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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
An intriguing look at life after the Second World War. So many facets not found in many books: lives of Germans on both sides; lives of women, of children, of soldiers and civilians, of participants and resisters and on-lookers. A story of death and life and survival and choices.
The nuance in the lives of the characters and the various shades of grey are an interesting perspective. It wasn’t as engaging as other women-centric books set in the same period. It almost felt like there were too many people that the didn’t get enough character development, or the development that did come was repetitive and never to any clear purpose in the end.
I’ve read several works of historical fiction surrounding WWII, but this ranks near the top on my list of favorites, which was just a welcome surprise. Very very well written, kept getting better as I read further, and with a completely unique set of facts and perspective from the book’s characters. Excellent book - highly recommend. Bravo.
Loved the strong women characters! Great way to wrap up a story, also!!
Marianne von Lingenfels's family owns the castle called Burg Lingenfels in Germany. When her husband and her best friend become involved in the resistance in WWII, she promises to take care of the wives and children of the resisters if anything were to happen to them. After a failed assassination plot in 1944, the men are executed and Marianne sets off to fulfill her promise. She finds Benita Fledermann and her son, and then Ania Grabarek and her two sons, and lives with them in Burg Lingenfels as they try to weather the post-war climate and events.
I feel like this book was so close to being great, but... it didn't do anything for me. It told three disparate stories which, as much as it tried, never really fit into a whole. Ania's tale was the most interesting, in my opinion, and I think I would have enjoyed the whole thing a heck of a lot more if the book had been only about her, or from her point of view rater than Marianne's.
The three main characters, Marianne especially, were unpleasant, and so I was never able to really bring myself to care about them or their fates.
Don't get me wrong, it definitely had some interesting bits and was absolutely not a waste of time, but I still ended up quite disappointed in the end. Not the best WWII novel I've ever read, not even close, really.
I feel like this book was so close to being great, but... it didn't do anything for me. It told three disparate stories which, as much as it tried, never really fit into a whole. Ania's tale was the most interesting, in my opinion, and I think I would have enjoyed the whole thing a heck of a lot more if the book had been only about her, or from her point of view rater than Marianne's.
The three main characters, Marianne especially, were unpleasant, and so I was never able to really bring myself to care about them or their fates.
Don't get me wrong, it definitely had some interesting bits and was absolutely not a waste of time, but I still ended up quite disappointed in the end. Not the best WWII novel I've ever read, not even close, really.
I have a kind of reading slump, but I managed to finish this book as an audiobook. And it was very, very good, much better (and much more different) than I had expected.
This was just ok for me. I see all the glowing reviews and feel like I read a different book. I had this on my list for over a year, and had bought the Audible version when it was on sale last year, but still couldn't get into it. But it's on my Unread shelf challenge, so I made it a priority. But this book never grabbed me. I didn't get involved in any of the characters lives. Usually I love WWII set historical fiction, just no this one.
I have wondered if Cassandra Campbell was the best choice of narrator for this book. I've listened to many books narrated by her, and she seemed to add an air of chick-lit to the book with her breezy voice, and her attempts at accents was inconsistent. Overall, this was just a huge disappointment. From other reviews, I guess I'm not all on my own with my feelings, but I"m certainly in the minority.
I have wondered if Cassandra Campbell was the best choice of narrator for this book. I've listened to many books narrated by her, and she seemed to add an air of chick-lit to the book with her breezy voice, and her attempts at accents was inconsistent. Overall, this was just a huge disappointment. From other reviews, I guess I'm not all on my own with my feelings, but I"m certainly in the minority.
I was intrigued by the premise of this book - I feel like I have read a lot of WWII books with the perspective of those who where lucky and of those who weren't that lucky. This book offers a different perspective as it follows a group of women after the war, who come together because their husbands tried to kill Hitler.
I was impressed by how Marianne could be so judgmental, Benita so quick to love and forget the ugliness in her life and Ania so practical.
In spite of some quotes worth underlining, I felt a little underwhelmed by the end as it didn't live up to the expectations I had created while reading the first 2/3 of the book... And the ending reminded me too much of the end of "The Nightingale" and that's never good (that I was reminded of another book's ending, not the ending of "The Nightingale").
3.
I was impressed by how Marianne could be so judgmental, Benita so quick to love and forget the ugliness in her life and Ania so practical.
In spite of some quotes worth underlining, I felt a little underwhelmed by the end as it didn't live up to the expectations I had created while reading the first 2/3 of the book... And the ending reminded me too much of the end of "The Nightingale" and that's never good (that I was reminded of another book's ending, not the ending of "The Nightingale").
3.
A good historical fiction read from a post WW2 Germany. While I enjoyed all the women in the story I loved Benita the most. Her story tugged at my heart strings. It made me curious to learn more about the Nazi resistance from within. It is not the best WW2 story I have read, and it is not the saddest either. I do imagine a Germany with all it’s shame, sorrow, and pain after WW2 was a hard place to live.
I received an advanced readers edition and did not like that there were many hyphenated words and I did not like the cover material/paper/rough edges BUT the writing made up for all of that. The characters are well-developed and real (not always likable) and the place descriptions were very effective - this was a book I escaped with. I liked how it's not told in a linear way and that I was able to see things multiple perspectives. I'm really glad I read this book.