Overall, what do you think of Shadows of Berlin? No spoilers in this thread, please

Overall, what do you think of Shadows of Berlin? No spoilers in this thread, please

It took me a long time to get into the book and I had a lot of trouble sympathizing with Rachel for quite a while. As the book progressed, that changed. The author did an excellent job of detailing her struggles in such a way that they could be felt. I am very glad I read the book and will recommend it. Well written and a very different approach than they typical WWII books. The book also felt quite authentic in its descriptions of life at the time.

Overall I liked the book. I learned much about the horrors of the concentration camps from an unusual perspective, that of the Jews who agreed to help capture other Jews in return for material things and hopefully freedom. Character development is strong from the beginning but toward the end, the story seems to slow with a couple chapters, like A Man Forgets His Wallet, that do not advance the story line but just increase the page count. As much as I gravitate toward long books, this one seems unnecessarily so. I would still, however, recommend it. Historically the story is very rich and well written.

I thought it was excellent. The characters were well-drawn and I found that I kept thinking about them after I finished the book.

I think the book could use a bit tighter editing. There was a lot of Yiddish, some of which was translated and some not. Unless I missed something I also never figured out why Rachel liked airplane disaster stories. The author should have explained that. Also I would have liked to know what caused the "Episode" in the department store. That wasn't clear to me.

It's a good book and I would recommend it to others.

The story grips you from the beginning and presents a new aspect of the terrors of the people who only wish to survive. Thoughts of their lives before slowly leave as they just try to see another day. The book is great!

The book explores the plight of "U-boat" Jews (underground in Berlin, hiding in plain sight) both during and after World War II, with particular emphasis on collusion and post-war survivor's guilt. It's a different perspective from the usual (and horrific) Holocaust story, but one well worth exploring. Gillham's characters are well-developed (though occasionally a bit stereotypical, e.g. Aaron's very Jewish mother). flawed but sympathetic. Much of the book is a downer , as Rachel struggles to cope with her Berlin experience, so the ending was surprisingly uplifting for me.

The book grabbed my attention after a short while and kept me interested. Though, I had know a known about the horrors of Nazi Germany especially the concentration I had not known about the U-boats. Yes, some of the plot could have used a tiny bit of editing but the novel flowed til the end and the range and description of characters was well done and I could identify with their joys and struggles A novel a would recommend to historical fiction readers perhaps with a few cautionary remarks.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave me a clearer perspective, or maybe a reminder of the perspective, of the horrors experienced by the Jewish people in the lead-up-to and during World War II.

I enjoyed it. I also would have liked more translation of some of the Yiddish though using it makes it more authentic.

I think this was an interesting book and I did like it. I think of the war and I think of the devastation and all the lives that were lost but I seldom think of the survivors. Yes I was happy for the survivors but I knew that they would never forget what happened to them and their loved ones and friends. But I never thought about the guilt they might struggle with. This book brought that to my attention. Along with everything else there was the guilt. The guilt of perhaps what you had to do to survive but also the guilt of being a survivor when so many died.

Like PinkLady, I also had trouble "getting into" the book and sympathizing with Rachel at the beginning, but once I was into it, I found it very compelling. (But why was she attracted to disaster stories? Just to make herself remember that others have disasters, too?) After the last several years of constant WWII stories that begin to look all alike, it is refreshing to find one that is different.

I found it hard to get into and had trouble with the Yiddish words. I wish they had been explained better. Also, sorry to say, I wanted Rachel to tell her therapist the truth about why she felt so unworthy!! I had sympathy for Rachel, but felt the author could have told the story in a more compact package. I kept thinking, "Okay, is this ever going to be resolved?" I kept reading because I did have to know how this was going to work out.
Without giving anything away, I found the ending a bit unusual. Suddenly, everything is okay???

I really enjoyed the book. I like how the book jumped between present time and past time. I thought it helped develop the characters. It was interesting to learn about a Jewish struggle Aaron had because he wasn't part of Nazi Germany. I would recommend this book to many.

I enjoyed the book but I wish the author had have a dictionary in the back of the book for the Yiddish words. It seem an authentic but frustrating distractor at times.

I had trouble getting into the book and just when I thought I might put it down, things turned, and I found myself engrossed the characters and story.

I agree with many readers - it would have been extremely helpful to have the translation for the Yiddish words and sayings.

The author did a great job of portraying a character suffering from survivor's guilt after the war and her Jewish husband and his family seemingly trying to understand.

I agree with the other reviewers who said they had trouble getting into the book. I couldn't sympathize or relate to Rachael, and found myself not caring about any of the characters either. I could tell by the foreshadowing, there were going to be disturbing plot lines and scenarios revealed. I didn't want to go any further. Sadly, I stopped reading halfway through. The writing was not my cup of tea. It's rare that I don't finish a book, but this one was an exception for me.

Even as I was reading Shadows of Berlin, I wasn't sure that I really liked it. Rachel's character frustrated me at times, but I was able to understand a bit more about her personality and her struggles as the book went on. In the end, I liked the book because it told the Holocaust story from a perspective that I had not heard before. I thought it was well written and helped me to sympathize with a situation I had not thought at all about.

I read a lot of WWII fiction and this book grabbed me on the first page. I thought that it was well written and well researched and was a different way of looking at the devastation of the war on the Jewish people.

I thought the book was okay, but not great. However, I did suggest it to a book club because of the questions it raised.

How come survivors of human tragedies either seem to grow stronger in their religious beliefs or abandoned them?

How do we judge people who are faced with decisions that force them to give up their lives or to betray others? What consequences do each of these decisions have both on the decision makers and their relatives?

I loved this book. It was complex and the story had a depth to it that many do not. Relationships between mother and daughter, uncle and niece, husband and wife, all the more complicated because of the direct impact of the World War II on the Jewish community and the individuals in this book. It caused me to think back on my own life and what obstacles I am using to keep me from being the person I could be.

I agree with RobertaW regarding the episode in the department store. It was mentioned and the author moved on without telling the reader what actually happened.

I could NOT put this down! Having known, and had distant relatives, who were survivors this impacted me to my core. The author so understood Survivors' Guilt and his portrayal of his main character was perfect. For a man to understand a woman such as this, beautifully written. Bravo and Mazel Tov for telling such a believable and emotional story.

I have recommended this highly to many friends and tomorrow I am going to present it to our temple reading club as a must read. It lends itself to discussion.

I enjoyed the book and have recommended it. It was a different slant on a topic that has had many novels written about it and that I have read. It also was believable and presented the characters realistically.

I found it hard to get into this book but did learn a lot that I didn't previously know about the war and U-boats. I would recommend it those that enjoy reading about WWII!

I did enjoy the book, but it was not one that I could not put down. It took longer than usual for me to finish reading. However, that may have been partially because my life has been very busy during the time since I received my copy. I felt that the characters were well-developed. There are aspects that I would like to research to determine how accurate they are to actual situations/activities during WWII. I would recommend the book to others.

I liked the book. I had not read one about quilt before. I am sure I would be feeling like Rachel. Hopefully, I could have found peace sooner, I will recommend it to friends that are WW11 fans,

I had a really hard time getting into this book to begin with. The Yiddish words were distracting since I had no idea what they meant, I eventually got into the story and enjoyed it...a different perspective on a WWII story. Still a lot of loose ends in my opinion...