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clothespin's review against another edition
3.0
I have resisted reading historical fiction in the WWII era simply due to the obvious horrible things that occurred. It's not that I don't want to be educated about history or that I deny that any of this happened... rather, it's that I know that it did and that I spend my reading time generally as a form of escape from life's reality. Delving deeper into the darkest parts of human depravity is not what I'm after.
This book did deal with the Nazi era - but from a unique perspective, that of German citizens who weren't directly involved in the horrors, but neither were they actively resisting and trying to stop them either. This book was based loosely on a true story and it was interesting to learn of the struggles of everyday normal Germans living through the darkest hours of their country. It was well told and relatable and shows the suffering on all sides...
What is not told is where the book ends.... What happened to this family after? After they were forced to learn of the realities of the war that they so determinedly turned a blind eye to? How did they feel upon seeing the rescued Jews and others being brought out of the camps? How did they justify, or not, their actions in light of the reality?
Those questions and their lack of answers have resulted in my star rating. It is one thing to keep your head down and try as best you can to keep your family in tact through the horrors of a war... But what is the impact mentally and socially upon learning the truth? This lack results in a failure to show the impact of our everyday moral decisions... something which I think we all need to consider even now.
This book did deal with the Nazi era - but from a unique perspective, that of German citizens who weren't directly involved in the horrors, but neither were they actively resisting and trying to stop them either. This book was based loosely on a true story and it was interesting to learn of the struggles of everyday normal Germans living through the darkest hours of their country. It was well told and relatable and shows the suffering on all sides...
What is not told is where the book ends.... What happened to this family after? After they were forced to learn of the realities of the war that they so determinedly turned a blind eye to? How did they feel upon seeing the rescued Jews and others being brought out of the camps? How did they justify, or not, their actions in light of the reality?
Those questions and their lack of answers have resulted in my star rating. It is one thing to keep your head down and try as best you can to keep your family in tact through the horrors of a war... But what is the impact mentally and socially upon learning the truth? This lack results in a failure to show the impact of our everyday moral decisions... something which I think we all need to consider even now.
karnaconverse's review
4.0
A World War II story set partly during the four months from December 1944 to March 1945 and alternating between Weimar, Germany, where surgeon Frank Kappus has been called to serve his country and Hannesburg, Germany where Liesl, Frank's wife and stepmother to his three sons, strives to keep the family together amid growing food shortages, an increasing number of attacks from Allied planes, and an increasing presence of Nazi Party officials.
The opening scene—Liesl's neighbor has dug a tunnel connecting his cellar to theirs—immediately plunges readers into the family's precarious existence as ten-year-old Hans casually explains the purpose of the tunnel to Liesl: “It’s for our safety. People can get trapped. It happened in Kassel and Darmstadt. If we neighbors adjoin our cellars, then we have a better chance of survival. Everyone knows that.”
The second part of the story shows the after-effects of the war on the people of Germany: the lack of food, the rubble, the unexploded bombs, the fall of the Third Reich, the ultimate interrogations by the Americans, and most notably, an attitude of disbelief as noted in this question posed to Liesl: "You never had conversations about your country and what it was doing to the Jews?"
Hummel's novel was inspired by her father's German childhood, is based loosely on letters her grandmother wrote her grandfather during the war, and goes well beyond the often-asked Holocaust-related questions of "what did they know and when did they know it?".
The opening scene—Liesl's neighbor has dug a tunnel connecting his cellar to theirs—immediately plunges readers into the family's precarious existence as ten-year-old Hans casually explains the purpose of the tunnel to Liesl: “It’s for our safety. People can get trapped. It happened in Kassel and Darmstadt. If we neighbors adjoin our cellars, then we have a better chance of survival. Everyone knows that.”
The second part of the story shows the after-effects of the war on the people of Germany: the lack of food, the rubble, the unexploded bombs, the fall of the Third Reich, the ultimate interrogations by the Americans, and most notably, an attitude of disbelief as noted in this question posed to Liesl: "You never had conversations about your country and what it was doing to the Jews?"
