As teenagers, Millie Mosbach and her brother David escaped Germany just before the beginning of WWII. They left behind their Jewish parents and their younger sister, a fact that Millie years later feels guilt about. The brother and sister enjoyed an American adolescence Millie going to Bryn Mawr and David to boarding school. After graduation he enlisted in the Army.
The war is over and Millie and David are both back in Berlin. Millie had returned as part of the denazification program to root our hardcore Nazis in publishing. David’s job is to help displaced people find new lives. The siblings feel guilt wondering what happened to their parents. Millie is probably suffering from PTSD. She also has a problem with her boss Major Harry Sutton. To her he appears much too fair to the Germans.
The novel has wonderful descriptions of post war Germany. The author does a wonderful job bringing that difficult time to life. I enjoyed learning about the war, but I found that some of the flashbacks were rather disjointed. The transition from past to present was sometimes difficult to follow.
Millie is an excellent character. She has survivors guilt on top of PTSD wondering what happened to her parents and sister. I also liked Harry Sutton. He is a complex character trying to see both sides and have compassion for the German survivors. This, of course, brings him into conflict with Millie.
If you enjoy WWII novels, this is a different take on the end of the war.
I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.
No comments:
Post a Comment