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Wunderland
East Village, 1989
Things had never been easy between Ava Fisher and her estranged mother Ilse. Too many questions hovered between them: Who was Ava's father? Where had Ilse been during the war? Why had she left her only child in a German orphanage during the war's final months? But now Ilse's ashes have arrived from Germany, and with them, a trove of unsent letters addressed to someone else unknown to Ava: Renate Bauer, a childhood friend. As her mother's letters unfurl a dark past, Ava spirals deep into the shocking history of a woman she never truly knew.
Things had never been easy between Ava Fisher and her estranged mother Ilse. Too many questions hovered between them: Who was Ava's father? Where had Ilse been during the war? Why had she left her only child in a German orphanage during the war's final months? But now Ilse's ashes have arrived from Germany, and with them, a trove of unsent letters addressed to someone else unknown to Ava: Renate Bauer, a childhood friend. As her mother's letters unfurl a dark past, Ava spirals deep into the shocking history of a woman she never truly knew.
Berlin, 1933
As the Nazi party tightens its grip on the city, Ilse and Renate find their friendship under siege—and Ilse's increasing involvement in the Hitler Youth movement leaves them on opposing sides of the gathering storm. Then the Nuremburg Laws force Renate to confront a long-buried past, and a catastrophic betrayal is set in motion...
An unflinching exploration of Nazi Germany and its legacy, Wunderland is a at once a powerful portrait of an unspeakable crime history and a page-turning contemplation of womanhood, wartime, and just how far we might go in order to belong.
373 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2019
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February 10, 2019
A friendship destroyed by the perils of WWII. A betrayal that will take your breath away.
This book is why I read.
As a reader, there are times when I fall into that dreaded pattern of "reading just to read." Do you know what I mean? I find myself picking up the same types of stories and I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog Day. However, there are also those precious gems that quicken your heart, put a bounce in your step, and make you fall in love with reading all over again. This was one of them.
Classic historical fiction, shifting back and forth between 1939 and 1989, executed with fine precision. Most often in cases of shifting timelines, I enjoy one story line over the other, however, this was an exception to the rule.
In 1939, Berlin is under attack. If you aren't bred according to "Nazi Gold Standard" than fleeing the country or going into hiding are your best chances to survive. Ilse and Renate, two teenage girls and the best of friends, cannot even begin to imagine what is in store for them. Renate never would have imagined that her best friend was capable of a betrayal so evil it will question her faith in humanity. It will question your faith in humanity.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. WWII is often written about in a number of historical fiction novels. Although many authors write about the war, not all of them do it with the same grace and deftness of Epstein. She clearly researched the area and it paid off tremendously. When I read a work of fiction, I want to feel as if it is real. I want to feel invested in the characters. In this case, I not only felt that it was real, I felt as if I was experiencing the events in real time. I will definitely be reading more from Epstein. She is extremely talented and I can't wait to see what she'll write next!
My Bottom Line: This book will make you fall in love with reading... All over again.
Thank you to the author and publishing house for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
This book is why I read.
As a reader, there are times when I fall into that dreaded pattern of "reading just to read." Do you know what I mean? I find myself picking up the same types of stories and I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog Day. However, there are also those precious gems that quicken your heart, put a bounce in your step, and make you fall in love with reading all over again. This was one of them.
Classic historical fiction, shifting back and forth between 1939 and 1989, executed with fine precision. Most often in cases of shifting timelines, I enjoy one story line over the other, however, this was an exception to the rule.
In 1939, Berlin is under attack. If you aren't bred according to "Nazi Gold Standard" than fleeing the country or going into hiding are your best chances to survive. Ilse and Renate, two teenage girls and the best of friends, cannot even begin to imagine what is in store for them. Renate never would have imagined that her best friend was capable of a betrayal so evil it will question her faith in humanity. It will question your faith in humanity.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. WWII is often written about in a number of historical fiction novels. Although many authors write about the war, not all of them do it with the same grace and deftness of Epstein. She clearly researched the area and it paid off tremendously. When I read a work of fiction, I want to feel as if it is real. I want to feel invested in the characters. In this case, I not only felt that it was real, I felt as if I was experiencing the events in real time. I will definitely be reading more from Epstein. She is extremely talented and I can't wait to see what she'll write next!
My Bottom Line: This book will make you fall in love with reading... All over again.
