Book Feature + Review
Title: The Novelist from Berlin
Author: V.S. Alexander
Publisher: Kensington Books
Genre: Historical Fiction
Thank you, partner @bibliolifestyle + @kensingtonbooks for the #gifted copy to share.
Just when I think I’ve read all I can on post WWI and WWII along comes a book that leaves me breathless. The Novelist from Berlin left me holding my breath in fear. I was shocked, horrified, but once again deeply impressed by this strong woman. My heart was racing reading parts of this book. The first person narration made me feel like I was there and what a scary world so many lived through.
“They’re out to destroy anything they don’t approve of—literature, art, music . . . people.”
Reading this during banned book week left a strong impression on me. This book shows you about Nazi’s banning books through the lens of a woman who goes by Niki and her novel ‘The Berlin Woman’ and what she did to survive over three decades of occupation, war and the aftermaths. Then to also watch the news this weekend and see Jews being murdered again. I ask myself how are we letting history repeat itself??
It’s an engrossing novel inspired by the mysterious true story of Irmgard Keun, a female novelist who defied all the rules during Berlin’s volcanic post-WWI years, as a young German writer exiled for her ideas flees her country and her Nazi-supporting husband, fighting for her art, her life, and her child.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 I will say this book felt a little long BUT at the same time, I’m not sure what you could’ve possibly cut out. This book starts after WWI then focuses on the noose and Hilter’s rise to power. That escaping Germany didn’t mean escaping the war; every country ended up in this war. How people felt like if they appeased the Nazi’s even if they disagreed with them they weren’t doing anything wrong; but before you knew they had you in a trap. It shows you how after Hilter the division of Germany and Berlin. Next they were dealing with the Soviets. The Berlin wall. Seriously, this book covered so much through the story of a very brave women! Highly recommend!
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