Hummel's novel was inspired by her father's German childhood, is based loosely on letters her grandmother wrote her grandfather during the war, and goes well beyond the often-asked Holocaust-related questions of "what did they know and when did they know it?".
riseclare's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed reading the book, but goodness- this one character cannot catch a break. Lovely writing; I was sucked in and read it in two sittings- did not want to put down, but most assuredly not for one who is a happily ever after kind of reader. (Which I am not- so it is ok) Do wish there was an epilogue though- of 5 years later.
rebeccawolfe's review against another edition
4.0
Writing stories of WWII-era German civilians is tricky. This one seems pretty fair and unflinching. It's based on letters from her grandparents. I like the author's description of her approach: "I could not use hindsight as a knife to slice through the past and find anything but what I expected to find. Instead of asking, 'What did they know, and when did they know it?' I began to ask, 'What did they love? What did they fear?' and in place of a fabricated fable, a complicated human story began to emerge."
rebleejen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
writergirl70's review against another edition
5.0
This is a story that is equal parts intriguing and hard to read. How did the people of Germany live with what the country was doing? The answer in this case is they didn't they were too busy surviving. A side of the war, Germany and the Nazi's that I had not thought of before. I like that in a book, and this one is so well written, it was hard to put down.
bartendm's review against another edition
5.0
When one learns about the Holocaust and sees the photographs, they cannot help but feel revolted by the people who did this awful thing. We have come to associate "Nazi" with the most despicable of people. There were those who were directly involved in these atrocities, but most of the German people at the time were probably silently complicit. Most people are not monsters, but are good at rationalizing their actions and instinctively react to authority, propaganda, and opportunity. That is certainly true in this day and age as well.
This novel, based on recently found letters of an actual German couple, helps us to see inside the world of one German family struggling to survive in the waning days of the war. They know the end will come and they are fearful of when they will become the conquered. I love the title of Motherland, as the story is mostly focused on the women in a small city left to fend for themselves as most of the men were killed or fighting the war. Day to day care and feeding of their children is their main concern, and they are fearful of each other and the authorities if they are perceived as unpatriotic. The Nazi compulsion about eugenics is made clear in Liesl's fear for one of her 3 stepsons who becomes ill and exhibits strange behaviors. He is threatened with shipment to an asylum where the children are known to be euthanized, and much of the story revolves around Liesl's attempt to save him.
This is not a happy story, but it the characters are vivid and complex. They feel like real people trying to navigate a shifting world, stay intact as a family and adjust to their new realities. They have loves and fears and shame. I was also surprised this book was a real page turner, and I found myself reading longer than I intended most of the time I picked it up. I'm happy to see more literature about ordinary people in Germany before and during the war. The Germans were not unique in their sense of superiority and susceptibility to the larger events around themselves and it's good to be reminded of our shared humanity.
This novel, based on recently found letters of an actual German couple, helps us to see inside the world of one German family struggling to survive in the waning days of the war. They know the end will come and they are fearful of when they will become the conquered. I love the title of Motherland, as the story is mostly focused on the women in a small city left to fend for themselves as most of the men were killed or fighting the war. Day to day care and feeding of their children is their main concern, and they are fearful of each other and the authorities if they are perceived as unpatriotic. The Nazi compulsion about eugenics is made clear in Liesl's fear for one of her 3 stepsons who becomes ill and exhibits strange behaviors. He is threatened with shipment to an asylum where the children are known to be euthanized, and much of the story revolves around Liesl's attempt to save him.
This is not a happy story, but it the characters are vivid and complex. They feel like real people trying to navigate a shifting world, stay intact as a family and adjust to their new realities. They have loves and fears and shame. I was also surprised this book was a real page turner, and I found myself reading longer than I intended most of the time I picked it up. I'm happy to see more literature about ordinary people in Germany before and during the war. The Germans were not unique in their sense of superiority and susceptibility to the larger events around themselves and it's good to be reminded of our shared humanity.
julie_h's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
eileen9311's review against another edition
1.0
Disappointing, but here is another one that will be returned to the library unfinished! This trend for abandonment is certainly not diminishing…………. Motherland is well written, but the protagonist is a surgeon on the front, and there was too much gore and medical detail. I loved City of Women, which was also about WWII from the German perspective, and thought this might be a similar tale. There are so many glowing reviews, though. Maybe I’ll try it again another time.
janetlweller's review against another edition
3.0
This novel tells a World War II story from the perspective of non-Jewish Germans living in the heart of Nazi Germany. It certainly asks the question what did ordinary Germans know, I am not so sure that the author makes the case that they really knew as little as she seems to say. If you leave out that quibble (which I feel is a pretty big one), it is a very engrossing story of a family during war. Lisel is the second wife of Frank (his first died in childbirth), and while he is working as a doctor near the front, she struggles to raise his three young sons. The story alternates between Frank and Lisel, and I found Lisel's story much more compelling. It is a very fascinating story, and apparently based on some letters belonging to the author's grandfather, but I was not so convinced that this family (especially Frank) knew as little as he claimed he did.
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