Thank you to the author and publishing house for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review
May 17, 2019
There aren’t any horrific scenes of the death camps here, yet it is a story that is very much a story of the holocaust, a chilling depiction of Nazi Germany before WWII, evoking in me anger, fear, sadness. This was an emotional read about friendship and betrayal and the desire for redemption. We see how the Nazi ideology became so ingrained in Germans, in this case the focus on young people and the impact on the daily lives of Jews moving from being restricted to being taken from their homes and sent, and as we know six million of them were to be annihilated in death camps. The impact of this inexplicable hatred on people’s lives to come is found here. The story unfolds with multiple narratives of two childhood friends and a daughter of one of them years later, different time frames, not sequential but it worked fine for me giving perspective on these three characters at various points in their lives. Ilse and Renate as young girls in Berlin in the 1930’s, best friends until a revelation destroys the friendship. In 1989 Ilse’s daughter Ava, receives a package with her mother’s ashes along with a packet of letters to Renate that she never sent. Secrets of her mother’s past are finally revealed to Ava, secrets that strained their relationship all of Ava’s life because Ilse could not open up to her, not even about who her father was. The secrets continue in Ava’s life as she keeps things from her daughter as well.
I found the story painful to read with chilling verbiage of Nazi white supremacy and beliefs of superiority pitting Germans against German, non Jews against Jews, friends against friends . This novel takes place in the past, but eerily felt relevant to the present. As I read this I couldn’t help but think of the Nazis marching in Charlottesville carry torches and chanting, of the synagogue and church and Muslim mosque shootings. I was touched and not too surprised at the ending. Recommended to those who enjoy reading of WWII and its multiple facets.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Crown through NetGalley.
I found the story painful to read with chilling verbiage of Nazi white supremacy and beliefs of superiority pitting Germans against German, non Jews against Jews, friends against friends . This novel takes place in the past, but eerily felt relevant to the present. As I read this I couldn’t help but think of the Nazis marching in Charlottesville carry torches and chanting, of the synagogue and church and Muslim mosque shootings. I was touched and not too surprised at the ending. Recommended to those who enjoy reading of WWII and its multiple facets.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Crown through NetGalley.
March 30, 2019
This historical fiction is more of a family drama. We see Ava as an adult in New York, dealing with her memories and questions after the death of her mother Ilse. We also see Ilse, from a young teenager in 1930s Germany through the war and beyond. What has led to their estrangement? We are given glimpses - Ilse unwilling to answer Ava’s questions about her paternity, her abandonment at the end of the war.
I can’t remember another book I’ve read that covers Germany in the lead up to WWII. How ordinary Germans became caught up in the excitement of the Nazi propaganda. How people were so willing to believe the hype that they overlooked their prior friendships and alliances. Flip side, Epstein also shows the slowly encroaching hardship for the Jews. Which while better known, is wonderfully detailed.
If I’m reading historical fiction, I want to learn something. Epstein achieves that. She effortlessly slips facts into the story without disrupting the flow.
This book does bounce around, from time period to time period and from character to character. It demands attention. It’s not a quick or an easy read. But it’s engrossing. All of the multiple storylines work equally well. The characters are fully drawn. The word that most captures the feeling of this book is poignant, heartbreakingly so. Ilse is a difficult character to like. She’s not a rebel, not even someone standing on the sidelines. No, she’s an all-in, Nazi fanatic.
My thanks to netgalley and Crown Publishing for an advance copy of this book.
I can’t remember another book I’ve read that covers Germany in the lead up to WWII. How ordinary Germans became caught up in the excitement of the Nazi propaganda. How people were so willing to believe the hype that they overlooked their prior friendships and alliances. Flip side, Epstein also shows the slowly encroaching hardship for the Jews. Which while better known, is wonderfully detailed.
If I’m reading historical fiction, I want to learn something. Epstein achieves that. She effortlessly slips facts into the story without disrupting the flow.
This book does bounce around, from time period to time period and from character to character. It demands attention. It’s not a quick or an easy read. But it’s engrossing. All of the multiple storylines work equally well. The characters are fully drawn. The word that most captures the feeling of this book is poignant, heartbreakingly so. Ilse is a difficult character to like. She’s not a rebel, not even someone standing on the sidelines. No, she’s an all-in, Nazi fanatic.
My thanks to netgalley and Crown Publishing for an advance copy of this book.
March 17, 2019
3.5 Ilse and Renata, young girls in Berlin, inseparable friends, they tell each other everything, do everything together. That is until Ilse joins the women's part of the Hitler's youth, Renata's family refusing to sign the papers. To once again be close to her friend, she forges the papers, but what happens next is totally unexpected, and will change things for both girls.
