Overall, what do you think of Resistance Women? (no spoilers in this thread please)

Overall, what do you think of Resistance Women? (no spoilers in this thread please)

I thought it was a good novel. It was well written and I learned a lot. I have read a lot of the many novels about WW2. This was a little harder to read knowing the main characters were real people. I hope this is not a spoiler but when I had about 100 pages left I googled the main characters and therefore knew what the ending of the book would be. My heart goes out to all of these brave people.

I thought the book was great. Well written, well researched and very informative about a terrible time in history. I appreciated that it didn't give all of the gory detail on the atrocities because there are many books that already do that. Yet, the author didn't gloss over them, we knew what was happening and that it was awful. The characters were alive to me. I will definitely recommend to others.

I really liked the book. Like many readers I have read dozens of books about WWII this one was very different. All the familiar players in the Natzi regime are here. The story and characters are well developed and play their parts well. It was like being inside with the resistance and participating in the fight against Hitler and all he represented. It was a great reminder of the horrors of the whole period. One thing that was rather new to me was the part communism played in the whole thing. I had to do some serious thinking about this. The fact that most of the characters had been real people made it much more intriguing I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it.

I learned quite a lot from reading this novel and did enjoy it. I must say, however, that I found it somewhat hard to follow at times and resorted to keeping notes to keep the characters straight. The novel covers a lengthy period in history and I was pleased to gain a greater understanding of the time and an appreciation for the bravery of the women

Agree with Maggie. Knowing the end made it a difficult read. When I received the book I sighed at the length, but did not find it tedious to read. I think the author did a good job of defining the characters and giving them different voices so it wasn't confusing. Since I had never heard of the Red Orchestra I got a lot of new information from the book. There have been so many recent books about WWII and the roles of women but this is a worthy addition to the others.

In spite of what we suspect will be tragic endings to the lives of most of the characters, I loved the book. I am in awe of the amount of research Jennifer Chiaverini did to briefly imbue them with new life as and in Resistance Women. I had not previously known of Mildred Fish or of the author, so this was an excellent and informative introduction. I would award this five stars.

I am loving this book. I have not googled the names and am not half way through the book yet so will be reading every day. The book is so well researched and I am learning so much.

This is an extremely well-written book. It was a bit long and, initially, I had to write down the characters until I knew them well enough to follow everyone and their relationships. To know that the story is based on the bravery of real people gives it extra meaning. Good book.

RESISTANCE WOMEN opened an unknown chapter of WWII history to me. I knew nothing about the Red Orchestra resistance group or the brave and heroic efforts of the characters in the book. Although the book is very well researched, I found the character development to be flat, not measuring up to the real-life courageous acts that occurred in real life. The characters should have jumped off the page - and they did not. Overall, it was a good book, prompting me to do further reading on WWII resistance groups.

This was a really good novel, telling a true story. I learned a lot from it and the characters were very well developed. I felt like I knew these strong women.

A story of courage and resolve, as well as a cautionary tale for our own time.
I had not known much about the efforts of Germans to spread the truth and undermine Hitler and the Nazis. It was horrifying for these anti-fascists to realize that an autocratic, populist demagogue had insidiously taken over their country by stoking fear, hatred, and rage in his growing masses of rabid followers. He then used purges, lies, and manipulation of information to destroy the institutions of government from within and replace them with a cult of loyalty to him alone, rather than to the nation. I have a great deal of empathy and admiration for those women of the resistance, who were determined to fight that evil whatever the cost. Could we do the same?

Although I could not read it without stopping I found it histoically fascinating. The author was able to put her characters into events and bring the period alive leading up,to the war.

Although I have not yet finished this book, I agree with the others that it is a very well written book about actual people. I have been referring to Google the whole time as events transpire and new laws go into effect. I have read a number of WWII books as well but this one intrigued me because of the Americans in Germany at the time and how they chose to make a difference.

I really like this book. It has offered a much wider lens to the thoughts, attitudes, and the state of Germany, both socially and economically than any one book on this era that I have read before. Chiaverini manages to encapsulate so much information into one book that I feel like I have a much clearer picture of the German mindset after WWI and through WWII.

Without a doubt, this is one of the most fascinating books I have read in a while. Learning what was happening inside Germany during the time of Hitler was so very interesting. I had trouble putting the book down. Many times my heart was in my throat because I was so afraid for the characters. I googled Mildred to find out more about her. Her faithless to her husband was heartwarming. She could have returned to the United States and that would have saved her life.
This is one of those books that stays with you long after you finished reading the book.

I found the book interesting. The detail of the time period was fascinating. I could not read it all at once due the content as well as the depth of feeling of the characters. There were times I needed to review who was who and of wish I had made a chart of the characters.

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I found this book hard to read. I understand that because it is based on real people it makes it hard to write a work of fiction, but often felt I was more reading a "history" book rather than a historical novel.
I admire the characters and their sacrifices they made during this time in history, but I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this book on a personal level.

I felt similar to Sunflowersky1982. I knew it was a novel but it seemed more like nonfiction to me. I did enjoy the book and found it riveting. I had to keep reminding myself it was a novel, but then because it was based on real life events and people, I was unsure of what was the fictional part. Was it the dialogue? The composite character based on real people? Interesting dilemma for the reader. Overall I loved it though and will recommend it to others.

I enjoyed the book even though I thought it was too long. I had never heard of the Red Orchestra or MildredFish and I learned a lot about the resistance in Germany and was surprised at the Russian element. Having lived the first 47 years of my life in Madison, WI. I enjoyed the referenced to places on the campus.

The main difference between this novel and the many other novels I have read about WWII was the time frame. This novel took so long to lead into the war that it began to become tedious. The research was excellent and I feel I have a greater understanding of the German resistance, it is a very serious novel.

Possibly the best book I've read about WWII. When I realized how long the book was, I thought this was going to be way too long. Now, I truly appreciate the author's back story of preWWII and how the story's heros came to be part of the Resistance movement. Wonderful character development and well organized and researched. Definitely will recommend to all my reading friends.

One of the best WWII books I have read and I have read a whole lot of them. It had history, love, laughter and tragedy woven together is an interesting way.

I loved this book and have a group of friends that reads WWII books with me. I passed it along as soon as I finished it. It took me longer to read than I thought - but I think that was because I had to put it down at times when my heart was in my throat. It also really brought home how long the war was. You read stories here and there but this went on for quite sometime with nothing really happening - so slow you didn't see it coming. I learned something that I hadn't known before - about Mildred, the Red Orchestra and German resistance. I had no idea that Americans were executed in Germany. Mildred's experience was horrific and heartbreaking.

I really enjoyed it. Actually, it was an opportunity to learn more about the early days of Nazi Germany and the step by step changes initiated by Hitler and his cronies that made it easier to earn the acceptance of the non-Jewish Germans.

A thoroughly educational, well-researched,l and interesting read. I especially enjoyed reading about the important part women played in their fight against Nazism. Have already recommended it to members of my reading group. Looking forward to hearing comments from the group.

I really enjoyed this book. It was extremely well researched and I ended up telling more people to read it. I didn’t know that there were Americans executed in Germany during this time. I actually ached for Margaret in places.