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A review by samwescott
Delayed Rays of a Star by Amanda Lee Koe
5.0
What a beautiful, layered book. Somehow I managed to make it 3/4ths of the way through before I realized that the characters were real people? I don't know how I missed that, but once my brain changed it from fiction to historical fiction, I was even more impressed. The internal lives that Koe gives these women feel real and plausible and very grounded. Their stories intertwine in interesting ways, but even the parts that are completely separate, you find yourself chewing on the same questions about fame, identity, loyalty, and authenticity.
It is a story about WWII and one of the characters is a Nazi (she says she's not, but she worked for/with Hitler, so). There's not a lot of graphic Holocaust descriptions, but the horror of the concentration camps festers in a thick layer underneath the story. We meet some Romani characters who plead with Leni to help them escape the camps and there is a side character whose POV we inhabit for awhile who fought for Germany. The book is definitely not sympathetic to their cause, but it does humanize them and Hitler is a character. So, just be aware, if that's not something you wanna read. I thought it was a really responsible portrayal that assigned humanity without excusing behavior. Leni was a complicated character and I appreciated how she was written. I think Anna May was my favorite.
The side characters are also really richly described, so the mix of the three main actresses and the side characters gave the story a lot of room to sprawl and detour. It was beautiful.
Extremely well-written with a lot of gorgeous character work on a very complicated historical backdrop. This book has LAYERS and they are well-researched, emotionally poignant, and have impeccable finger-waves. Highly recommend.
It is a story about WWII and one of the characters is a Nazi (she says she's not, but she worked for/with Hitler, so). There's not a lot of graphic Holocaust descriptions, but the horror of the concentration camps festers in a thick layer underneath the story. We meet some Romani characters who plead with Leni to help them escape the camps and there is a side character whose POV we inhabit for awhile who fought for Germany. The book is definitely not sympathetic to their cause, but it does humanize them and Hitler is a character. So, just be aware, if that's not something you wanna read. I thought it was a really responsible portrayal that assigned humanity without excusing behavior. Leni was a complicated character and I appreciated how she was written. I think Anna May was my favorite.
The side characters are also really richly described, so the mix of the three main actresses and the side characters gave the story a lot of room to sprawl and detour. It was beautiful.
Extremely well-written with a lot of gorgeous character work on a very complicated historical backdrop. This book has LAYERS and they are well-researched, emotionally poignant, and have impeccable finger-waves. Highly recommend.