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hijinx_abound's review against another edition
1.0
I really loved the premise of this book. However I found the writing hard to get into and the characters difficult to like.
devm108's review against another edition
2.0
It is such a slow story, although language used was quiet pretty.
Even Characters were well described, Sigrid *Frau Schroeder* , the main character of the book, is my favourite.
Its a slow read, I had boredom reading it.
I picked it up because, I enjoyed reading Fatherland by Robert Harris and The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah, they are also Nazi based or, I must say World War based, but it was not of my taste, maybe thats why I gave it two stars.
Even Characters were well described, Sigrid *Frau Schroeder* , the main character of the book, is my favourite.
Its a slow read, I had boredom reading it.
I picked it up because, I enjoyed reading Fatherland by Robert Harris and The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah, they are also Nazi based or, I must say World War based, but it was not of my taste, maybe thats why I gave it two stars.
lifeofpie's review against another edition
2.0
Starts off pretty good but then I started skimming it about 1/4 of the way through. Way too long. It was also that point when I realized the author was jumbling together a mash of scenes that really had no point, weren't connected, and I couldn't see where he was going. Could have been a 100 pages shorter. One of my biggest pet peeves when an author adds length for no purpose. Also I thought the author relied too heavily on a "women like men who treat them badly" trope, mentally and physically. Which may be because he is a man and believes this garbage from what pop culture feeds him. I couldn't believe Sigrid at the end. Her lover was also a horrible person. I kept being reminded of The Book Thief or Those Who Save Us, and how those books accomplished similar themes but were actually good.
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up because the idea of a city filled with women because most of the men were off at war appealed to me. That the city was Berlin was also a different setting. That the women were German was also different from the other World War II era books I've read. Initially I was not completely drawn into Sigrid's story, I had a hard time reconciling the woman I was getting to know with her feelings for Egon. In no way did his character appeal to me. But that's part of the story. Despite my feelings of revulsion for him, Egon was integral to Sigrid's release and her growth. Gillham posits the question in his afterward, "What would you do?" and that's what I found myself thinking throughout. Well-paced, vivid characters, makes you think.
bookshy's review against another edition
3.0
This felt... off somehow. I didn't really believe the character arc of the main heroine, and didn't care much for any of the other characters besides maybe Ericha.
kritterbird's review against another edition
1.0
I made it to page 80...By then, if a book hasn't won me over, I just don't like wasting my time trying to finish. This book was a huge disappointment for me. I guess I am missing something that other readers loved...To me, the characters were unlikable. Inside a chapter, and going from one paragraph to another, the author would switch between past and present. I would get confused as to whether we were reading past or present. Right on the cover, it says "Gripping and Suspenseful".. I can assure you that at least the first 80 pages were not AT ALL
nevytknutelna's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
kelliepalmer's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I'm thinking 3.5 would be a good rating. I love books about WWII, rebellion, and resistance. This books was full of that. Also hints of who do you trust. The part that really lowered the rating for me was I think the main characters trusted to many people and it all worked out. Also, the infidelity and main character's love interest. He was awful and treated her disgustingly. As I kept reading I kept trying to figure out how a loving relationship was formed from their interactions.
I'm thinking 3.5 would be a good rating. I love books about WWII, rebellion, and resistance. This books was full of that. Also hints of who do you trust. The part that really lowered the rating for me was I think the main characters trusted to many people and it all worked out. Also, the infidelity and main character's love interest. He was awful and treated her disgustingly. As I kept reading I kept trying to figure out how a loving relationship was formed from their interactions.
marlo_c's review against another edition
2.0
I'm torn about this book. I've always been drawn to reading about this time period, and the feeling I get about Berlin seems authentic to the time, but the characters just don't feel quite believable to me. I can sympathize with Sigrid and believe that she was disconnected from her husband and that her affair is part of the catalyst that changes the course of her routine existence, but the multiple sexual escapades (and the situations in which they occur) seem less authentic. Ericha's character also fell flat. In addition, I grow tired of vulgarity and crudity, of which there was plenty in this book. However, the redeeming quality was the sacrifice and transformation revealed at the end.
atjelea's review against another edition
4.0
I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY. I WAS NOT COMPENSATED IN ANY WAY, AND WAS ONLY ASKED TO GIVE AN HONEST REVIEW.
