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I have put off writing about The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer because I am not even sure how I feel about the events described in the book. What kind of a person should try to undermine a family’s new life without even trying to understand their old one?
The German Wife was about love, family, choosing, recognizing good and evil, right and wrong and having faith in others. I agree with all you said, especially about learning someone’s backstory makes the unthinkable, understandable, perfect discription. There is also the whole Operation Paperclip situation and the scientist angle of course, which was what personally made the story stand out for me.
Heart-breaking, based on true characters… Historical fiction fans and women’s fiction fans will want to read this book. The German Wife tells the story of how Jürgen and his wife Sofie Rhodes became participants in the program, came to live in the United States and were eventually pardoned. It is essentially just the life stories of two different women; there is no conflict, no action, no problem to be solved. Their family under threat, they conclude: “The cost of anything but perfect compliance would simply be too high. The German Wife is a vivid, tender tale set in Berlin, Germany, as well as Huntsville, Alabama, between 1930 and 1950 that takes you into the lives of the Rhodes family.
Hard to put down, loved the story, if you like books based on true events in the time of war you will enjoy this book. In 1950, Sofie and two of her children travel to Huntsville, Alabama to be reunited with Jürgen, who has been living in the United States for several years. Annaliese, the German wife, is struggling to adjust to what has turned into a loveless marriage as her husband becomes consumed, yet horrified, by the medical experiments taking place at Dachau. In The German Wife, I was engaged with each timeline equally, and I appreciate that the author didn’t linger in one timeline for too long. As tempers boiled, and Lizzie's anger and frustration at the situation grew, Sofie was frightened and Jurgen infinitely cautious.She and Jurgen are worried about what Hitler and his supporters mean for Germany, especially for Sofie’s Jewish best friend, Mayim. Themes: Thought-provoking themes include fear of people because of their nationality, starting over, survival, grief, acceptance, PTSD, atrocities and effects of war, life-changing choices, turning a blind eye, hardship, friendship, and prejudice. A 4🌟 because there were areas jumping back and forth between time lines and families that were confusing and I got lost. Although I’ve read plenty of WWII books, this provided multiple fresh perspectives and had me connected to each and every character. Sofie and Jürgen were in an impossible situation – should they have resisted and faced certain torture and death?
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