Bohjalian is an author I'm just discovering. So far I've read three of his books: Midwives, The Double Bind, and this one, and I would rate this one as better than Midwives, but not on a par with Double Bind, which is just stunning.

This one takes a look at the relationship between the ostensible conquerors and conquered. Anna is the 18-year-old daughter of a Prussian aristocratic family toward the end of WWII. She and what remains of her family are trying to escape west from the invading Russians, which they couldn't possibly do without the assistance of a Scottish prisoner of war and a disguised Jew. A complex situation, with complex, believable characters - excellent reading.

Another theme in the book is civilians' tacit complicity in military and state-sponsored atrocities. Bohjalian puts Anna safely out of the firing line on this, making it clear that as a child growing up on a rural estate, she had no possible way of knowing what was going on in the wider world. But members of her family did, raised no objections, and then were outraged by the Russians' behavior. You will find a lot of shades of gray in this book.

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Received today - thanks so much. Sounds like a very interesting read.

I didn't really love this book. Maybe it is the author. I tried to read Midwives once and gave up. I liked the point of view from the Germans who had no idea of the extent of what was happening during the war but I never really felt like I liked the characters or cared about what they were feeling. I also felt like the set-up of how these three very different characters ended up traveling together was a little forced. The character that I felt the most for was Theo.

Sent to valpete as a RABCK. Keeping it moving along...

Thanks, TinyToes...

I read Midwives and didn't care for it, but heard the Double Bind was fantastic. That one's waiting on my TBR shelf.

Thanks for your generosity.

Time to move this along to another BCer with it on her Wishlist

A RABCK for you. Happy Holidays!

what a surprise to have this RABCK arrive in my maibox recently... I know I will like it, even if I don't love it. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I thought Midwives was quite interesting and have enjoyed other Bohjalian books; since I like just about anything with WWII overtones, I look forward to this... eventually!