Scan barcode
A review by ifyouhappentoremember
The Plum Tree: An Emotional and Heartbreaking Novel of Ww2 Germany and the Holocaust by Ellen Marie Wiseman
2.0
I do feel mildly bad that I did not really enjoy this book considering that the author used her family’s experience in Germany during the war as the foundation for the plot. The book did not work for me and here is a list of reasons why.
1. To me, it felt like things happened to the characters because that was how the plot was going to go. Christine and Isaac are in love and willing to risk the dangers because their love is so strong, despite the limited time that is spent on their relationship and their lack of chemistry, because that’s what we need for the plot. I laughed out loud when Christine came face to face with Hitler and was repulsed by his evilness. I can’t believe that made it into the book.
2. I find it very nervig, annoying, that German words are randomly dropped into sentences and sofort, immediately, translated. It’s such a clunky way to build atmosphere. It bothered me so much, it detracted my enjoyment of the Geschichte, story.
3. Let’s have a discussion about the ‘Good Germans.’ It’s a phrase used to describe Germans who claimed after the war, not to support the Nazis but did not resist in any meaningful way. I realize what Wiseman is trying to do; she’s trying to make the reader aware of the suffering of the civilian population during the war, most of them having no direct involvement with the war crimes committed by the Nazi regime. However Wiseman chooses to walk this nuanced tightrope by making the ENTIRE FAMILY dislike the Nazi regime. She couldn’t make the Grandpa a Nazi sympathizer? Or have some members the family approve of some of the Nazi policies and brush aside the issue of Anti-Semitism? It just makes the entire family feel so fake and fictional if they all dislike the Nazis so much. It’s almost as if it’s alright for the reader to sympathize with the suffering and deprecation of the Bölz family, but not for the rest of neighborhood. The story could have used some nuance but everything about The Plum Tree is about as subtle as getting hit by a bus.
1. To me, it felt like things happened to the characters because that was how the plot was going to go. Christine and Isaac are in love and willing to risk the dangers because their love is so strong, despite the limited time that is spent on their relationship and their lack of chemistry, because that’s what we need for the plot. I laughed out loud when Christine came face to face with Hitler and was repulsed by his evilness. I can’t believe that made it into the book.
2. I find it very nervig, annoying, that German words are randomly dropped into sentences and sofort, immediately, translated. It’s such a clunky way to build atmosphere. It bothered me so much, it detracted my enjoyment of the Geschichte, story.
3. Let’s have a discussion about the ‘Good Germans.’ It’s a phrase used to describe Germans who claimed after the war, not to support the Nazis but did not resist in any meaningful way. I realize what Wiseman is trying to do; she’s trying to make the reader aware of the suffering of the civilian population during the war, most of them having no direct involvement with the war crimes committed by the Nazi regime. However Wiseman chooses to walk this nuanced tightrope by making the ENTIRE FAMILY dislike the Nazi regime. She couldn’t make the Grandpa a Nazi sympathizer? Or have some members the family approve of some of the Nazi policies and brush aside the issue of Anti-Semitism? It just makes the entire family feel so fake and fictional if they all dislike the Nazis so much. It’s almost as if it’s alright for the reader to sympathize with the suffering and deprecation of the Bölz family, but not for the rest of neighborhood. The story could have used some nuance but everything about The Plum Tree is about as subtle as getting hit by a bus.