I love the luxury of being able to sit and read an entire book in a short period of time, as in days rather than over weeks, and this book really kept me turning the pages.
It's set largely in Germany and then London pre-World War II and tells the story of cousins who are part of the resistance movement that existed in Germany and then later in exile and all they tried to do to warn the world of the inherent danger Hitler represented.
Despite having read Holocaust texts quite widely I knew little of the resistance movement and so found this a really interesting read.
While this is a work of fiction it is based on a number of real events and people, with a number of the characters using their real names used throughout the book.
These people fought so hard to get the message over to British authorities as to the actions Hitler was taking, even as early as 1933, and I can only imagine the abject despair and frustration they must have felt when eventually all the horrors
of his reign were revealed.
The story is told from two perspectives, that of one if the women as an elderly lady living in Sydney and from that of the lover of her cousin while in exile in New York in the late 1930's.
It has left me wanting to learn more about these brave people and also a bit embarrassed that I never knew more of those who tried to let the world know what was coming, to no avail.
There is a quote within the book whereby one person says that they don't think anyone would believe some of Hitler's
actions pre-war, something that certainly rings true when the full extent of his actions was revealed post-war.
It's not a light and happy tale, but certainly one that leaves you thinking.
1 comment:
Oh I have just read your blog for the first time. Timely as my friend just gave me this book saying it was great. It's next on my list.
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