City of Women

By David R. Gillham
Binding:Hardcover
Publisher:Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, (8/7/2012)
Language:English



Average Rating:
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5.00 out of 5 (1 Clubie's ratings)


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Book Description

Who do you trust, who do you love, and who can be saved?  

It is 1943—the height of the Second World War—and Berlin has essentially become a city of women.
Sigrid Schröder is, for all intents and purposes, the model German soldier’s wife: She goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her meddling mother-in-law, all the while ignoring the horrific immoralities of the regime. But behind this façade is an entirely different Sigrid, a woman who dreams of her former lover, now lost in the chaos of the war. Her lover is a Jew.

But Sigrid is not the only one with secrets. 

A high ranking SS officer and his family move down the hall and Sigrid finds herself pulled into their orbit.  A young woman doing her duty-year is out of excuses before Sigrid can even ask her any questions.  And then there’s the blind man selling pencils on the corner, whose eyes Sigrid can feel following her from behind the darkness of his goggles.

Soon Sigrid is embroiled in a world she knew nothing about, and as her eyes open to the reality around her, the carefully constructed fortress of solitude she has built over the years begins to collapse. She must choose to act on what is right and what is wrong, and what falls somewhere in the shadows between the two. 
In this page-turning novel, David Gillham explores what happens to ordinary people thrust into extraordinary times, and how the choices they make can be the difference between life and death.

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Clubie Reviews and Ratings

inkberry's thoughts on "City of Women"
updated on:11/4/2012

The book's title indicates what Berlin was like during WWII....women waiting for their soldiers to return home, women enduring the air raids, women keeping an eye out for traitors and those not following the German edicts at that time, and women going to work. 

Sigrid lived with her mother-in-law and hated every moment.  She worked in the day and kept people on their toes at all times, but always made friends.  Her favorite place to meet people for clandestine reasons or even legitimate reasons was in the movie theater.  You will follow Sigrid through her daily routines as well as her covert actions of smuggling and other secret activities. You will also be fearing what her decisions would be in different situations.....situations involving fellow citizens, situations where she would  be meeting a lover, or situations where she was helping hide Jewish people.  


I liked Sigrid and could see why she despised living with her mother-in-law.  She was a very strong woman and knew who she could trust and who was actually trying to trick her to see if she was being loyal to Hitler.  Her decisions were the basis of the book and what made the book quite gripping.

The book was beautifully written with wonderful detail and great descriptions of what life was like in Berlin at that time in history.  The German names were a bit difficult to keep track of, and it took a few pages to get into the storyline, but you could figure out what was going on and will become completely absorbed in the book because of the author's magnificent writing.   

This is a compelling novel that will have you putting yourself into the story and also one that will be making you nervous for the characters as they endured the life they lived and definitely will be making you fear the outcomes of their unethical or illegal deeds.  You will become immersed in the story and the characters simply because of the eloquent writing style of the author and its riveting content.
 

Even though it takes a few pages to get involved with the characters and the story, it is a book you won't want to miss.  The cover itself is enough to draw you in.  The genuine feel of the era is magnificently relayed to the reader and takes you along page by page into Berlin and into the lives and terrors of Berlin's citizens.  5/5 

I received this book free of charge from the publisher at the BEA in New York City in June of 2012 in exchange for an honest review.

DEFINITELY Unleash it


"City of Women"
By David R. Gillham

Average Rating:
DEFINITELY Unleash it
5.00 out of 5 (1 Clubie's ratings)


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