I love historical fiction, and am particularly interested in World War II, but have never before read a story told from this point of view. The three main characters have very different histories to reveal, and the fact that their past with its secrets continues to affect their present feels very real, with all the conflicts that brings.
The story is extremely detailed and visual, and the reader is left in no doubt about horrors witnessed, we have heard about them many times, but it is fascinating to read that some Germans did try to make a difference by resistance, and the difficulties & persecution that they faced.
At times the story feels a little slow moving, but Shattuck has so much that she wants to say, the amount of research and information she delivers is phenomenal.
In writing this story, Jessica Shattuck had to come to terms with recognising that her grandparents were Nazis. Ultimately, I think it is not a novel of excuse or forgiveness for them, it is a novel of hope, that we learn from the past by looking at it honestly and then try to rebuild a better future.
The story is extremely detailed and visual, and the reader is left in no doubt about horrors witnessed, we have heard about them many times, but it is fascinating to read that some Germans did try to make a difference by resistance, and the difficulties & persecution that they faced.
At times the story feels a little slow moving, but Shattuck has so much that she wants to say, the amount of research and information she delivers is phenomenal.
In writing this story, Jessica Shattuck had to come to terms with recognising that her grandparents were Nazis. Ultimately, I think it is not a novel of excuse or forgiveness for them, it is a novel of hope, that we learn from the past by looking at it honestly and then try to rebuild a better future.