Reviews

The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer

cmpurdy's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This was such an interesting read as it was based on true events with the author's character development. It was challenging because it delves into the realm of, "how would I respond in this situation?" It's a scary thought that this event didn't happen that long ago and how is it transpiring even today? Really nicely done, I just wish I had more people to discuss this with! 

Side note, this would be an excellent dual read with The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult as they are different stories within the same time period and evoke two different viewpoints. 

aweirdwelch's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sarahjpitchford's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

ajeveland14's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is my 3rd historical fiction from Rimmer and they seem to follow the same flow - the first third is fast and engaging, second is way slow, third is a bit quicker than the second until there’s a decent finish. I loved the characters and the dual storylines, though I wish the timelines were synced between the 2 main characters through the book. 

I appreciated the perspective of the German wife as a lesson of what not to do when fascism attempts to take over a democratic society, which is timely for the US at the moment. 

ebell92's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is incredible. It's thought-provoking and heartbreaking. It really makes you evaluate the complexity and flawed nature of humanity. I sobbed multiple times while reading. It is a WW2 book but from a different perspective/experience than I've read in the past. I found myself googling and learning new pieces of history.

cogscilibrarian's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

The story was fascinating and compelling - two women, about the same age, with similarly challenging backgrounds. One from Texas, another from Berlin; one rather wealthy and privileged, the other a struggling-but-relatively-happy farmer.

The Texan hates the German, as they come together in Huntsville, AL. Their back stories are both fascinating - how does one become a Nazi? Is one a Nazi? And how does one live through the American Dust Bowl. So much relevance to life today.

Plot = 5

AND YET, I couldn’t give it a 5. The voices of both women were a) almost exactly the same and b) NOT of their time. If you’d given me a passage of one of them thinking, I couldn’t tell you who was who. There was no variety of tone in their thinking, word choice … both of them were very 21st century. One example is that Felix, the living son of Sofie, wants to watch television incessantly. IN 1950. NO THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. He wanted to get up at 5:30 am to watch tv.

I’m old enough to remember that the “farm report” came on around 6 or 7 am in the late 1960s, so i strongly doubt that there was any TV for Felix to watch at 5:30 am in 1950.

So much more research should have been done. 

*sigh* 

_zkinz's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

linneaandspybat's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

nrod1's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Really well written…I was all over the place with emotions. I’m a fan of Kelly Rimmer’s books.

knitreadlife's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

An interesting attempt at an exploration of the moral dilemmas of wartime and its aftermath, this novel compares and interweaves the lives of a German woman and an American woman before, during and following World War 2. The book's impact was lessened for me by predictability of characterisation and inauthentic conversation, as well as considerable anachronistic language.