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kne 's review for:
The Women in the Castle
by Jessica Shattuck
This is definitely a good book club pick and a really interesting look at the lives of "average" German women during the war. (I use the quotes because the arguably main character is a wealthy woman who dedicates herself to hunting down and caring for the widows and orphans of her own deceased husband's resistance movement, and that seems a bit far from average!) I wish I had time to reread this after finishing it and discussing it in book club, particularly because one key plot element is very easy to miss (especially if you're reading quickly to finish before book club!) and can make the entire rest of the book a bit confusing. The contrasts between the women are good, particularly in their motivations. While Marianne is the most admirable, she also had the easiest life and it is easier for her to make the commendable choices she does. Ania and Benita, both much less well off, are not the sterling characters that Marianne is, yet Shattuck makes their choices seem plausible.
Again, I think I would have liked it a lot more if I hadn't stupidly overlooked things on first reading, but it did lead to a great discussion. I found the author's personal historical note especially fascinating. I do wonder if she will have further equally compelling novels to write without the family stories to mine.
Spoiler
Ania, a former Nazi, taking the actual resistor's widow's papers and identityAgain, I think I would have liked it a lot more if I hadn't stupidly overlooked things on first reading, but it did lead to a great discussion. I found the author's personal historical note especially fascinating. I do wonder if she will have further equally compelling novels to write without the family stories to mine.