The German wife by Kelly Rimmer

Name of Book: The German Wife

Author: Kelly Rimmer

ISBN: 9781525811432

Publisher: Graydon

Type of book: USA, Texas, Germany, rise of 3rd reich, views, state government, ww2, working labor camps, brainwashing, Jews, friendship, siblings, 1930s-1951, moving, science, fitting in, decisions, choices, operation paperclip 

Year it was published: 2022

Summary:

“Skillfully researched and powerfully written, The German Wife will capture you from the first page.” —Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London

The New York Times bestselling author of The Warsaw Orphan returns with a gripping novel inspired by the true story of Operation Paperclip: a controversial secret US intelligence program that employed former Nazis after WWII.

Berlin, Germany, 1930—When the Nazis rise to power, Sofie von Meyer Rhodes and her academic husband benefit from the military ambitions of Germany’s newly elected chancellor when Jürgen is offered a high-level position in their burgeoning rocket program. Although they fiercely oppose Hitler’s radical views, and joining his ranks is unthinkable, it soon becomes clear that if Jürgen does not accept the job, their income will be taken away. Then their children. And then their lives.

Huntsville, Alabama, 1950—Twenty years later, Jürgen is one of many German scientists pardoned and granted a position in America’s space program. For Sofie, this is a chance to leave the horrors of her past behind. But when rumors about the Rhodes family’s affiliation with the Nazi party spread among her new American neighbors, idle gossip turns to bitter rage, and the act of violence that results tears apart a family and leaves the community wondering—is it an act of vengeance or justice?

“An unforgettable novel that explores important questions highly relevant to the world today.” —Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance

Characters:

Main characters include Sofie and Lizzie although the menfolk which include husbands and a brother also play a very big role in the book. Sofie grows up in Germany and is just starting out her marriage with Jurgen a talented and brilliant rocket scientist. Both of them espouse modern views of Jews and other people, which they continue to hold on to during these tragic years, although they are forced to hide these views from other more radicalized friends . Sofie is seeking to protect her husband, while her husband is seeking to protect her from the ugliness, but they have a very strong and beautiful relationship of leaning on each other and never leaving each other out. Lizzie and her family have always been a close knit family, and quite often Lizzie had little to no desire of marrying or having children. During dust bowl ( they lived in Dallam TX) their parents passed away and both Lizzie and her brother Henry have been forced to make a lot of sacrifices for each other, including ones going against their wishes and personalities.   

Theme:

The face of evil is complex and gray

Plot:

The story is in first person narrative from Sophies as well as Lizzies point of view. The tale isn't linear but tends to jump around from 1930s to 1950s and then progresses from those points. The tale covers dust bowl, rise of the reich, farming, relationships, etc. And it's all highly realistic, which means no wishful conclusions. The story also asks reader to think and understanding both sides without judgment, a classical Kelly Rimmer story trademark, something I love about her novels. The novel will play with ones emotions, especially when ones background is related to ww2 be it as a Jew, an American, a German or even someone who has a family. I seriously hope to continue to introduce Kelly Rimmer novels on my blog in the future, and I love discovering myself through reading them as well. Each novel I have read is definitely an unforgettable experience.    

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Kelly Rimmer is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of ten novels, including The Secret Daughter and The Things We Cannot Say. She’s sold more than one million books, and her novels have been translated into more than 20 languages. Kelly lives in the Central West of New South Wales with her family and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil.

Opinion:

Four years on since I was introduced to Kelly Rimmers beautiful, gorgeous and complex novels of humanity, and she still hadn't lost her touch! This one is perhaps the finest of her writings, comparing and contrasting two women's lives during tumultuous times pre and post ww2 that stretches from USA to Germany, from 1930s to mid 1950s. And this is also her most ambitious and human yet tale. The tale invites us to see unwilling but necessary evil in order to survive a Nazi regime, and it invites us to consider the costs and benefits of that survival in ordinary people of Sofie and Jurgen who rise to high ranks. While I cannot forgive what was done to those of my ethnicity and religion as well as how Germany's decision to begin ww2 has shaped my grandparents' and my parents lives, I do feel as if I understand their choices and apparently the family wasn't left unscathed. I was very shocked by some parts of the end of ww2 in Germany as well as what ordinary German people endured such as invasion of privacy and even lack of privacy. For those readers who are seeking a more ambiguous tale of ww2, then you can't go wrong with THE GERMAN WIFE. 

This was given for review 

5 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.)