Sigrid is a typical Berlin woman in 1943, married to a
solder who is off at the front, fighting for the Fatherland. She works every
day as a stenographer in the patent office, collects her ration cards, and goes
home to the small apartment she now shares with her overbearing, critical mother-in-law.
On the outside, she appears to have a decent life, but inside, Sigrid feels
beaten down by the dull routine of it. She is isolated, has no real friends,
and feels stuck in this rut. But she lives in a world where unthinkable
atrocities happen every day in the streets, where the residents of her
apartment building huddle together in the cellar each night to wait out bombing
raids, and where her own neighbor (or family member) could end up selling her
out to the Gestapo for some minor grievance. It is a world ruled by fear, and
to survive, you must fit in, stay quiet, and not make waves.
Sigrid’s quiet, repetitive, safe life is pulled apart bit by
bit. She follows an impulse and starts a passionate affair with a stranger. A
neighbor she barely knows comes up to her in the cinema and begs for her help
in evading the police. Slowly, gradually, Sigrid begins to open her eyes to the
world around her. Once aware of the horrible things going on, she must decide
whether to remain silently complicit in her country’s insanity or whether to
get involved, put herself at risk, and do what she can to help.
The historical backdrop here is fascinating – peeking into
the world of ordinary Berliners, trying to live ordinary lives in the face of
extraordinary events. With so many men off at war, the focus here is on the
women who are left behind and the roles they played, as mothers, wives, lovers,
friends, and conspirators. Gillham delves into aspects of World War II you
might never have thought of before, like what it was like to be homosexual when
that could send you to a concentration camp or what happened to people who were
only part Jewish, way back in their family trees, where their Jewishness just might be kept hidden.
This novel is fast-paced and suspenseful, full of twists and
turns that you never see coming. Two words that came up during our book
discussion last night were raw and tense. Gillham puts you right in the center
of the action, which also results in a very thought-provoking story. As Sigrid
must face issues of right and wrong over and over again and constantly consider
whether to save herself or put herself in danger to help others, you can’t help
but think, “What would I do?” and “Who would I trust?” It is a powerful and
haunting story that will stick with you for a long time.
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