In the present day, Ava, with a child of her own, wants to know the secrets her mother, Renata, is keeping from her. Estranged for many years, it will take a death for the secrets to be revealed.
No matter how many books, fiction or nonfiction I read, there is always something to learn, something new, of a different take. In this novel the author does a good job describing how the young came to embrace the Nazi ideology. Brainwashing, idealistic goals, and fear, are some of their methods. How so many families, friends were divided, how hate became pervasive.
Also shows how the effects of trauma were passed down to the next generation. How silence separates, how difficult it is to absolve oneself of past behaviors, difficult to live with them as well.
ARC from Edelweiss
In the present day, Ava, with a child of her own, wants to know the secrets her mother, Renata, is keeping from her. Estranged for many years, it will take a death for the secrets to be revealed.
No matter how many books, fiction or nonfiction I read, there is always something to learn, something new, of a different take. In this novel the author does a good job describing how the young came to embrace the Nazi ideology. Brainwashing, idealistic goals, and fear, are some of their methods. How so many families, friends were divided, how hate became pervasive.
Also shows how the effects of trauma were passed down to the next generation. How silence separates, how difficult it is to absolve oneself of past behaviors, difficult to live with them as well.
ARC from Edelweiss
May 29, 2019
You all know I love an emotional read about friendship! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I never tire of stories of friendship. Wunderland is a story of enduring friendship that will stand the test of time.
Told in two timelines, the first is in New York in 1989. Ava and her mother, Ilse, haven’t gotten along. There’s this empty space between them filled with unanswered questions, important ones. Ava wants to know who her father is. She has no idea where Ilse was during World War II.
Ilse has passed away, and her ashes arrive from Germany. Along with her ashes are unsent letters to Renate Bauer, a childhood friend of Ilse’s, completely unknown to Ava.
The letters hold the answers to many of Ava’s questions and then some. Ilse’s dark past is revealed to her daughter, and Ava realizes she never truly knew her mother.
The second timeline is Berlin in 1933. The Nazi party is gaining power, and Ilse and Renate’s friendship is becoming questionable. Ilse is more involved in Hitler Youth, and Renate does not feel the same.
When the Nuremberg Laws are enforced, something big about Renate’s family is unfurled, and a huge betrayal happens.
I also never tire of these World War II stories. There are neverending perspectives and lessons to be learned. Here we learn about how a child might choose to “belong” by joining a movement with catastrophic consequences. The author deftly shows how a child can be brainwashed into believing a dogma and how hate could divide friendships and families.
Wunderland is about how the small decisions we make can leave everlasting impressions. It’s about intergenerational trauma, friendship, being a woman during wartime, and ultimately, being fallible and human. It’s about how silence can speak louder than words and tear families and loved ones apart.
This book is stunning and heart-wrenching and everything I want in a book I have relished.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
I never tire of stories of friendship. Wunderland is a story of enduring friendship that will stand the test of time.
Told in two timelines, the first is in New York in 1989. Ava and her mother, Ilse, haven’t gotten along. There’s this empty space between them filled with unanswered questions, important ones. Ava wants to know who her father is. She has no idea where Ilse was during World War II.
Ilse has passed away, and her ashes arrive from Germany. Along with her ashes are unsent letters to Renate Bauer, a childhood friend of Ilse’s, completely unknown to Ava.
The letters hold the answers to many of Ava’s questions and then some. Ilse’s dark past is revealed to her daughter, and Ava realizes she never truly knew her mother.
The second timeline is Berlin in 1933. The Nazi party is gaining power, and Ilse and Renate’s friendship is becoming questionable. Ilse is more involved in Hitler Youth, and Renate does not feel the same.
When the Nuremberg Laws are enforced, something big about Renate’s family is unfurled, and a huge betrayal happens.
I also never tire of these World War II stories. There are neverending perspectives and lessons to be learned. Here we learn about how a child might choose to “belong” by joining a movement with catastrophic consequences. The author deftly shows how a child can be brainwashed into believing a dogma and how hate could divide friendships and families.
Wunderland is about how the small decisions we make can leave everlasting impressions. It’s about intergenerational trauma, friendship, being a woman during wartime, and ultimately, being fallible and human. It’s about how silence can speak louder than words and tear families and loved ones apart.
This book is stunning and heart-wrenching and everything I want in a book I have relished.
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
September 27, 2018
The beginning of Wunderland is clunky but persevere as it improves greatly afterwards. It starts with fragmented scenes from the main characters lives beginning in 1989, switches to another character in 1933, back to the initial character in 1977 and onto yet another character in 1937. This would be fine if a discernible connection existed at this point but it didn’t. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it but as I continued to read the connections eventually became apparent.
