Tag: WWII

The author had me at séance.

Seriously, I knew that I was going to love this book from the very opening pages, due to a simple opening chapter. It intrigued me and I had to know more about Ruby. I mean, not every day that you read about a séance at the on-start of the Blitz, right?

As I read further, I found her to be a more complex character than I originally thought. She held on to her life (the way she knew it) even in the face of the Blitz and tried to do what was right. I think she showed the most growth over the course of the story.

It didn’t help that Joseph, her tenant, was a self-righteous ass about her for a good portion of the opening chapters. Sorry to be blunt, but it’s true. I wasn’t sure what to make of him because it seemed like he thought he was better and could be judgmental because of his status and view of the war.

But we also learn early that there is a reason he feels that way, and it’s personal. I thought this made his motivations more interesting and made him a more sympathetic character.

And then there was Kitty. In some ways I thought she was the most interesting character because her physical description seemed to be a reflection of her living situation prior to the war. I’m not saying more than that.

As with other historical fiction books, there is a contemporary storyline as well. Sometimes the two lines have little connection to each other and only serve to get us to the past.

That’s not the case here. I thought the author used an extremely clever method to tie the two timelines together. In fact, it was so subtle that I didn’t even realize how it was being done at first.

In this case, the two timelines are linked even more so than in most books. There’s even some mystery involved. And that is what ultimately made this book a terrific read.

I know that sounds convoluted, but you’ll understand if you read it – and I don’t want to blow the joy you’ll have in figuring it out.

Author Bio:
Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.

As I have mentioned several times here, I enjoy reading historical fiction because I can almost always find a new perspective on a known event. That is certainly the case here.

Much has been written about the resistance in places like France, but this unique story is set in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and details how one woman finds strength she didn’t know she had to survive.

I thought that Magda was an interesting character. She had let her birthmark essentially define her throughout her life and could never see what others saw in her. This made for some sad events that I think she actually took the wrong way, and if she had reacted differently there would have been different outcomes.

I also thought that the concept of finding a new home with other “misfits” (at least they were misfits in Nazi eyes) was a good one. I enjoyed the chapters regarding her life with the Taubers the most.

Her relationship with Walter was also a telling point. After all is said and done, he makes a comment about how she could have been kinder to him and he might have been a different person.

On the surface, it sounds unfair to blame her for what he became. But he made a good point in that she didn’t often think of others in that way, always expecting them to throw her away, so she did it first.

I did get a Rolf/”Sound of Music” feel from Walter’s part in the story.

There were some parts that seemed rather abrupt- for example, the fate of Jana, Eva, and Father Gabriel. To me, that came a little bit out of nowhere. It was certainly a jolt of realization about how ruthless the Nazis could be.

I also thought that the end got muddled a little bit. I don’t want to give away Magda’s development and trajectory, but it seemed like there was a lack of focus in the last third of the book.

I also was disappointed in the way many characters came and went with only a quick mention as to their fate (like the Taubers).

I understand why the author wrote things they way she did, because it was a stark illustration as to how life in war-time would be: a person may never know the fate of others and would have to rely on reports that might be no better than hearsay.

Still, I think some of them deserved a better wrap-up than what they got. And I’m not sure that the ending was entirely plausible.

But I still very much enjoyed this book and read it in two sittings (which is a major feat for me these days). I would definitely recommend it.

Author Bio:

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger was born in Minnesota in 1969 and grew up in the culture-rich neighborhood of “Nordeast” Minneapolis. She started her writing career with short stories, travel narratives, worked as a journalist and then as a managing editor for a magazine publisher before jumping the editor’s desk and pursuing her dreams of writing and traveling. In 2000, she moved to western Austria and established her own communications training company. She has won several awards for her short stories and novels and now primarily writes historical fiction. During a trip into northern Italy over the Reschen Pass, she stood on the edge of Reschen Lake and desperately wanted to understand how a 15th-century church tower ended up sticking out of the water. What stories were lying beneath? Some eight years later, she launched the “Reschen Valley” series with five books and a novella releasing between 2018 and 2021, in parallel to her WW2 novels and short story collections.

I am a HUGE fan of Catherine Hokin’s books (see my reviews of The Fortunate Ones and What Only We Know). Her books are always well-crafted with memorable characters and storylines that weave timelines seamlessly.

In her latest, the same hallmarks are there. I did think that some parts were much stronger than others, but as a whole, it was an intriguing and obviously well- researched book.

I was able to relate to Peggy from the start, which was good, because I think her story actually got lost along the way. As with many historical fiction novels, there is the need for a more contemporary storyline that allows for the historical line to be told.

In this case, the contemporary storyline was 1957, as Peggy goes in search of answers regarding an old photo she is given. (No spoilers, you’ll have to read to find out her full situation). But I was very sympathetic to her for personal reasons.

