Books set in WWII Germany tend to fascinate me. That whole time period and the challenges for folks are beyond my imagination. This book, Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, does an excellent job of going back and forth in time to study two women whose lives were greatly affected by the war.
back blurb - For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer. Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the heartbreaking truth of her mother's life.
The twists and turns in Those Who Save Us are profound. Anna's strength and survival instincts are unearthly. She did anything and everything to keep her daughter safe and alive. And she kept her daughter's official paternity a secret - something that was tough to swallow but necessary in a crazy world gone mad.
This was a solid read with strong characters and narrative. What can one endure to survive?
I was born at the end of the war but mum always told me things that people did to help others.
ReplyDeleteYour review reflect what mum told me, a wonderful review to what appears to be a fine book.
Take care.
Yvonne.
thanks. And that's cool that you remember stuff from way back when from your mum. That's how history can stay alive and remembered. My dad has had some of the same stories.
DeleteIt sounds very powerful. Takes a creative, empathetic author to write a fictional (I assume) story like this. I'm impressed by your synopsis.
ReplyDeleteBe well, friend.
Thanks. This is fiction, but no doubt based on research. The story line seemed very plausible, and that made it touching, difficult, and captured those times. People did so much to survive.
DeleteI'll have to share this with my wife as this is a favorite topic of hers. Thank you.
ReplyDeletethanks for reading my post. She won't be disappointed by the book - it's a very good read
DeleteHi Joanne - thank you for this interesting take on 'life after' ... I tend not to read about WW2 ... too disturbing, but then I'm a Brit and life was different. I know so many achieved a great deal during the war - keeping secrets etc ... and wonderful they were able to escape. Thanks - all the best - Hilary
ReplyDelete