Essentially a story about a friendship in Berlin during the rise of the Nazi party, Isle throws herself into the movement while Renate is unable to follow suit. The narrative moves back and forth through time from Berlin to NYC; there is a question of paternity along with betrayal, lies and living with guilt. The complicity of ordinary Germans is chilling especially when one considers nationalism in today’s world.
Essentially a story about a friendship in Berlin during the rise of the Nazi party, Isle throws herself into the movement while Renate is unable to follow suit. The narrative moves back and forth through time from Berlin to NYC; there is a question of paternity along with betrayal, lies and living with guilt. The complicity of ordinary Germans is chilling especially when one considers nationalism in today’s world.
May 4, 2023
La amante del tercer Reich es un libro me ha gustado, me ha impresionado y pasa a ser una de mis mejores lecturas del 2021.
Dos niñas alemanas, Ilse y Renate, que van al mismo colegio, son amigas inseparables desde hace mucho tiempo. La llegada al poder de Hitler y la promulgación de las leyes de Núremberg cambiarán radicalmente este hecho. Ilse se afilia a las juventudes hitlerianas y se ve cada vez más comprometida con las tesis del partido. Renate se entera de algo que desconocía y que pone su mundo patas arriba. A partir de ahí sus caminos se separarán.
En 1989, Ava, la hija de Ilse, recibe en Nueva York, las cenizas de su madre (con la que nunca se entendió), y un paquete de cartas dirigidas a Renate, cuya existencia ignoraba. Es entonces cuando se cierra la historia.
Son muchas las cosas que me han gustado de este libro. El título original es Wunderland (mundo maravilloso), término que describe a la perfección, aquello que Ilse y tantos como ella creían estar construyendo. Un mundo maravilloso que exigía "hacer sacrificios", una idea con la que justificaban, lo que sus conciencias se negaban a justificar.
La historia se desarrolla, con un ritmo muy fluido, en varios planos temporales. El primero abarca las vidas de Ilse y Renate desde 1933 hasta 1939. Es un plano temporal lineal. La autora nos va introduciendo año a año en lo que fue y supuso la Alemania nazi prebélica. Es como una inmersión gradual en el horror de aquella sociedad. A través de los ojos de las dos protagonistas, se nos presenta como se deterioró la convivencia y lo que supuso para la comunidad judía.
A menudo, a la vista de los hechos consumados, nos hemos preguntado por qué no huyeron los judíos alemanes cuando aún estaban a tiempo. Es verdad que unos cuantos, escritores, artistas y científicos en su mayoría, se exiliaron cuando Hitler llegó al poder, pero lo hicieron más por oposición a un régimen hostil, que porque intuyeran lo que estaba por venir.
A partir de 1935, cuando se promulgaron las leyes de Nuremberg, muchos lo intentaron, pero ya era tarde. Ni las autoridades alemanas, ni los países a los que solicitaban asilo lo ponían fácil. Pocos lo consiguieron, la novela describe bien el calvario por el que pasaron en el proceso.
Además, hay que tener en cuenta que hasta entonces, el judaísmo era sinónimo de una religión. Muchos alemanes, tenían abuelos que habiendo nacido judíos, se habían convertido al cristianismo, se habían casado con gentiles y educado a su descendencia en el catolicismo o el luteranismo. Ni ellos ni sus nietos se consideraban ya judíos. En algunos casos sus descendientes ni siquiera conocían su ascendencia semítica. ¿Qué podía pues pasarles? Los nazis con sus leyes raciales, cambiaron esa concepción. Pusieron el acento, no en la religión, sino en la raza. De un día para otro cientos de alemanes dejaron de serlo y su vida dio un giro radical.
Aún así, no todos se plantearon emigrar. Esperaban que las cosas se calmasen. Qué más nos pueden hacer, es una frase que se repite varias veces a lo largo de la novela, cada vez que los nazis daban otra vuelta de tuerca.
Paralelamente a la radicalización de las posturas, también cambian las condiciones sociales y económicas de los arios. Son esos cambios progresivos los que el libro nos va desgranando, paso a paso, tal y como ocurrieron. Describe, no solo cómo era la vida cotidiana de los adultos, sino también la de los niños y adolescentes, judíos o mestizos, que pasaron a ser parias en los colegios y universidades, hasta su definitiva expulsión. El nazismo no inventó el acoso escolar, pero desde luego lo elevó a otra dimensión, una dimensión en la que participaban por igual profesores y alumnos.
