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jenna_cross's review
3.0
3.5 rounded down. This woman persevered because of the kindness of community and her steadfast resolve. Her plans for safety and escape kept getting thwarted. It’s amazing she kept hope alive.
tuesdaydg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.0
My review is in no way meant to invalidate Frenkel’s story, hardships, or experience. A Bookshop in Berlin is undeniably an important book—it just wasn’t for me. I think I, like many other reviewers, had a less fruitful experience reading this story due to its misleading marketing. I expected both the author’s bookshop and the city of Berlin to play important roles in the story, but was disappointed in that respect. Had I read this memoir with different expectations at a different time, I likely would have had a much better reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Deportation, and Antisemitism
oviedorose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
4.0
jengennari's review
5.0
One bookseller’s travails escaping from Berlin to Paris to Nice and finally to freedom in Switzerland during WW2. She describes the many people who helped her and other refugees. There were so few, in the end... a solemn read.
melisscharber's review
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
2.0
It was difficult to understand at times. Choppy in the translation from French to English
lmcbride's review
5.0
This book started out slow for me but then I was captivated for the rest of the story. It’s definitely a unique perspective of WWII and really interesting because along her journey she meets so many different personalities so you really get a sense of the way that the war affected so many lives. I was left with an immense appreciation for the every day acts of heroism by people who were moved by a sense of common humanity as well as a love of country that surpassed any commitment to safety.