This novel was one, that while it moved fairly quickly, did not always fully engage me. Perhaps it was the initial distance I felt from the main character, Sigrid. She was portrayed as a lonely wife, whose husband (with whom she held no great feeling for) was away at war. She filled her empty existence with work, making meals, sleep...all this punctuated by air raids and the resulting aftermath. She lived with a mother in law who despised her (and Sigrid's feelings mirrored the older woman's). She was stilted and morally vacant. She attempted to create passion in her life by engaging in numerous affairs. While she spoke of love, it appeared she really could not separate the physical acts she performed from the complexity of a emotionally fulfilling relationship. Unlike other reviewers, I was not offended by her extracurricular activities. Rather, I grew weary of her naïve and morally superior attitude. She seemed wooden and one dimensional at times. She seemed to start to break out of her mold, as it were, when she assisted a young woman who asked for her assistance while watching a movie at a local theatre. From this moment on, her decision resulted in a snowball effect that led her to discard her self centered and yet passive complex and move on to a more active role in the resistance. In particular, helping to relocate Jewish and other persecuted people out of the country.
I did enjoy the atmosphere that the author recreated for us. It was interesting to me, how oppressive it was to simply live in Germany, without the fear of religious persecution. Women could not smoke. It was illegal to be late for work. Allegiance to the Nazi regime was required. While the air raids increased, and reports of lost battles circulated, the German government increased its genocidal campaign against the Jewish people, hoping to distract its people from a war that was all but lost.
As the author stated in his final notes at the end of the novel:
"(Sigrid) has watched as the casual anti-Semitism of the German middle class in the 1930s has transformed into state-sponsored persecution and state-supported pogroms...For years she may have disapproved, she may have felt shame for her nation, but she did not resist...Did she feel helpless to act? Most probably. (What, after all could one woman do?) Did she feel relieved by the fact of her helplessness? Very likely. If she could not act, then she did not need to feel a responsibility to act".
It was not until Sigrid freed herself from this thought/life process that she became more "real" to me. Even after turning the last page (and I highly recommend that you read the author's notes at the end of the novel titled "What Would Any of Us Do?"), I continue to think about the novel and the circumstances it depicted.
This novel was one, that while it moved fairly quickly, did not always fully engage me. Perhaps it was the initial distance I felt from the main character, Sigrid. She was portrayed as a lonely wife, whose husband (with whom she held no great feeling for) was away at war. She filled her empty existence with work, making meals, sleep...all this punctuated by air raids and the resulting aftermath. She lived with a mother in law who despised her (and Sigrid's feelings mirrored the older woman's). She was stilted and morally vacant. She attempted to create passion in her life by engaging in numerous affairs. While she spoke of love, it appeared she really could not separate the physical acts she performed from the complexity of a emotionally fulfilling relationship. Unlike other reviewers, I was not offended by her extracurricular activities. Rather, I grew weary of her naïve and morally superior attitude. She seemed wooden and one dimensional at times. She seemed to start to break out of her mold, as it were, when she assisted a young woman who asked for her assistance while watching a movie at a local theatre. From this moment on, her decision resulted in a snowball effect that led her to discard her self centered and yet passive complex and move on to a more active role in the resistance. In particular, helping to relocate Jewish and other persecuted people out of the country.
I did enjoy the atmosphere that the author recreated for us. It was interesting to me, how oppressive it was to simply live in Germany, without the fear of religious persecution. Women could not smoke. It was illegal to be late for work. Allegiance to the Nazi regime was required. While the air raids increased, and reports of lost battles circulated, the German government increased its genocidal campaign against the Jewish people, hoping to distract its people from a war that was all but lost.
As the author stated in his final notes at the end of the novel:
"(Sigrid) has watched as the casual anti-Semitism of the German middle class in the 1930s has transformed into state-sponsored persecution and state-supported pogroms...For years she may have disapproved, she may have felt shame for her nation, but she did not resist...Did she feel helpless to act? Most probably. (What, after all could one woman do?) Did she feel relieved by the fact of her helplessness? Very likely. If she could not act, then she did not need to feel a responsibility to act".
It was not until Sigrid freed herself from this thought/life process that she became more "real" to me. Even after turning the last page (and I highly recommend that you read the author's notes at the end of the novel titled "What Would Any of Us Do?"), I continue to think about the novel and the circumstances it depicted.