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A review by rachelsb00kreviews
Shadows of Berlin by David R. Gillham
5.0
(Review Page: https://m.facebook.com/rewbookreviews/)
My goodness...this book!
I don't typically write reviews and when I do they're short and sweet; no more than a few sentences but this book certainly deserves an actual review.
I read a lot of books, and I do mean lots, loving the ability it gives me to escape my reality and my top genre is historical fiction but within said genre, I love reading the WWII era for many reasons: 1) It has endless story opportunities. 2) This era though bleak at times shows the true beauty of human resilience and heroics. 3) The amount of sheer agony that people endured(Jews were not the only only ones who were suffered under the Nazis regime) and yet those who survived persevered.
When I came across this book I thought two things, "It's so pretty!"(Because yes, some judgement comes from the covers of books!) and "Oh he's a great author." I had previously read City of Women in 2019 and it showed me a side this horrible war that I had not given thought to the German side and this book did as well but in a darker tone. Upon reading the synopsis, I discovered the book was set in New York in the 1950’s although Gilliam is a master at weaving in and out of war time and postwar.
I have read plenty of WWII books over the years that have made me emotional(like quite literally a sobbing mess, no joke) but with gem of a book, I never shed a tear…I was just stunned. It grips you and makes you truly consider things I had never really given thought to before. I can only imagine the PTSD that those suffered after WWII, with the liberation of the horrible camps but this book opened my eyes to another side of those who lived through such atrocities: “Survivors Guilt.” Of course, I know the term and it’s meaning for those who have been through a traumatic events but I had never put it with Holocaust survivors. Mainly because In my ignorance I probably just assumed that they were simply grateful to be alive, as I'm sure most were, but this book shows a darker side to being alive after so many others died.
The two main characters in this book suffer from the guilt—granted in very different ways—and it certainly opened my eyes. Rachel(great name, I know) and Aaron both experience the war in polar opposite ways leaving each with very different ideas of moving on. One is a Berlin born Jewess fleeing the war-torn Europe with thousands of other displaced Jews to America trying desperately to forget the horrors she had experienced and even caused. The other, Aaron, is New York born Jew drafted to service but stationed in California never truly understanding the horrors of what his wife saw or went through. Both feel a guilt for surviving in their own ways and while Aaron wants to just move past it all by focusing on the future, Rachel cannot let go of the things that haunt her…
Highly recommend this book if you are interested in post-WWII America and deep, thought provoking stories that leave you wishing the book was longer.
My goodness...this book!
I don't typically write reviews and when I do they're short and sweet; no more than a few sentences but this book certainly deserves an actual review.
I read a lot of books, and I do mean lots, loving the ability it gives me to escape my reality and my top genre is historical fiction but within said genre, I love reading the WWII era for many reasons: 1) It has endless story opportunities. 2) This era though bleak at times shows the true beauty of human resilience and heroics. 3) The amount of sheer agony that people endured(Jews were not the only only ones who were suffered under the Nazis regime) and yet those who survived persevered.
When I came across this book I thought two things, "It's so pretty!"(Because yes, some judgement comes from the covers of books!) and "Oh he's a great author." I had previously read City of Women in 2019 and it showed me a side this horrible war that I had not given thought to the German side and this book did as well but in a darker tone. Upon reading the synopsis, I discovered the book was set in New York in the 1950’s although Gilliam is a master at weaving in and out of war time and postwar.
I have read plenty of WWII books over the years that have made me emotional(like quite literally a sobbing mess, no joke) but with gem of a book, I never shed a tear…I was just stunned. It grips you and makes you truly consider things I had never really given thought to before. I can only imagine the PTSD that those suffered after WWII, with the liberation of the horrible camps but this book opened my eyes to another side of those who lived through such atrocities: “Survivors Guilt.” Of course, I know the term and it’s meaning for those who have been through a traumatic events but I had never put it with Holocaust survivors. Mainly because In my ignorance I probably just assumed that they were simply grateful to be alive, as I'm sure most were, but this book shows a darker side to being alive after so many others died.
The two main characters in this book suffer from the guilt—granted in very different ways—and it certainly opened my eyes. Rachel(great name, I know) and Aaron both experience the war in polar opposite ways leaving each with very different ideas of moving on. One is a Berlin born Jewess fleeing the war-torn Europe with thousands of other displaced Jews to America trying desperately to forget the horrors she had experienced and even caused. The other, Aaron, is New York born Jew drafted to service but stationed in California never truly understanding the horrors of what his wife saw or went through. Both feel a guilt for surviving in their own ways and while Aaron wants to just move past it all by focusing on the future, Rachel cannot let go of the things that haunt her…
Highly recommend this book if you are interested in post-WWII America and deep, thought provoking stories that leave you wishing the book was longer.