A review by abeanbg
All for Nothing by Walter Kempowski

5.0

This was a fascinating novel. Kempowski settles us into a grand old manor house in East Prussia at the start of 1945. We all know what's coming, on some level many of these characters know as well, but their world continues to waltz along like nothing much is amiss. The people inside the Georgenhoff and its frequent visitors are a fascinating band, as petty, self-obsessed, curious, venal, and charitable as we all are. Then history plays its hand and everything is swept away in a sea of horse-drawn carts, violence, and random ugly chance. Loved the ambiguity of the ending as well. Also, this makes for a fascinating comparison to E.L. Doctorow's The March and Gone With the Wind.