The irony of Catherine Chidgey’s acutely authentic novel’s title infuses the text. No place on earth could have less sympathy than the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp ... This is a long, complex book. The writing is beautifully wrought and the research a result of years of study. The true sympathetic vitaliser here is the novelist. She illustrates the senseless cruelty of the regime and portrays its characters convincingly, not as monsters but deluded, indulged and frightened victims of their own stupidity.
... powerful ... Chidgey sets the perspectives of Weber and the Hahns in counterpoint, giving a chilling intimacy to the daily routines inside the Hahn household and at the inmates’ nearby barracks.
Chidgey (The Wish Child) brilliantly explores the intersecting stories of a former German S.S. officer, his sheltered wife, and a survivor of Buchenwald ... With its multiple registers and complex view of humanity, this marks a vital turn in Holocaust literature.
Noted New Zealand author Chidgey’s latest is a lengthy, well-researched addition to the already sizable shelf of Holocaust fiction ... Packed with precise details about the camp, German culture, the Nazi machine, and much more, the novel offers a sober reflection on a country seized by dehumanizing insanity, corrupted by lies and cruelty. Yet the characterization is predictable ... This serious effort to evoke the crucible of German fascism proves less effective at conveying emotional resonance.
