Thank you first of all to Readers First for a free copy of Stella in return for an honest review.
This book to me was rather eye opening and offered quite and insight and a revelation into a dark period of history.
The book is set in Berlin in 1942 and follows Friedrich, who after a childhood of feeling lonely and abandoned by his parents in his home county of Switzerland, decided to travel to Berlin, in the hope of discovering the truth and to attend art school. Whilst in Berlin, Friedrich becomes friends and falls head-over heels in love with Stella, a young Jewish girl living and working in Berlin.
The story throughout was very moving and tackles issues of loneliness, belonging, naivety, young love and betrayal all set against the background of WW2 and the escalating tension in and between Germany.
Additionally, I liked at the start of each chapter the summary of the news and events that were taking place in the world and in Germany. This helped create a deeper backdrop to the context of the book, and placing it in the scope of worldwide events.
Despite this, I found the extracts about the Jewish roundups to be a bit confusing to start with, although they did make sense by the end. Also, I would of liked Friedrich to have been developed a little further.
Furthermore, I was not expecting the book to develop and end the way it did. From reading the blurb I was aware that the book was based on a real person, named Stella. However, I was not aware of who she was and what role she played in the scope of WW2 and events in Berlin.
Overall, the book is nicely written and is relatively short in comparison to other books, at just under 200 pages. Although, it is quite short, it is a powerful read. I learnt a lot and it opened my eyes to another aspect of history I was not aware of. This is a book that will stay with me.
This book to me was rather eye opening and offered quite and insight and a revelation into a dark period of history.
The book is set in Berlin in 1942 and follows Friedrich, who after a childhood of feeling lonely and abandoned by his parents in his home county of Switzerland, decided to travel to Berlin, in the hope of discovering the truth and to attend art school. Whilst in Berlin, Friedrich becomes friends and falls head-over heels in love with Stella, a young Jewish girl living and working in Berlin.
The story throughout was very moving and tackles issues of loneliness, belonging, naivety, young love and betrayal all set against the background of WW2 and the escalating tension in and between Germany.
Additionally, I liked at the start of each chapter the summary of the news and events that were taking place in the world and in Germany. This helped create a deeper backdrop to the context of the book, and placing it in the scope of worldwide events.
Despite this, I found the extracts about the Jewish roundups to be a bit confusing to start with, although they did make sense by the end. Also, I would of liked Friedrich to have been developed a little further.
Furthermore, I was not expecting the book to develop and end the way it did. From reading the blurb I was aware that the book was based on a real person, named Stella. However, I was not aware of who she was and what role she played in the scope of WW2 and events in Berlin.
Overall, the book is nicely written and is relatively short in comparison to other books, at just under 200 pages. Although, it is quite short, it is a powerful read. I learnt a lot and it opened my eyes to another aspect of history I was not aware of. This is a book that will stay with me.