La novela nos muestra igualmente, una de las caras más perversas del régimen, el adoctrinamiento juvenil planificado. En palabras de la propia escritora, se pasó de los ideales juveniles al fanatismo más acérrimo, de la amistad incondicional a la traición más abyecta.
Junto a este plano lineal, la autora introduce saltos temporales, en los que relata la vida de la hija de Ilse, Ava, situada ya en la postguerra. Ava, horrorizada por lo que hizo la generación anterior, quiere saber todo lo que le oculta su madre y quién y qué fue su padre. Uno de los grandes aciertos del libro es compaginar ambos planos en el momento justo. Eso permite al lector respirar y recuperarse de la dureza de algunos capítulos.
Imprescindible mencionar también tanto a los personajes como la ambientación. Ilse, Renate y Ava son personajes muy bien trazados. Es fácil meterse en su piel, compartas o no lo que piensan y hacen. La evolución que experimentan a lo largo de los años está muy bien desarrollada.
La ambientación me ha parecido muy buena. Es cierto que es una época de la historia ampliamente documentada, pero la autora recurre, no solo a esas fuentes sino al testimonio de gente común, consiguiendo recrear de forma brillante la vida cotidiana de esos años. El final me ha gustado, quizá hubiera querido alguna página más, pero eso ya es algo subjetivo y personal.
No quiero terminar esta reseña sin señalar algo que me parece importante ya que puede confundir a posible lectores. El título con el que este libro ha sido publicado en castellano, ni tiene nada que ver con el título original ni responde en absoluto a lo que la novela quiere transmitir. A mi juicio sugiere lo que no es y ha sido un desacierto total por parte de la editorial.
En conclusión, un libro que me ha gustado mucho, que pasa a ser una de mis mejores lecturas del 2021 y que no dudo en recomendar.
Dos niñas alemanas, Ilse y Renate, que van al mismo colegio, son amigas inseparables desde hace mucho tiempo. La llegada al poder de Hitler y la promulgación de las leyes de Núremberg cambiarán radicalmente este hecho. Ilse se afilia a las juventudes hitlerianas y se ve cada vez más comprometida con las tesis del partido. Renate se entera de algo que desconocía y que pone su mundo patas arriba. A partir de ahí sus caminos se separarán.
En 1989, Ava, la hija de Ilse, recibe en Nueva York, las cenizas de su madre (con la que nunca se entendió), y un paquete de cartas dirigidas a Renate, cuya existencia ignoraba. Es entonces cuando se cierra la historia.
Son muchas las cosas que me han gustado de este libro. El título original es Wunderland (mundo maravilloso), término que describe a la perfección, aquello que Ilse y tantos como ella creían estar construyendo. Un mundo maravilloso que exigía "hacer sacrificios", una idea con la que justificaban, lo que sus conciencias se negaban a justificar.
La historia se desarrolla, con un ritmo muy fluido, en varios planos temporales. El primero abarca las vidas de Ilse y Renate desde 1933 hasta 1939. Es un plano temporal lineal. La autora nos va introduciendo año a año en lo que fue y supuso la Alemania nazi prebélica. Es como una inmersión gradual en el horror de aquella sociedad. A través de los ojos de las dos protagonistas, se nos presenta como se deterioró la convivencia y lo que supuso para la comunidad judía.
A menudo, a la vista de los hechos consumados, nos hemos preguntado por qué no huyeron los judíos alemanes cuando aún estaban a tiempo. Es verdad que unos cuantos, escritores, artistas y científicos en su mayoría, se exiliaron cuando Hitler llegó al poder, pero lo hicieron más por oposición a un régimen hostil, que porque intuyeran lo que estaba por venir.
A partir de 1935, cuando se promulgaron las leyes de Nuremberg, muchos lo intentaron, pero ya era tarde. Ni las autoridades alemanas, ni los países a los que solicitaban asilo lo ponían fácil. Pocos lo consiguieron, la novela describe bien el calvario por el que pasaron en el proceso.
Además, hay que tener en cuenta que hasta entonces, el judaísmo era sinónimo de una religión. Muchos alemanes, tenían abuelos que habiendo nacido judíos, se habían convertido al cristianismo, se habían casado con gentiles y educado a su descendencia en el catolicismo o el luteranismo. Ni ellos ni sus nietos se consideraban ya judíos. En algunos casos sus descendientes ni siquiera conocían su ascendencia semítica. ¿Qué podía pues pasarles? Los nazis con sus leyes raciales, cambiaron esa concepción. Pusieron el acento, no en la religión, sino en la raza. De un día para otro cientos de alemanes dejaron de serlo y su vida dio un giro radical.
