, small, and often uncomfortable and that came across continuously throughout Prisoner of Night and Fog. What was interesting was the shift in the main character. Gretchen has spent most of her life under Hitler’s influence. Her father died protecting Hitler, and to Gretchen, he is Uncle Dolf, her lovable yet quirky, popular uncle. Slowly however, Gretchen finds out that her life is not what she was lead to believe and her life is full of very uncomfortable situations.
Her brother is an asshole, her mother is under the thumb of her brother, and her father may have not saved Hitler, but been gunned down instead while being used as a martyr. The whole world that Gretchen knows is gone, she feels she can trust no one, and now wants to know what really happened to her father. And while the plot was fascinating, I never felt connected to the characters. When Gretchen was worried, I was bored. When Gretchen was in love, I was bored and confused. I didn’t get Daniel’s appeal, I also didn’t fully understand Daniel’s interest in Gretchen. When Gretchen did…well, almost anything, I was bored. There had to be more! The plot was so intriguing that the book got better, right?
Sadly, no. While I finished it, my lack of connection made it hard to want to. It took me over two weeks to read this book which is never a good sign for me. I am interested in what Blankman does next, if research is involved, it will be a fleshed out book.
I need to start this review with the obvious about me: I have my undergrad degree in History, with my thesis in World War II and France, which I gave to my advisor just as Inglourious Basterds came out. This is all to prepare you for the fact I’m fairly picky about World War II fiction. After a full year of nothing but World War II non-fiction books, I required a break from them. Prisoner of Night and Fog is the first one I remember wanting to read. I mean, Uncle Dolf? I AM HERE FOR THIS.
And I was here for this, and then I was disappointed that I was here for this. It is not that Prisoner of Night and Fog is a bad book, because it is not bad at all! It is a really solid book, but it was not the amazing book that I was expecting from my friends’ reviews. What Blankman does well, however, is to humanize Hitler. That is, what Hitler used to win over people was be charming, and lovely, and be this human that everyone wanted to be friends with. Throughout Prisoner of Night and Fog, I felt for Hitler. Don’t get me wrong, I know he’s an asshole, but that is how well Blankman humanized him. In real life, he was awkward, small, and often uncomfortable and that came across continuously throughout Prisoner of Night and Fog. What was interesting was the shift in the main character. Gretchen has spent most of her life under Hitler’s influence. Her father died protecting Hitler, and to Gretchen, he is Uncle Dolf, her lovable yet quirky, popular uncle. Slowly however, Gretchen finds out that her life is not what she was lead to believe and her life is full of very uncomfortable situations.
Her brother is an asshole, her mother is under the thumb of her brother, and her father may have not saved Hitler, but been gunned down instead while being used as a martyr. The whole world that Gretchen knows is gone, she feels she can trust no one, and now wants to know what really happened to her father. And while the plot was fascinating, I never felt connected to the characters. When Gretchen was worried, I was bored. When Gretchen was in love, I was bored and confused. I didn’t get Daniel’s appeal, I also didn’t fully understand Daniel’s interest in Gretchen. When Gretchen did…well, almost anything, I was bored. There had to be more! The plot was so intriguing that the book got better, right?
Sadly, no. While I finished it, my lack of connection made it hard to want to. It took me over two weeks to read this book which is never a good sign for me. I am interested in what Blankman does next, if research is involved, it will be a fleshed out book.
Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads.
Historical fiction has never been one of my favorite genres. Despite that, I felt compelled to read this book because the subject and the premise was so interesting to me. Boy am I glad I did. Is all historical fiction this good? If so, I really need to branch out into this genre more frequently.
The Prisoner of Night and Fog is a story that sucked me in nearly immediately with a combination of interesting characters, lovely writing and a well-paced plot. Gretchen was a fantastic protagonist. This young lady underwent quite a transition in this book. When we're first introduced to her, she seems fairly weak and prone to believing everything people tell her. Particularly the things her Uncle Dolf tells her. It isn't until her eyes are opened by a chance encounter with a Jewish guy that she begins to question the things she has been told all her life. In the end, she becomes a strong, brave and likable heroine. Her character growth is truly phenomenal.
A lot of what I found most interesting about this book was not the romance or the action, though I enjoyed both of those a lot. Who doesn't love a good forbidden romance after all? The character studies and mention of mental illness, particularly with regards to Hitler and Gretchen's brother Reinhard, were fascinating to me. Of course, these studies also came with a lot of disturbing details about past behavior of both of these characters.
While I understand this was a fictional story, I know a lot of it was based in fact. The behind-the-scenes look at the charming Adolf Hitler and at those in his inner circle, was absolutely intriguing. Unsettling, but fascinating. This was an ambitious book. I mean, it's Hitler. To start off a book with a young character who believes all of his theories (even though she doesn't really understand what he's saying) and supports him, have her come face-to-face with one of his hated enemies, the Jew, and save him and then have her ultimately question everything she's ever known her entire life? Intense. It was incredibly well-done, too.
