G1203 Book Review of Between These Walls by Michael Newman

Name of Book: Between These Walls

Author: Michael Newman

ISBN: 9781525548840

Publisher: Friesen Press

Type of book: Adolf Hitler, WWII, Israel, 1930s to 1980s, lawyer, Germany, powerlessness, victims, power, greed, inner circle, adoption, Judaism, friendship, paternal relationships, Egypt, hiding, secrets 

Year it was published: 2020

Summary:

In the dying days of WW II on the American occupied side of Germany’s Elbe River, US Army Medical Corps Colonel Samuel Singer comes upon the strafed wreck of a smouldering SS Staff car, with a badly injured driver, nearby a dead German Army officer carrying the ID of a Nazi war criminal, and a young blonde woman, also dead in the back seat.

Forty-three years later, art curator Daniel Singer, the adopted son of Colonel Singer receives a mysterious package—a large brown envelope, sealed with security tape—from West Berlin. He can’t help but think that there’s something important within the envelope. But what?

Daniel’s quest to learn about the package’s contents leads him on a surprising voyage of discovery, including an encounter with the Mossad, Israel’s top secret spy agency. As he searches, he unlocks the history of three families—one American and two German—following them through tumultuous times, from the dying days of WWI to the rise of Adolf Hitler, WWII, the Holocaust, and three Middle East wars.

As Daniel learns about duty, honour, sacrifice, and the familial ties that bind us all, he will be faced with a life-altering choice—and the opportunity to right the most heinous of wrongs.

Characters:

The main characters, in my opinion, include Bruno Schmidt and Daniel Singer. The secondary characters would include the Weiss family, in particular the patriarchs of son-in-law and his father-in-law. Bruno Schmidt was so vividly drawn and integrated into history that I ended up googling him to see if he was real. (Much to mine disappointment yet relief, he wasn't...) Bruno Schmidt is more about selfishness, greed, power and saving his own skin rather than being a human. Daniel Singer, on the contrary, is the opposite of Bruno Schmidt; Daniel would willingly do whatever he can for his faith and nation as well as his family and I cannot describe him as self-serving. The Jewish family of Weiss is truly heartbreaking, especially in the coming years when their situation deteriorates yet they end up unable to do anything. 

Theme:

WWII looks different from victims' and villains' points of views.

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative and tends to bounce a lot between different timelines of 1930s to 1940s as well as 1970s and eventually everything tying up in 1988. Despite the constant bouncing, I was never lost within the narrative, and would hungrily devour more and more of the pages, interested in absorbing the story. What I also found amazing about this story is what ended up bothering me the most: Summer of the Long Knives and its origins. It also was hard for me to be a stand-by because I really found myself shouting mentally at the characters, telling them to take a chance and get out of Germany. 

Author Information:
(From IRead Book Tours)

Meet the Author:

A Hungarian refugee (1956) and the son of Holocaust survivors. A retired lifetime entrepreneur living on Toronto's waterfront with my wife and cocker spaniel. Enjoys reading, mainly books about WW2, boating and worldwide travel. Father of three kids and grandfather of eleven.

​Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com
Add to Goodreads

Opinion:

It's not until I read this book that I realized the WWII stories I have been recently exposed to are, well, best described as "sanitized" tales, the negative events measured out in small doses. Yet, there is controlled danger within these stories, especially when main characters are considered "heroes" and the danger they are facing are not what Jews would face. Between These Walls by Michael Newman, dares to show WWII from the villains and the victims' sides, where a savior won't ride and save people from their fates. This is truly a gut-wrenching tale, especially the explanation for Summer of the Long Knives and the deterioration of one family's situation. If you are looking for a grittier tale of WWII, Between These Walls by Michael Newman will definitely be a good one. 

This is for iRead Book Tours

Tour Schedule:

May 11 –Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
May 12 - Lamon Reviews- book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 13 – Books and Zebras – book review / giveaway
May 13 -I'm All About Books – book spotlight / giveaway
May 14 –Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
May 15 –The avid reader – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 18 –Book Corner News and Reviews – book review / giveaway
May 19 –Viviana MacKade – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 19 –The Legal Duchess – book review
May 20 –Books for Books – book review
May 20 - 411 on Books, Authors and Publishing News - book spotlight / guest post
May 21 –Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 22 –Just Another Reader – book review / giveaway
May 25 – Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
May 26 – Svetlanas reads and views – book review
May 26 - La libreria di Beppe - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 28 – Michelle Bloodworth Goodreads – book review
May 29 - Adventurous Jessy - book review / giveaway
TBD - Karma Readz – book review / giveaway

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)