Not sure if I was in the right frame of mind to read this book....just didn't engage with the characters and it just felt tense the whole time with nothing else to keep me hooked. I think I was also a bit slow to realise what was actually going on, by which time I'd nearly finished the book! It's a well written book, but unfortunately I found the main character a bit annoying, why did he choose to go there in first place? It did highlight though the difference between the rich and the poor during the war...he could get anything while there were people starving on the streets. I think if I read this again, knowing fully what was going on I might enjoy it more. The problem for me was that I don't think I really liked Friedrich that much, but maybe that's more about me than the author! Stella was amazing though...how she lived liked that was incredible, and so sad too.