Tag: Germany

Book Review: The German House by Annette Hess

The German House
Author:
Annette Hess

Published: December 3, 2019
336 Pages

Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 2 stars

Book Description:

Set against the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963, Annette Hess’s international bestseller is a harrowing yet ultimately uplifting coming-of-age story about a young female translator—caught between societal and familial expectations and her unique ability to speak truth to power—as she fights to expose the dark truths of her nation’s past.

If everything your family told you was a lie, how far would you go to uncover the truth?

For twenty-four-year-old Eva Bruhns, World War II is a foggy childhood memory. At the war’s end, Frankfurt was a smoldering ruin, severely damaged by the Allied bombings. But that was two decades ago. Now it is 1963, and the city’s streets, once cratered are smooth and paved. Shiny new stores replace scorched rubble. Eager for her wealthy suitor, Jürgen Schoormann, to propose, Eva dreams of starting a new life away from her parents and sister. But Eva’s plans are turned upside down when a fiery investigator, David Miller, hires her as a translator for a war crimes trial.

As she becomes more deeply involved in the Frankfurt Trials, Eva begins to question her family’s silence on the war and her future. Why do her parents refuse to talk about what happened? What are they hiding? Does she really love Jürgen and will she be happy as a housewife? Though it means going against the wishes of her family and her lover, Eva, propelled by her own conscience , joins a team of fiery prosecutors determined to bring the Nazis to justice—a decision that will help change the present and the past of her nation.

Kim’s Review:

It really hurts my heart that I have to give such a low rating to a book that centers around the Holocaust. The idea was an interesting one but the execution was not good at all. The twist was ok; it was kind of obvious by the time you got there. The characters were bland and not really likable. It seems that Eva and her fiancé are the only ones who don’t realize that they don’t belong together. David Miller, for all his passion, did nothing but hinder the legal fight against the Nazis. And the ending … ugh. There was no resolution. It literally just stopped. It was frustrating and it left a sour taste in my mouth. I really can’t recommend this book to anyone.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK