Daughter of the Reich: A Novel
by Louise Fein
Good look at WW2 German home front... (5/13/2020)
I chose this book from Book Browse to read and review the Advance Reader's edition. I'm giving it four out of five stars.
"Daughter of the Reich" is a good work of fiction that would make an excellent book club choice. The author, Louise Fein, tells the oft-told story of star-crossed young lovers in 1930's Germany. The two protagonists- Hetty and Walter - are friends but become lovers as they age. Hetty is from a doctrinaire Nazi family, while Walter is Jewish. While it would be easier for Louise Fein to draw simple caricatures of her characters, she actually gives them identities which make them interesting to the reader. The plot is also less conventional than many on the same subject. It's a good read and brings up some interesting questions about families in the Nazi era.
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
by Erik Larson
Larson writes non-fiction like fiction... (1/7/2020)
Erik Larson's latest book, "The Splendid and the Vile" is the story of the London Blitz, using Winston Churchill and his family as the center of action. They're used much like the William Dodd family in Larson's best-seller, "In The Garden of the Beasts". Larson writing introduces Churchill to readers less familiar with him and his times. For the more knowledgeable reader, Larson's writing adds to the Churchill story. Its another grand look at history from a real master.
