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First Published:
Jan 2014, 400 pages
Paperback:
Jan 2015, 400 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Kim Kovacs
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The novel bears witness to the shame and courage of Third Reich families during the devastating final days of the war, as each family member's fateful choice lead the reader deeper into questions of complicity and innocence, to the novel's heartbreaking and unforgettable conclusion.
Motherland is inspired by stories from the author's father and his German childhood, and letters between her grandparents that were hidden in an attic wall for fifty years. It is the author's attempt to reckon with the paradox of her father - a product of her grandparents' fiercely protective love and their status as Mitläufer, Germans who "went along" with Nazism, first reaping its benefits and later its consequences.
This page-turning novel focuses on the Kappus family: Frank is a reconstructive surgeon who lost his beloved wife in childbirth and two months later married a young woman who must look after the baby and his two grieving sons when he is drafted into medical military service. Alone in the house, Liesl must attempt to keep the children fed with dwindling food supplies, safe from the constant Allied air attacks, and protected against the swell of desperate refugees flooding their town. When one child begins to mentally unravel, Liesl must discover the source of the boy's infirmity or lose him forever to Hadamar, the infamous hospital for "unfit" children. The novel bears witness to the shame and courage of Third Reich families during the devastating last days of the war, as each family member's fateful choices lead them deeper into questions of complicity and innocence, to the novel's heartbreaking and unforgettable conclusion.
When Liesl heard the noise from the cellar, her hand shook and the
coffee spilled. The liquid spread in claws across the counter, its color
neither brown nor red nor black, but some combination of all three,
earthen and old. A hopeless feeling rose in her chest. She had discovered
the grounds deep in the pantry yesterday, tucked behind a post, in a
tiny tin next to a tiny pot of jam, both labeled in the first wife's hand. It
was surely the last real coffee in all of Hannesburg, boiled with the last
of the morning coal, the sharp selfish heaven of its scent rising toward
her face. Then it splashed everywhere.
She heard the noise again, a grating, chinking sound, and then the
murmur of the boys. What were they doing down there? Everything
made her startle this morning. She had sent the package to Frank two
weeks ago, confidently inking the address of the Weimar hospital where
he was stationed as a reconstructive surgeon. Nothing suspicious in here...
Maria Hummel's characterizations, rich descriptions and portrayal of a city in wartime make this one a good choice for anyone who enjoys WWII novels that focus on the way the conflict impacted the citizens of Germany.
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Full Review
(721 words).
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Adam Johnson, The Orphan Master’s Son, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
This is a tender, profound novel of a young woman who steps into a shattered German family and makes it her own. The radiance of her sacrifice, and of Hummel’s storytelling, illuminates this dark chapter of human history with heart and revelation. Jesmyn Ward, author of Salvage the Bones, Winner of the National Book Award
In stunning, pitch-perfect prose, Maria Hummel gives us a deeply moving portrait of lives on the wrong side of history. This isn't just another World War II novel; it's a spectacular story about what it means to love and hope in the most difficult times. Susan Sherman, The Little Russian
Maria Hummel draws upon her family history to create a spellbinding novel that examines the many facets of motherhood, during a time of war and beyond. Motherland is a vivid, heart-stopping depiction of a German family’s struggle to stay together during the devastating Allied bombing of their small town. You won’t soon forget these characters or the stories they have to tell. Anthony Marra, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Through the intimate story of one German family at the end of the Second World War, Motherland weaves a universal tale of moral obligation, wartime complicity, and the lengths we will go to protect those we love. From the bare bones of her own family’s history, Maria Hummel has built a visceral, magnificent creature. Ursula Hegi, Stones from the River
A courageous and unsettling novel arising from the questions that Maria Hummel had about her grandparents’ lives during the Third Reich. How much did they know? How did they survive?In Motherland, one of the brothers, Ani, is a patient at a hospital in Hadamar, which was notorious for implementing the Nazis' systematic euthanasia program.
Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection had the unintended consequence of giving birth to Social Darwinism – determining the course of human evolution through selective breeding, otherwise known as eugenics. The idea was very popular in Europe and particularly the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Several countries (including the USA) developed policies whereby those with hereditary mental or physical defects could be sterilized to prevent them from "contaminating" the general population.
In Germany, the National Socialists (Nazis) put "...
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