I liked The German House mostly because 1) it was a topic I thought was really interesting and didn't know much about and 2) Eva was a bit of a rebel, which I appreciated.

Eva's boyfriend is a chauvinistic jerk and her sister is probably a sociopath, but her parents are quite endearing and loving, even if we don't know their full story and may, like Eva, have trouble reconciling their past. I appreciated the journey we go on with Eva, accompanying her to the trial each day and learning more the war. As Eva faces the truth of the past, she is able to finally stand up for herself and begin to figure out the life she wants to lead.

The concept of this book is great, but the author includes too many characters, and too many perspectives to keep track of. Some parts of the book had little significance- like their neighbours’ house fire and should have been left out. I would have preferred if the story were told solely in the perspective of the protagonist.

3.5 stars. I’ll always read WWII historical fiction, especially stories of women, but this one didn’t stand out especially.

I never gave much thought about how we knew so much about what happened in those concentration camps. It was the survivors, the victims telling their horrible stories. Seeking out justice where no justice could ever be given. I will be on the look out for more books about the trials that were held to open eyes and deliver justice.

This was a hard book to rate because it was a fairly quick and engaging read for most of the book but in the end I was left a bit confused and unsatisfied. While difficult to read at times due to the topic, my favorite parts were the portions with the trial and it was interesting to see Eva change because of what she learned. However, her emotions/reactions to it did seem simplistic and undeveloped (not to mention hard to believe that it was all completely new information to her...)

Also, while the other characters did provide an interesting contrast to Eva, I felt they were superfluous especially since they were all rather 2-D. Even the few other characters who experienced some growth or had a surprising reveal (such as David Miller and Jurgen), those moments seemed to come out of no where and then weren't explained or addressed further.

Overall, I wish the author had taken out a few of the side plots/characters and then spent more time developing the remaining ones. I feel like it has some engaging and powerful moments but they were unfortunately watered down by everything else.

Es hat mich nicht mitgenommen. Für das emotionale Thema war es mit etwas zu steril geschrieben. Insgesamt lesenswert, aber nicht herausragend.

While the pacing was a bit off the book paints an interesting picture of post-war Germany. The most disappointing aspect of Eva's relationship with her fiance is left open at the end. Her relationship with David Miller also felt under-explored and I often felt like I was waiting for more to happen.

I expected this to be a solid 5 stars but then the ending felt weak and flat. Still a very good book.

Okay, ultimamente se me es muy imposible ponerle un rating al libro porque siento que no debería calificarse por su contenido. Asi que voy a hablar de la manera en la cual está escrito porque este libro me encanto en ese sentido.
Yo veía las escenas tan claramente como si estuviera viendo una pelicula y me re gusto ese aspecto. Además de leer a Eva y a sus dilemas en cuanto a todo lo que iba descubriendo. Los otros personajes tuvieron el protagonismo justo, ya que siento que si se hubiera explallado más en esos el lbiro se hubiera visto más pesado.
El proceso y toda la cuestión legal capaz que se vio muy simple y el papel de Eva solo importaba en cuanto a ver como una persona que "no" tuvo nada que ver con eso escuchaba los testimonios y veía como la ley se hacia cargo. Pero creo que la autora supo manipular esas escenas y esos testimonios bastante bien.
El personaje que si me parecio bastante flojo (y me hubiera gustado más profundización) fue David Miller. Desde el primer momento uno se interesa por este fiscal que parece odiar a nuestra protagonista por cosas que la exceden pero a lo largo del libro no podemos hacernos un perfil muy claro de su persona. No me quedo muy clara su identidad y la verdad, que se veia muy poco moral e hipocrita en su participación en el juicio. Como que la escena en la cual enfrenta a la Bestia en el bosque hubiera quedado joya en relacionarla con alguna intevención en el juicio pero luego de ese momento, el personaje de David se ve re secundario e irritable.
En general, fue una buena lectura y un cambio de medio ya que siempre veo más peliculas de la segunda Guerra que libros.