Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - At the Wolf's Table

Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

At the Wolf's Table by Rosella Postorino

5 reviews

libellumartinae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

Alright, alright. I am not going to lie, I have been disappointed thoroughly by historical fiction past year but it appears that this new year I started with the best option possible. In part is due to my interest for this period, especially the specific trajectory offered by this book. I think it's especially interesting because it does warrant beneath it all the questions presented in this book.

Extracordinarily written in a way that has you UTTERLY enveloped in the story, unable to identify where you end and where Rosa starts. The research is fantastic and attentive, my sole problem is the slightest sentimentality Brough upon it that ruptures a bit the general feeling of the book.

An amazing book to start the year with.

Content Warnings

lorees_reading_nook's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

In 1938, Nazi Germany is fighting a war on two fronts. Rosa Sauer's husband, Gregor, joins the Wehrmacht and is sent to the Russian front. When a bomb destroys their apartment in Berlin, Rosa moves to Gross-Parsch, to the home of Gregor's parents in East Prussia. Soon after she arrives, she is one of ten women chosen as a food taster for the Fuhrer, who is hiding away in the Wolfsschanze.

I did not know that Hitler had food tasters before reading this book but perhaps it should not have come as a surprise as his paranoia, especially at this stage of the war, is well known. What these women had to face, three times a day, seven days of the week is unimaginable. Can you imagine eating and constantly wondering whether that morsel will be your last? Can you comprehend the fear and the uncertainty, the desire to stay alive? I admit it left me slightly shaken and oddly frightened. Hitler never makes an appearance in this novel and yet his presence is keenly felt. It was not a nice feeling but it was well executed as I never doubted for a moment the terror that was the constant companion of these ten women, even if they didn't always show it.

In Rosa Sauer, Rosella Postorino presents a person with many flaws, someone who wants to fit into the rural environment of Gross-Parsch but who is always singled out as a Berliner and an outsider. Unsurprisingly, tensions arise between the ten women and Rosa finds herself in some difficult situations in which she makes a number of dubious decisions and, because of this, her character is not always pleasant. I couldn't decide whether I liked her or not but I would probably lean towards not. For instance, it isn't even clear what Rosa thinks of Nazism, one never know where her allegiances lie.

There is a feeling of suspense throughout the book that made me keep on reaching out for it but it almost always fizzles out. Reading this novel felt like being on the edge of a knife but you never get to cut yourself to experience how deep the pain can be.

Unfortunately, I felt that the story left a lot of loose ends and I suppose that real life during the war was like that. People came together under difficult and unexpected circumstances and then never saw each other again but I wanted some closure and didn't get it. Apart from that, it's a well-written book and I thought that the ending was especially poignant even if it was rather unexpected.

Content Warnings