If you're a fan of historical fiction, or if you'd like to dip your toe in the waters and see if you might like it, I can't recommend this book highly enough. It wasn't an easy book to read because of all the hate speech, but that's to be expected. Again, Hitler. This book is set in one of those dark times in history that it's impossible to believe happened less than century ago. Unfortunately, it did. But I love the way Anne Blankman handled it in this book with fantastic characters (both good and bad), a plot that sucked me in and made me not want to put the book down, a sweet forbidden love story, eye-opening revelations and a fair bit of action. I tend to get bored with historical fiction and walk away from it. I was never in danger of doing that with The Prisoner of Night and Fog. I want to be clear there's no cliffhanger, but I still can't wait to get my hands on the sequel to see where the author takes these characters next.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, vie Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Historical fiction has never been one of my favorite genres. Despite that, I felt compelled to read this book because the subject and the premise was so interesting to me. Boy am I glad I did. Is all historical fiction this good? If so, I really need to branch out into this genre more frequently.
The Prisoner of Night and Fog is a story that sucked me in nearly immediately with a combination of interesting characters, lovely writing and a well-paced plot. Gretchen was a fantastic protagonist. This young lady underwent quite a transition in this book. When we're first introduced to her, she seems fairly weak and prone to believing everything people tell her. Particularly the things her Uncle Dolf tells her. It isn't until her eyes are opened by a chance encounter with a Jewish guy that she begins to question the things she has been told all her life. In the end, she becomes a strong, brave and likable heroine. Her character growth is truly phenomenal.
A lot of what I found most interesting about this book was not the romance or the action, though I enjoyed both of those a lot. Who doesn't love a good forbidden romance after all? The character studies and mention of mental illness, particularly with regards to Hitler and Gretchen's brother Reinhard, were fascinating to me. Of course, these studies also came with a lot of disturbing details about past behavior of both of these characters.
While I understand this was a fictional story, I know a lot of it was based in fact. The behind-the-scenes look at the charming Adolf Hitler and at those in his inner circle, was absolutely intriguing. Unsettling, but fascinating. This was an ambitious book. I mean, it's Hitler. To start off a book with a young character who believes all of his theories (even though she doesn't really understand what he's saying) and supports him, have her come face-to-face with one of his hated enemies, the Jew, and save him and then have her ultimately question everything she's ever known her entire life? Intense. It was incredibly well-done, too.
If you're a fan of historical fiction, or if you'd like to dip your toe in the waters and see if you might like it, I can't recommend this book highly enough. It wasn't an easy book to read because of all the hate speech, but that's to be expected. Again, Hitler. This book is set in one of those dark times in history that it's impossible to believe happened less than century ago. Unfortunately, it did. But I love the way Anne Blankman handled it in this book with fantastic characters (both good and bad), a plot that sucked me in and made me not want to put the book down, a sweet forbidden love story, eye-opening revelations and a fair bit of action. I tend to get bored with historical fiction and walk away from it. I was never in danger of doing that with The Prisoner of Night and Fog. I want to be clear there's no cliffhanger, but I still can't wait to get my hands on the sequel to see where the author takes these characters next.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, vie Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Gretchen Mueller is the adored adopted niece of Adolf Hitler. Her father was killed protecting Hitler and has become known as the Socialist Party Martyr. Gretchen and her family have a protected status within Hitler's inner circle. However, things start to unravel as Gretchen comes to realize what is really going on. It starts with protecting a Jew from her SS brother Reinhard and meeting Daniel Cohen and Jewish reporter who says he knows what really happened to her father. Turns out he might not have been a martyr but a murder victim. As Gretchen investigates her father's death she comes to realize just how wrong things are both in her family and with the Nazis. She must make a choice and it will be the hardest choice of her life.
What a different take on Germany prior to WWII. Gretchen may be a fictional character but many of the others in this book were real people and real events. I thought the best part of the book was delving into the psychology of Hitler and the Nazi party. As one of the psychiatrists Gretchen meets says the Nazis are packed with psychopaths and other mental disorders. How else would they have risen so fast on a message of such hatred? It was an interesting read and one that I couldn't put down.
What a different take on Germany prior to WWII. Gretchen may be a fictional character but many of the others in this book were real people and real events. I thought the best part of the book was delving into the psychology of Hitler and the Nazi party. As one of the psychiatrists Gretchen meets says the Nazis are packed with psychopaths and other mental disorders. How else would they have risen so fast on a message of such hatred? It was an interesting read and one that I couldn't put down.
First of all, I'd like to say reading about someone who is viewed as charismatic, and focuses on winning people over by talking about what they hate and how they'll make a country great again is alarming. Hatred can be a powerful force.
But about this book.
It was well-researched and from a close perspective of a terrifying rise to power from someone who is slowly realizing how scary that rise is. It was interesting to read from a perspective that slowly shifted, and I think the author carried it off well. at first you think, Gretchen! Get it together. But she comes out of years of blindness and starts to painfully discover the truth. The romance was sweet but not my favorite part of this- I more enjoyed how the author created the historical atmosphere and the stakes of the story. Glad I finally got around to this one
But about this book.