I thought the author did a good job with Peggy’s storyline. She captured the desires of a young woman who wanted to make a name for herself in a traditionally male-dominated profession (journalism) at a time when women were finding their voices.

All of that being said, this is really Anna’s story, and those were the sections that really had me turning pages. From the early (very early) days of Hitler’s rise to the aftermath, Anna’s story is one that will stick with me for a long time.

There were many unique sections to this book – events and other things that aren’t as common in WWII historical fiction. Yes, there are Nazis, but (as one example) the focus isn’t on concentration camps and the resilience of the people.

Not that those aren’t good stories – I’ve read several that address this extremely well.

Although the first part of Anna’s story is set in 1930s Germany, a large part is set in America, and this is what I found most fascinating. I’d never heard of the movement that Anna gets unwittingly involved in (which is kind of sad, because I was a history major in college).

I also applaud the author for tackling the internment camps in the U.S. Most people don’t know about those.

Interesting side note, and I may have mentioned this before, but when I was in college, I took a class where the professor addressed the German and Japanese being taken from their homes in the U.S. I had written a paper on the Monterey fishing industry.

Italians, especially in this area, were also put into internment camps. The professor argued that wasn’t true…until I showed him the book I had researched. He ended up changing his lecture.

But I digress.

While I was completely engrossed in Anna’s story, which was realistic, accurate, and highly emotional, I thought that there were parts that went by the wayside.

Peggy’s story actually got lost for a good portion of the book. And I feel conflicted about Louise’s role in all of it. I understand why the author used her in the way she did, and I know her story could be applied to other actresses of the time, but it never felt entirely realistic to me, more as a method to propel Anna’s story.

In the end, however, I thought it was a very good book. Anna’s story alone is worth reading it.

Author Bio:

Catherine Hokin is the author of two World War Two inspired novels set in Berlin, her favourite city. Following a History degree at Manchester University she worked in teaching, marketing and politics, while waiting for a chance to do what she really wanted which was to write full time. Her short stories have been published by iScot, Writers Forum and Myslexia magazines and she was the winner of the 2019 Fiction 500 Short Story Competition. She is a lover of strong female leads and a quest.

Catherine now lives in Glasgow with her American husband. She has two grown-up children – one of whom lives, very conveniently, in Berlin – and a life long addiction to very loud music. Website: https://www.catherinehokin.com/

Is it possible to say that a story about concentration is an easy yet uplifting read? If so, then this book qualifies for that type of description.

It’s hard to put my finger exactly on what made this book different from other historical novels involving concentration camps that I have read (and there have been a lot of them).

I think for one thing, the author seemed to focus on the attitudes of the inhabitants rather than the horrors they were facing. That’s not to say that they weren’t detailed – they just didn’t take center stage in the overall story.

I guess I could say that the plot was more character-driven than event-driven.

I thought that the author did a great job of weaving the stories of Anna and Isaac and how they are shaped by their dual status. They “enjoy” a special status for working at the private home of the Sturmbannfuhrer.

Of course, they don’t enjoy it at all. But it puts them apart from the other residents of the camp who are tasked with menial labor and torture. The way that Anna and Isaac individually deal with their conflicting emotions was well-done.

I found Friedrich to be an especially complex character. At 11, he is old enough to understand some of what is going on, but he is also wise enough to know right from wrong. His remorse at how he talked to Isaac (apparently emulating his father) was genuine and made him a sympathetic character.

He was also interesting because his uncertainty about the truth of…well, everything (including his mother’s hatred of pretty much…well, everything including him) was indicative of how I think many people felt.

Take Greta as another example. She was from the town, but she treated Isaac and Anna with compassion and gentleness, not as if they were any different. Whether he knew it or not, I think Friedrich learned from her.

This is much in the same way that Isaac learned from Levi, who I found to be delightful (again, a word not usually associated with WWII Nazi atrocities). Levi’s attitude and sense of humor was both enlightening and poignant.

In the face of having everything taken away, a person must make a decision. Levi chose to keep his spirit as much as he could – that was something that the Nazis couldn’t take, he could only give it up. And it only went away when he did.

That’s an important lesson, I think.

I could go on about all of the lessons that could be learned from the characters in this book, because there were many. But I will just say that you should probably have tissues ready for the last 25% of the book (or so).

Another thought-provoking and heartfelt novel from this author. Also, don’t miss The Ringmaster’s Daughter.

Author Bio:
Carly Schabowski worked as a journalist in both North Cyprus and Australia before returning to Oxford, where she studied for an MA and then a PhD in creative writing at Oxford Brookes University. Carly now teaches at Oxford Brookes University as an associate lecturer in Creative Writing for first and second-year English literature students.