Aún así, no todos se plantearon emigrar. Esperaban que las cosas se calmasen. Qué más nos pueden hacer, es una frase que se repite varias veces a lo largo de la novela, cada vez que los nazis daban otra vuelta de tuerca.
Paralelamente a la radicalización de las posturas, también cambian las condiciones sociales y económicas de los arios. Son esos cambios progresivos los que el libro nos va desgranando, paso a paso, tal y como ocurrieron. Describe, no solo cómo era la vida cotidiana de los adultos, sino también la de los niños y adolescentes, judíos o mestizos, que pasaron a ser parias en los colegios y universidades, hasta su definitiva expulsión. El nazismo no inventó el acoso escolar, pero desde luego lo elevó a otra dimensión, una dimensión en la que participaban por igual profesores y alumnos.
La novela nos muestra igualmente, una de las caras más perversas del régimen, el adoctrinamiento juvenil planificado. En palabras de la propia escritora, se pasó de los ideales juveniles al fanatismo más acérrimo, de la amistad incondicional a la traición más abyecta.
Junto a este plano lineal, la autora introduce saltos temporales, en los que relata la vida de la hija de Ilse, Ava, situada ya en la postguerra. Ava, horrorizada por lo que hizo la generación anterior, quiere saber todo lo que le oculta su madre y quién y qué fue su padre. Uno de los grandes aciertos del libro es compaginar ambos planos en el momento justo. Eso permite al lector respirar y recuperarse de la dureza de algunos capítulos.
Imprescindible mencionar también tanto a los personajes como la ambientación. Ilse, Renate y Ava son personajes muy bien trazados. Es fácil meterse en su piel, compartas o no lo que piensan y hacen. La evolución que experimentan a lo largo de los años está muy bien desarrollada.
La ambientación me ha parecido muy buena. Es cierto que es una época de la historia ampliamente documentada, pero la autora recurre, no solo a esas fuentes sino al testimonio de gente común, consiguiendo recrear de forma brillante la vida cotidiana de esos años. El final me ha gustado, quizá hubiera querido alguna página más, pero eso ya es algo subjetivo y personal.
No quiero terminar esta reseña sin señalar algo que me parece importante ya que puede confundir a posible lectores. El título con el que este libro ha sido publicado en castellano, ni tiene nada que ver con el título original ni responde en absoluto a lo que la novela quiere transmitir. A mi juicio sugiere lo que no es y ha sido un desacierto total por parte de la editorial.
En conclusión, un libro que me ha gustado mucho, que pasa a ser una de mis mejores lecturas del 2021 y que no dudo en recomendar.
April 12, 2019
Wunderland is a beautifully written story about two friends, Renate and Ilse, and their struggle to fit and survive during time in Germany, when Nazism was growing and spreading like wildfire. Both girls face impossible and horrifying situations. They have to make choices with which consequences they will have to live for the rest of their lives. This was a hard book to read for me. I have connected with both, Renate and Ilse, on a personal and emotional level and reading their stories was heart wrenching at times. I loved Renate’s character and I rooted for her and her family, while I tried so hard to understand Ilse’s choices and actions. It is so easy to dislike Ilse and all she stands for. Her actions and her way of justifying them was making me sick and uncomfortable. There were times when I had to put the book down, and reflect on what I just read. The things we tell ourselves and the things we lie about to make our crimes bearable are astonishing. However, Ilse’s justification for her actions was always “sacrifices have to be made”, which is so unnerving and horrifying when those sacrifices affect other people’s lives and many times are death and life situations.
I have read many historical fiction books and it gets to be a little challenging now to find a book that will introduce a new insight into the WWII time period. Wunderland surprised me with a new perspective and I was completely engrossed in the story. I highly recommend this book to all historical fiction genre readers.
Thank you Netgalley, Crown Publishing, and the author, Jennifer Cody Epstein, for giving me an opportunity to read an ARC of this brilliant book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I have read many historical fiction books and it gets to be a little challenging now to find a book that will introduce a new insight into the WWII time period. Wunderland surprised me with a new perspective and I was completely engrossed in the story. I highly recommend this book to all historical fiction genre readers.
Thank you Netgalley, Crown Publishing, and the author, Jennifer Cody Epstein, for giving me an opportunity to read an ARC of this brilliant book in exchange for my honest opinion.
