Scan barcode
A review by mareers
The Girl Behind the Wall by Mandy Robotham
4.0
[Thanks NetGalley for providing me the ARC in return for an honest review.]
The wall, and its effect on a family. There are those few places around the world that have seen a homogeneous group of people getting separated by a gash in geography - wall, fence, newly drawn borders etc. Be it the Korean border, the Israel-Palestine border, the now infamous US-Mexico border / wall or even the India-Pakistan border closer home, borders and walls have had the tendency to crop up in a short notice, ending up separating families for a long time, or sometimes eternity.
The Berlin Wall is special in this context, given the intention behind the cropping up of the wall in the 60s as well as the way it was brought down in front of Live Media of the 90s. On the one hand, the fall of the wall was hailed as the promising restoration of democracy, on the other hand there would always be the story of the 'other side' - people who may not necessarily have had a bad life after all.
Personally, I found this book very interesting - as my first book set in the backdrop of Germany / Berlin from the 60s to 90s Era. More importantly, the handling of characters - the inseparable twins getting separated, each trying all possible ways to keep their binding thread strong, at the same time pursuing personal goals and ideals that may come in the way of their binding thread - the entire premise and narration was tight and gripping. I liked the fact that each chapter was small - it helped me move forward quicy with the story, covering a few or many chapters in a day depending on the time available for reading.
There were a few elements that could have been better - some of the characters could have been given more prominence and background - like that of the girs' uncle, who seemed to have a key role in shaping up the girls' lives. On the other hand, the need for an American to swoop down and save the girl, after all the courage she had shown seemed to be a little out of place (personally). Also, some of the sequences involved on either side of the wall seemed too easy to be realistic. I might need a further reading of the wall's history to say this with certainty though.
All of the above points take nothing away from the story, which was paced perfectly, and accelerates quickly towards the end for a feel good finish.
I am very happy to have taken up this book for reading.
The wall, and its effect on a family. There are those few places around the world that have seen a homogeneous group of people getting separated by a gash in geography - wall, fence, newly drawn borders etc. Be it the Korean border, the Israel-Palestine border, the now infamous US-Mexico border / wall or even the India-Pakistan border closer home, borders and walls have had the tendency to crop up in a short notice, ending up separating families for a long time, or sometimes eternity.
The Berlin Wall is special in this context, given the intention behind the cropping up of the wall in the 60s as well as the way it was brought down in front of Live Media of the 90s. On the one hand, the fall of the wall was hailed as the promising restoration of democracy, on the other hand there would always be the story of the 'other side' - people who may not necessarily have had a bad life after all.
Personally, I found this book very interesting - as my first book set in the backdrop of Germany / Berlin from the 60s to 90s Era. More importantly, the handling of characters - the inseparable twins getting separated, each trying all possible ways to keep their binding thread strong, at the same time pursuing personal goals and ideals that may come in the way of their binding thread - the entire premise and narration was tight and gripping. I liked the fact that each chapter was small - it helped me move forward quicy with the story, covering a few or many chapters in a day depending on the time available for reading.
There were a few elements that could have been better - some of the characters could have been given more prominence and background - like that of the girs' uncle, who seemed to have a key role in shaping up the girls' lives. On the other hand, the need for an American to swoop down and save the girl, after all the courage she had shown seemed to be a little out of place (personally). Also, some of the sequences involved on either side of the wall seemed too easy to be realistic. I might need a further reading of the wall's history to say this with certainty though.
All of the above points take nothing away from the story, which was paced perfectly, and accelerates quickly towards the end for a feel good finish.
I am very happy to have taken up this book for reading.