Reviews

City of Women by David R. Gillham

emiliedoleshel's review against another edition

4.0

This book builds as the story moves along. As Sigrid changes and becomes more bold, so does the excitement. I enjoyed watching Sigrid change from someone bored with their life to someone who is thrown into something bigger than she is.

This book also makes one think about the choices we make. What would we do in this situation? Be idle and a "rule follower" or stand up for what is morally right?

guylou's review against another edition

5.0

"City of Women" has been on my list to read for a while. I finally got to it and discovered a literary gem. "City of Women" takes place in Berlin in 1943. A German woman named Sigrid lives two lives. One of a wife waiting for the return of her husband from the Russian front and living a German war time day-to-day life. Another of a passionate woman who has an affair with a Jewish man and gets involved with helping those who are wronged by this horrifying war.

David R. Gillham delivers a book that is raw at its core and does not spare you the hideous details of inhuman actions. The characters are honest in their delivery and communicates their feelings effectively. This book is also a story of courage and hope, and a story of good prevailing over evil. A must read!

suebarsby's review against another edition

1.0

Frankly it lost me the second the man picked her up in the cinema - unlikely & embarrassing. The whole love affair was lacking in plausibility & emotion - did he write it for convenience of the rest of the plot?

greenvillemelissa's review against another edition

4.0

Book #54 Read in 2013
City of Women by David Gillham

This historical fiction book is set during the time of the Holocaust. Sigrid is a German woman who ends up having an affair with a Jewish man and helping Jews escape the Nazis. Sigrid is a hard character to like at first but I ended up liking her. By the end of the book, she took control of her destiny. The horrors of the war and the hatred were detailed well in this book. The writing style was sophisticated. All of the characters were flawed in their own way, which made them very realistic. Overall, a good read.

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margaret21's review against another edition

4.0

This is an intelligent, taut thriller set in WWII Berlin. Sigrid's husband is fighting on the Eastern Front. She's a stenographer, living with her hard-to-please mother-in-law. Life goes on, in its drab and difficult way until she meets and falls in love with Egon, a Jew: and at more or less the same time, Ericha, who works with a group who hide Jews from the authorities, then helps move them on. But who can you trust in this game of cat-and-mouse? Is your enemy always your enemy? And can your friend be trusted? This is a morally suspenseful read, coloured with telling imagery, and understated conversations. Perhaps the ending was rather rushed, rather tidied up. But I was eager to turn the pages, though not so eager to leave the drab, dismal and terrifying world into which I had been thrust.

gilmoreguide's review against another edition

3.0

For Sigrid Schröder her life in 1943 Berlin is one of grinding tedium, working days as a stenographer and spending nights in a small apartment with her mother-in-law and withdrawn husband. Her only escape is a movie theater where she can sit quietly in the balcony with her own thoughts. There she meets Egon, a mysterious man with whom she embarks on a dangerous affair, for Egon is a Jew. For months they meet in a small shabby apartment and he provides the only source of life in her tedious existence. But even as their physical relationship grows stronger, he remains secretive about his life and past. Then with the same stealth that he slipped into her life, he is gone. So too is her husband who is sent to the Eastern Front.

Continue reading review at:
http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2012/08/city-of-women/

teacat's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

leavingsealevel's review against another edition

3.0

Surprisingly engaging, for something I was expecting to be a [b:Sarah's Key|556602|Sarah's Key|Tatiana de Rosnay|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1317064109s/556602.jpg|2523229] knockoff somehow.

upgirlcd's review against another edition

3.0

I struggled with this book until the second half of it. I did not like the characters or their behavior. The second half of the book was almost like a different book entirely. It held much more WWII & German history; shared the struggles of betrayal of Party members, Jewish families, soldiers who were wounded physically & emotionally. Some of the book was harsh,sometimes touching. I could even relate to the protagonist's own struggles in the last third of the book. 3 stars

susannaopal's review against another edition

3.0

I think if I could, I would have given this novel 3.5 stars. It reminded me of "Those Who Save Us" by Jenna Blume, an equally morally ambiguous tale set during WWII in Germany. The choices people make in situations beyond our wildest imagination are easy to judge based on our safety and a black & white tunnel vision. This novel left me thinking, wishing to know more of the main character since the novel fully occurs during 1943 in Berlin just as the war is shifting in the Allies favor despite the Axis' denial machine. I did not feel a particular kinship to any one character but I did enjoy the book and found that after the first 100 pages it was difficult to part with and I would be interested to see if a sequel is every written.