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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer
A complicated story from the views of Sophie, a German woman whose husband is forced to help the Nazi’s build rockets, and Lizzie, a young woman forced to rebuild her life after the drought ruins her farm in the 1930s.
I have mixed feelings about this one, I really appreciate the unique point of views of before, during and after WWII. I don’t think I’ve read a book that showed the years leading up to Hitler gaining power and what that may have been like for families living in Berlin. I also loved Lizzie’s time on the farm. But overall I found this book hard to read. Some of it was just so heart wrenching I can’t say it was enjoyable. It was powerful and memorable, but it was also long and a bit all over the place at times. The two women were so disconnected it felt like two different books. Overall I’m glad I read it, but also glad I’m done it.
A complicated story from the views of Sophie, a German woman whose husband is forced to help the Nazi’s build rockets, and Lizzie, a young woman forced to rebuild her life after the drought ruins her farm in the 1930s.
I have mixed feelings about this one, I really appreciate the unique point of views of before, during and after WWII. I don’t think I’ve read a book that showed the years leading up to Hitler gaining power and what that may have been like for families living in Berlin. I also loved Lizzie’s time on the farm. But overall I found this book hard to read. Some of it was just so heart wrenching I can’t say it was enjoyable. It was powerful and memorable, but it was also long and a bit all over the place at times. The two women were so disconnected it felt like two different books. Overall I’m glad I read it, but also glad I’m done it.
emotional
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
The narrative jumping between two protagonists and different time periods detracted from the readability of the novel. It’s a writer’s gimmick to build suspense but it fails more than succeeds. I appreciate the author’s interest in raising the tough ethical questions about Germans who complied with the Nazis out of self preservation. The work of German scientists helping the US space program was interesting.
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t think I’ll be able to write much of a review for The German Wife. I had all the feelings, all the way through the book. It was so hard to read about Sophie’s point of view. I found myself empathizing with her and her family way more than I thought I would or even wanted to.
This is a different view of historical fiction than what I'm accustomed to. With that said, I enjoyed it. Anything where any form of prejudice is involved frustrates the hell out of me, I enjoyed the book and history entailed. It is based in the US with a German family's tribulations living in the US after the war. Wonderful story. Need books like this between my dark smut LOL