May 13, 2019
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt compelled to stay up late into the night in order to finish a book because I couldn’t bear to put the book down without finding out how it ends. Things get especially complicated when it is a book that had me emotionally invested in the story and in its characters for practically the entire time I was reading it. Having said that, I will be one of the first to admit that this book was not an easy one to read for several reasons.
First, the subject matter — having read many books about World War II and the Holocaust over the years, I knew going into this one to expect a difficult read. Unlike some of the other books covering this subject however, the direction this one took was a bit different than what we typically see, as the central focus (for the storyline taking place in the 1930s) was on the lead-up to the war, starting in 1933 when Hitler first came to power in Germany, and the resulting environment under which toxic Nazi propaganda was able to fester unabated, leading to the gradual shift in attitude towards the Jewish population – the Nuremburg Laws, the boycott of Jewish businesses, the formation of groups such as the Hitler Youth movement, the horrible atrocity that was Kristallnacht, etc. – it was against this backdrop that the story of a friendship between two young girls played out. In the later timeline (1949 to 1989), the focus was on the aftermath — the devastating impact of the war, not just for the survivors, but also for those who participated, whether directly or indirectly, in the persecution of an entire race having to finally answer for their actions. In a sense, the war itself played a mostly periphery role in the story, with its impact on the story’s characters forming the crux of this narrative about friendship, betrayal, and family destroyed.
Second, the way the story was structured was also different from the typical dual timeline narratives we often see. While this one also jumped back and forth in time, it was technically multiple timelines rather than just two — the narrative opens in 1989, with Ava Fisher, a young single mother living with her daughter Sophie in New York, receiving a box containing her mother Ilse von Fischer’s ashes along with a stack of letters addressed to a woman named Renate Bauer, who is discovered to be Ilse’s childhood friend back in Germany. From there, we are taken back to 1933 and the start of the narrative taking place in the past — after that, the timeline jumps to 1977 and later back and forth between each of the years leading up to and during WWII as well as each of the subsequent decades, going backward from the 1970s back to the 1940s, only skipping full circle back to 1989 at the very end. Not only that, each chapter was alternately narrated from the perspectives of each of the main characters: Ava, Renate, and Ilse. For me, the jumping back and forth between multiple time periods and characters made the story a bit difficult to follow, which required more time and focus on my part in order to keep track of everything. In the end though, the effort was worth it, as this one turned out to be a gem -- a beautifully told but emotionally heart-wrenching, tragic story that I know I won’t soon forget.
As always when I read a well-written work of historical fiction, I learn about not just the history behind the events, but also the impact of those events on the lives of ordinary people. This personal application of historical events is something that history books don’t (or rather aren’t supposed to) cover, but yet, is absolutely crucial in helping us understand this history, its implications, and more importantly, prevent such atrocities from happening again (as much as we are able to). Through the poignant, heartbreaking story of a childhood friendship between two teenage girls who are eventually torn apart by war, author Jennifer Cody Epstein did a wonderful job bringing this period of history back into the spotlight. Of equal importance though, through the lives and actions of the fictional characters in the story, we are given insight into the complexities of human behavior and the impact of our actions on others. The character in the story who most reflected this for me was Ilse, whom I found hard to like for sure, but at the same time, it felt wrong to hate her – to me, she was one of the most tragic characters in the story given how much of her life and actions were shaped by her upbringing and the environment in which she grew up as well as the price she ended up paying in the end.
This is a book I highly recommend, one that I hope many will read and learn from. It is also a rendering of history that, given the times we live in currently, needs to be understood and vigilantly prevented. As with many of the books I’ve read about the atrocities of WWII, this one is yet another poignant reminder of the frailty of human life and the importance of not taking the freedoms we have for granted. This is a story that needs to be read and experienced and hopefully one we can all learn from.
Received ARC from Crown Publishing via NetGalley.
First, the subject matter — having read many books about World War II and the Holocaust over the years, I knew going into this one to expect a difficult read. Unlike some of the other books covering this subject however, the direction this one took was a bit different than what we typically see, as the central focus (for the storyline taking place in the 1930s) was on the lead-up to the war, starting in 1933 when Hitler first came to power in Germany, and the resulting environment under which toxic Nazi propaganda was able to fester unabated, leading to the gradual shift in attitude towards the Jewish population – the Nuremburg Laws, the boycott of Jewish businesses, the formation of groups such as the Hitler Youth movement, the horrible atrocity that was Kristallnacht, etc. – it was against this backdrop that the story of a friendship between two young girls played out. In the later timeline (1949 to 1989), the focus was on the aftermath — the devastating impact of the war, not just for the survivors, but also for those who participated, whether directly or indirectly, in the persecution of an entire race having to finally answer for their actions. In a sense, the war itself played a mostly periphery role in the story, with its impact on the story’s characters forming the crux of this narrative about friendship, betrayal, and family destroyed.