It was well-researched and from a close perspective of a terrifying rise to power from someone who is slowly realizing how scary that rise is. It was interesting to read from a perspective that slowly shifted, and I think the author carried it off well. at first you think, Gretchen! Get it together. But she comes out of years of blindness and starts to painfully discover the truth. The romance was sweet but not my favorite part of this- I more enjoyed how the author created the historical atmosphere and the stakes of the story. Glad I finally got around to this one
Since I love historical fiction I was very interested in reading this novel after reading many reviews from other fellow bloggers. In Prison of Night and Fog, Blankman does an excellent job of weaving fact and fiction, during a very turbulent part of history. She doesn’t shy away from the bad things, and instead points out all of the horrible events that happened.
The story starts off slowly and builds up quickly as Gretchen finds out of the secrets surrounding her father’s death/intention of Hitler’s party. Though Gretchen starts off at the beginning as naive she becomes courageous and strong as she fights for justice. The drama and action kept me thoroughly engrossed in the story, and I had a hard time putting it down. I also liked the (forbidden) romance aspect of the novel between Daniel and Gretchen, but that the entire story isn’t circled around their relationship.
Being historical fiction, I also learned more history from this time period (since I’m only know certain parts of 1930s history). It wasn’t till I read the author’s note in the back of the book did I realize that some of these people she uses in her story actually existed. I also liked that she recommended a list of novels put together a bibliography if you’re were interested in finding out more information.
The story starts off slowly and builds up quickly as Gretchen finds out of the secrets surrounding her father’s death/intention of Hitler’s party. Though Gretchen starts off at the beginning as naive she becomes courageous and strong as she fights for justice. The drama and action kept me thoroughly engrossed in the story, and I had a hard time putting it down. I also liked the (forbidden) romance aspect of the novel between Daniel and Gretchen, but that the entire story isn’t circled around their relationship.
Being historical fiction, I also learned more history from this time period (since I’m only know certain parts of 1930s history). It wasn’t till I read the author’s note in the back of the book did I realize that some of these people she uses in her story actually existed. I also liked that she recommended a list of novels put together a bibliography if you’re were interested in finding out more information.
Even though the main characters were fictional, the mix of factual enhanced the fast paced read. I was a little upset that the ending didn’t have more of a bang.
Might the fact that I read most of this book between noon yesterday and 5 am this morning speak to the quality of the writing?! I love historical fiction and this was a story, perspective and time new to me and the author had me hook, line and sinker. Author's note at the end was superb answering all my questions about who and what was historical fact. Learned sooooo much! I want the sequel NOW!
Book Talk: Gretchen is Uncle Dolf’s favorite niece. Gretchen smiles when Uncle Dolf comes near, follows his every command. He has opened worlds for her, taught her many life lessons. After all Gretchen’s father gave his life to save Uncle Dolf. One day Gretchen meets Daniel Cohen, a young Jewish reporter. Uncle Dolf would not want her to speak to a Jew, but Daniel claims to know something she doesn’t about her father’s death. Gretchen should despise Daniel but can’t stop listening to the troubling story Daniel tells. Her father wasn’t a martyr, dying for Uncle Dolf; her father was murdered. It might be one of Uncle Dolf’s associates who is the killer. But learning the truth will put Gretchen and Daniel in mortal danger. You see, Uncle Dolf is Adolf Hitler.
Book Talk: Gretchen is Uncle Dolf’s favorite niece. Gretchen smiles when Uncle Dolf comes near, follows his every command. He has opened worlds for her, taught her many life lessons. After all Gretchen’s father gave his life to save Uncle Dolf. One day Gretchen meets Daniel Cohen, a young Jewish reporter. Uncle Dolf would not want her to speak to a Jew, but Daniel claims to know something she doesn’t about her father’s death. Gretchen should despise Daniel but can’t stop listening to the troubling story Daniel tells. Her father wasn’t a martyr, dying for Uncle Dolf; her father was murdered. It might be one of Uncle Dolf’s associates who is the killer. But learning the truth will put Gretchen and Daniel in mortal danger. You see, Uncle Dolf is Adolf Hitler.
I really enjoyed this! The plot was fast paced and interesting, but sometimes the writing felt a bit repetitive and I felt sometimes treated the reader like they were unable to make intuitive leaps. The characters however were really interesting, and after the first 50 pages I felt invested and super excited to reach the end of this story! I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it is released!
I enjoyed the setting - 1930's Munich - awesome. It's labelled Young Adult, but when the characters are 18 or 19, working, and no longer in school, I feel that's New Adult. This book was flagged at the Scholastic Book Fair for Mature Content and I was told that had I been a kid, they would not have sold it to me. This seems ridiculous as the only "mature content" (I think) was their age. No sex, no torture scenes, war scenes, nor foul language. How is this book flagged for mature content?
It's a cool historical romance from before Hitler takes over Germany. I was a fun read.
It's a cool historical romance from before Hitler takes over Germany. I was a fun read.