... not a lengthy book and can be read in several hours. But it packs a punch way beyond its weight. Images from its pages linger—a dark telling of a devastating tale that deserves a place alongside The Reader by Bernard Schlink. Schlink’s novel is another tale of post-Nazi Germans attempting to reconcile themselves with the national guilt still experienced from their Nazi past.
... especially relevant ... a complex and nuanced portrayal of characters who spring to life in all their messy contradictions ... Würger’s writing, translated into English by Liesl Schillinger, is straightforward and spare, as deceptively simple as the complex questions it tackles.
Based in part on the real Stella Goldschlag, Würger’s novel is a powerful, visceral portrait of individuals caught up in a pivotal year during Nazi rule.
