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A review by bookswithmissy
The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay
5.0
This is an incredible Cold War historical fiction book. This book follows our main character Luisa, she was moved to the United States from Germany by her grandparents at the age of 4. She was told her parents died in a car accident and they moved to the US so her grandfather could find more work.
This book really read more like a spy thriller than a historical fiction.
In 1989 Luisa is working as a CIA codebreaker. A discovery at work leads her to discover that her father is alive. She finds coded letters written by her father to her grandfather detailing life in East Berlin, behind the wall. She also learns that her father is in an East Berlin jail and she is determined to get him out of prison.
This book is told in dual timeline and dual POV (Luisa and her father's). It spans from the day the wall went up until the wall comes down in 1989. It really reads more like a spy thriller than a historical fiction book. The last 100 pages made it impossible to put this book down, I just had to find out if Luisa would get her father out. I liked the evolution of Luisa's father throughout the book, when the book begins he is all for the East German government, he believes in their vision. As the book continues and through his letters you can see his world view changing. He begins working for change in East Berlin, he doesn't want to leave his home, he wants to make his home better. And I really loved that. I think Luisa was incredibly brave, if not a little naive, in her efforts to get her father out of jail.
I learned so much reading this book, I did not know that the wall went up overnight. The people of East Berlin went to bed on a Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning to the wall in place. I didn't realize how the citizens were monitored and how you really couldn't trust anyone because you never knew who was a snitch. I can't imagine living my life like that.
This book was a @bookfriendsbookclub pick for March and we were able to have a great discussion about this book and then a chat with the author last night. I loved hearing from Katherine about her writing process and all of the things she learned while researching this book.
This book really read more like a spy thriller than a historical fiction.
In 1989 Luisa is working as a CIA codebreaker. A discovery at work leads her to discover that her father is alive. She finds coded letters written by her father to her grandfather detailing life in East Berlin, behind the wall. She also learns that her father is in an East Berlin jail and she is determined to get him out of prison.
This book is told in dual timeline and dual POV (Luisa and her father's). It spans from the day the wall went up until the wall comes down in 1989. It really reads more like a spy thriller than a historical fiction book. The last 100 pages made it impossible to put this book down, I just had to find out if Luisa would get her father out. I liked the evolution of Luisa's father throughout the book, when the book begins he is all for the East German government, he believes in their vision. As the book continues and through his letters you can see his world view changing. He begins working for change in East Berlin, he doesn't want to leave his home, he wants to make his home better. And I really loved that. I think Luisa was incredibly brave, if not a little naive, in her efforts to get her father out of jail.
I learned so much reading this book, I did not know that the wall went up overnight. The people of East Berlin went to bed on a Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning to the wall in place. I didn't realize how the citizens were monitored and how you really couldn't trust anyone because you never knew who was a snitch. I can't imagine living my life like that.
This book was a @bookfriendsbookclub pick for March and we were able to have a great discussion about this book and then a chat with the author last night. I loved hearing from Katherine about her writing process and all of the things she learned while researching this book.