A review by kaloughl
The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
3.0
A good historical fiction novel that shows the human side of Germans during WWII. On one hand you have Marianne, a German widow of a Nazi Resistance fighter who was killed after a failed Hitler assassination plot. She tirelessly believes Hitler was evil and continues to distrust and hate her countrymen who were caught up in his lies. Then, you have Ania, a woman with a secret that has seen a lot more in this war then she lets on. She was on the "wrong" side and was married to a hardcore Nazi and aided and abetted the German mission (though with apology by the end).
In this troubled time in the US, it was really interesting to read about how a woman who you initially liked actually was involved in something so hideous. It is shown how she fell into the trappings and readily believed what Hitler spewed because she had no reason not to.
In the end, the book was a little too far flung with stories not exactly wrapped up and too many people spread around. I felt really unsatisfied by the last 1/4 of the book.
In this troubled time in the US, it was really interesting to read about how a woman who you initially liked actually was involved in something so hideous. It is shown how she fell into the trappings and readily believed what Hitler spewed because she had no reason not to.
In the end, the book was a little too far flung with stories not exactly wrapped up and too many people spread around. I felt really unsatisfied by the last 1/4 of the book.