Wow loved the style of the writing . Each chapters had historic details of the time period intertwined with the fictional story of the characters based around that era . This is a love story with a twist and shows how naive first love and how blinded one can be . Based in Berlin in the middle of the 2nd world war it shows the hardships and the mental torture that ordinary people went through and how lives and families changed . You cannot help but fall in love with Friedrich and his sheltered priveliged life . The story is loosely based around a true story and it translates beautifully . The other main characters are not quite so loveable from Friedrichs parents his friends and of course Stella on who he adores . As the story unfolds all you ever want is for Friendrich to return to Switzerland paint till his heart is content and live happily every after.