Reviews

The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham

susan_loves_stories's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

nbaker131's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

loreadson's review

5.0

Such a great read !!! Despite having read many historical fiction this year , this touched on a whole other side of life during the war. The characters drew me in , and I found it hard to pull myself away. Highly recommend

greenmachine31's review

5.0

Debated between rating of 4 or 5. Prob would give it a 4.5. Totally caught my attention. Great story and character development

katie_samsock's review against another edition

3.0

Really good just...spoiler alert...because of the concentration camp situation there are a lot of scenes of newborns continuously being killed throughout so that can be hard to get through

miatia_12's review against another edition

2.0

Hated that they made Eva Braun as a victim of the Reich, often comparing her to the mothers in the camps.As if she was this innocent girl who had no idea what was going on and was blinded by love.

carolineinthelibrary's review against another edition

5.0

It's difficult to put into words all of the things I loved about this book. It was well researched and just fascinating. I love a good alternate history and the idea of Hitler having a child is definitely one of the most troubling and interesting what ifs. The ending tore at my heart strings and left me totally surprised. Robotham does a great job of not necessarily applying a morality to some of the characters that would be hard to argue they had. I felt the book was gracefully written and so engaging.

ashleysilver7's review against another edition

4.0

This was a heart-breaking book, and I wonder how much of it was based on actual events. I am not talking about the high profile baby, rather I wonder how many pregnancies and births occurred in concentration camps.

This book is about Anke, a young German midwife. Anke is a prisoner in a concentration camp, as she is a "traitor to Germany." As such, she is treated better than the average prisoner, and definitely treated better than the Jews, gypsies, and prostitutes. After a while she is released from the concentration camp and sent to attend Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress. Clearly this poses a moral dilemma for Anke, but she is very professional and vows to attend to and care for Ms. Braun, despite who she is and what she stands for.

This book was very upsetting at times as well as heartbreaking, but it was enjoyable to read a book about WWII with a different point of view. In this case, from a woman who disagreed with Hitler's Germany and was brave enough to pay the price. I only hope that I would be so brave if I ever found myself in such a difficult position.

erinb_'s review against another edition

5.0

A beautiful yet tragic story

jessfee9's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0