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brennie192's review against another edition
1.0
The writing was so poor I cannot believe the average rating is almost 4 stars. Couldn't even finish it and unless another author was brought in halfway through, I can't imagine it's worth it.
calixita's review against another edition
3.0
The stories of 3 German widows after WWII are largely compelling and the setting in post war Germany is fascinating. I felt the author dragged out the ending but overall an enjoyable summer read.
cyndireadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 but I’d rather round down than up. Perfectly fine story, made mildly more interesting by being a story about German women during WW2 rather than French or English as most books seem to be at the moment. Interesting study of guilt, forgiveness, redemption, friendship but ultimately it just felt a little flat for me. I found it much less emotionally impactful than expected. It just felt a bit cold. Didn’t live up to the hype for me.
anderson65's review against another edition
Disturbed by the gruesome brutality, suffering.
bethaniekay's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoy books in the WWII genre, and the premise of this one sounded interesting. Unfortunately, it really fell a bit flat for me. The story jumped around too much, and the author left out too many pieces that should've been there for character building or backstory. I found that I just didn't connect with the characters very much, and the story really just wasn't that profound in the end.
Overall, I'll say this was good, but not great. Won't be recommending it to my fellow WWII-genre loving friends.
Overall, I'll say this was good, but not great. Won't be recommending it to my fellow WWII-genre loving friends.
zbmorgan's review against another edition
4.0
Shatuck writes not just an excellent historical fiction book with well drawn characters with strengths and flaws that feel real, she does some of the most skillful time-hopping with her flashbacks that I've ever seen in writing. While most of the time is spent in post WWII Germany, you see just enough of the time in between the wars to give you an excellent sense of how Germany in the 40's became, well, Germany in the 40's. It's fascinating and comforting to know that not every German was on board with Hitler, but how that affected the lives of the resistance and the family members of the resistance is what will really keep you turning the pages. This book is fascinating, but accolades should be given - Shatuck could have gotten much darker than she did, but she chose the high road, not showing everything but letting the reader know things happened. Very well done.
kimreadz's review against another edition
4.0
I liked, but didn't love, this book. It is historical fictional based on the attempted plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and the aftermath of the war, told from within Germany. That is a unique perspective. Most stories I've read about WWII are set in Britain or France and told from the perspective to the people in those countries. It was interesting to read the thoughts of the German possibility, and the collective shame some of them felt in the aftermath. I'd heard about that through the year, but never read about it. But as interesting as the story was, there were times I felt it bogged down, and I had to force myself to keep reading. The main character, Marianne, is judgmental, sometimes cold even to her own children, and very often not understanding to other people. Without spoiling anything, I can say that I was particularly disappointed in what happened to the character Benita. That really affected my opinion of the book. Another thing that made the book a difficult read is that I felt at times there was not enough distinction between the characters of Ania and Benita. Something would happen to one, and I'd get confused and have to go back and read an earlier section to remember which was Ania's story and which was Benita's story.
This book would be a great pick for book clubs with plenty to discuss. It was an interesting look at how Hitler came to have so much power, scapegoating a group of people and turning one group against another. How culpable were the German people in just ignoring the warning signs that all was not as Hitler led them to believe. This could lead to an interesting discussion. Other topics to discuss include the responsibility of those blindly followed orders. What obligation did they have to resist, risking their own lives in the process. A discussion the aftermath of the war—of how some German people had difficulty leaving the war behind, due to the guilt they felt, while others went about life as if the war had never happened. This is an intersting story that will be made even better with discussion!
This book would be a great pick for book clubs with plenty to discuss. It was an interesting look at how Hitler came to have so much power, scapegoating a group of people and turning one group against another. How culpable were the German people in just ignoring the warning signs that all was not as Hitler led them to believe. This could lead to an interesting discussion. Other topics to discuss include the responsibility of those blindly followed orders. What obligation did they have to resist, risking their own lives in the process. A discussion the aftermath of the war—of how some German people had difficulty leaving the war behind, due to the guilt they felt, while others went about life as if the war had never happened. This is an intersting story that will be made even better with discussion!
jenfantoni's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good book but I just didn’t love it. The premise is strong and the WWII setting is one I enjoy. It was just a bit boring at times. There are better options in this genre.
kmau241's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
jenpaul13's review against another edition
4.0
Three widows, their children, a castle, and World War II era Germany are the bare bones comprising The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck, where these women's lives unfold in new ways after the end of the war.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Toward the end of World War II, there is a resistance effort to assassinate Hilter in order to prevent further atrocities, but it ultimately fails, leaving the men of the resistance dead and their widows forced to endure their demise. Marianne von Lingenfels, the wife of one of the resistors and best friend to another, had promised to protect the wives and children of the resistance. In keeping her word, Marianne returns to the castle of her ancestors and tries to bring as many broken families back together as possible, starting with that of her best friend by locating his son, Martin, and wife, Benita. As Marianne's new makeshift family develops, she and they are faced with coming to accept how the decisions they've made define them.
As a story of three women brought together by the tragedy of Hitler and war in Germany and their struggles to come to terms with their decisions during this time, the narrative dealt with heavily emotional topics without straying too far into the graphic brutality that occurred during this period. Jumping around in time to unfold the women's stories worked well to divulge information at times when it would make the most impact to the narrative and reveal the most about a particular character (and the character development throughout was fairly well done). It was interesting to read about the perspective of the women who were linked to a resistance effort in Germany during this incredibly tumultuous time, as this is not a perspective of World War II that is often read about.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Toward the end of World War II, there is a resistance effort to assassinate Hilter in order to prevent further atrocities, but it ultimately fails, leaving the men of the resistance dead and their widows forced to endure their demise. Marianne von Lingenfels, the wife of one of the resistors and best friend to another, had promised to protect the wives and children of the resistance. In keeping her word, Marianne returns to the castle of her ancestors and tries to bring as many broken families back together as possible, starting with that of her best friend by locating his son, Martin, and wife, Benita. As Marianne's new makeshift family develops, she and they are faced with coming to accept how the decisions they've made define them.
As a story of three women brought together by the tragedy of Hitler and war in Germany and their struggles to come to terms with their decisions during this time, the narrative dealt with heavily emotional topics without straying too far into the graphic brutality that occurred during this period. Jumping around in time to unfold the women's stories worked well to divulge information at times when it would make the most impact to the narrative and reveal the most about a particular character (and the character development throughout was fairly well done). It was interesting to read about the perspective of the women who were linked to a resistance effort in Germany during this incredibly tumultuous time, as this is not a perspective of World War II that is often read about.