Read it after watching the movie that was based on this novel. The movie deviates in certain aspects but that's really rather understandable. What I found most eye-opening about the events is the authors ability to wrap their story around the horrendous facts of history -- not just "this was the Holocaust" but the sheer inability of Jaguar to leave, the lag, the lag, the waiting, the politics. It broke my heart.

The aftermath for Aimee is so much more depressing than portrayed in the movie. The interpersonal relationships and the multi-viewpoints/interviews help to round out the love story so that it's not just Aimee reminiscing about her love.

The author's epilogue felt a bit of an emotional flaming poker that's meant as a call-to-action but felt a little bit of a rant against having to go through X, Y, and Z to get the story out of the aged Aimee. I am shocked that she so meticulously recorded her history with her lover.

A wonderfully written narrative of a queer relationship between a young Jewish women and the wife of a Nazi. Fischer artfully crafts Lilly and Felice's romance through personal accounts, love letters, and poetry. A definite must read in WWII literature.

kinda cheesy and very sad---- but i love the photos and copies of their letters. also, while it wasn't a major topic of the book, it was interesting to read about germans who converted to judaism post wwII. i also appreciated the interview and eyebrow raising fischer does at the end.

3.5 stars. I was expecting a more novel-like style, I suppose, because I found the historical approach to a good portion of this somewhat tiring to read. It was very sad and I did feel a connection to the people involved but some parts dragged for me, so I didn’t feel as driven to pick it up as I’d expected. The romance was beautiful and it was hard to read Lilly’s despair without wishing for some possible happy future that might have come to her and Felice.