Second, the way the story was structured was also different from the typical dual timeline narratives we often see. While this one also jumped back and forth in time, it was technically multiple timelines rather than just two — the narrative opens in 1989, with Ava Fisher, a young single mother living with her daughter Sophie in New York, receiving a box containing her mother Ilse von Fischer’s ashes along with a stack of letters addressed to a woman named Renate Bauer, who is discovered to be Ilse’s childhood friend back in Germany. From there, we are taken back to 1933 and the start of the narrative taking place in the past — after that, the timeline jumps to 1977 and later back and forth between each of the years leading up to and during WWII as well as each of the subsequent decades, going backward from the 1970s back to the 1940s, only skipping full circle back to 1989 at the very end. Not only that, each chapter was alternately narrated from the perspectives of each of the main characters: Ava, Renate, and Ilse. For me, the jumping back and forth between multiple time periods and characters made the story a bit difficult to follow, which required more time and focus on my part in order to keep track of everything. In the end though, the effort was worth it, as this one turned out to be a gem -- a beautifully told but emotionally heart-wrenching, tragic story that I know I won’t soon forget.
As always when I read a well-written work of historical fiction, I learn about not just the history behind the events, but also the impact of those events on the lives of ordinary people. This personal application of historical events is something that history books don’t (or rather aren’t supposed to) cover, but yet, is absolutely crucial in helping us understand this history, its implications, and more importantly, prevent such atrocities from happening again (as much as we are able to). Through the poignant, heartbreaking story of a childhood friendship between two teenage girls who are eventually torn apart by war, author Jennifer Cody Epstein did a wonderful job bringing this period of history back into the spotlight. Of equal importance though, through the lives and actions of the fictional characters in the story, we are given insight into the complexities of human behavior and the impact of our actions on others. The character in the story who most reflected this for me was Ilse, whom I found hard to like for sure, but at the same time, it felt wrong to hate her – to me, she was one of the most tragic characters in the story given how much of her life and actions were shaped by her upbringing and the environment in which she grew up as well as the price she ended up paying in the end.
This is a book I highly recommend, one that I hope many will read and learn from. It is also a rendering of history that, given the times we live in currently, needs to be understood and vigilantly prevented. As with many of the books I’ve read about the atrocities of WWII, this one is yet another poignant reminder of the frailty of human life and the importance of not taking the freedoms we have for granted. This is a story that needs to be read and experienced and hopefully one we can all learn from.
Received ARC from Crown Publishing via NetGalley.
October 25, 2018
“Wunderland is a beautiful and haunting and utterly magnificent novel: a wrenching tale of friendship and betrayal in Nazi Germany. It’s also a page-turner that kept me reading until two in the morning one night and three in the morning the next. It’s that good."
May 14, 2019
Sacrifices have to be made.
This recurring refrain becomes almost a motto for one of the primary characters in this multigenerational novel that faces up to some of the essential issues of daily life in mid-1930s Germany. As the reparations costs for WWI continue to bankrupt the country, susceptibility to a savior becomes strong, as does the pull for scapegoats.
The central characters of the story, Renate and Ilse, are early teens as the Nazis begin their ascent in German politics and society. They are initially unbothered by these new ruffians whose presence gradually increases. The other major character is Ilse’s daughter Ava who is trying to sort out her mother’s role in the war, her complete parentage, and what to expect from life.
The action moves back and forth between 1933, 1989, 1939, the 1940s and 1950s, gradually revealing stages of the story and relationships. The chapters are dated and titled with the appropriate character’s name to eliminate confusion. Gradually, the pattern is set and the baring of the story occurs. The details of the indignities meted out to Jews, half-Jews, etc is shown clearly here, seen especially through Renate and Ilse’s eyes.
There will be personal betrayal to accompany the national and European witch-hunt. There is so much devastation left in the wake of all of this. Wunderland shows us some of the personal aspects of this national, in fact international, tragedy. And it shows the cost paid over generations to come.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This recurring refrain becomes almost a motto for one of the primary characters in this multigenerational novel that faces up to some of the essential issues of daily life in mid-1930s Germany. As the reparations costs for WWI continue to bankrupt the country, susceptibility to a savior becomes strong, as does the pull for scapegoats.
The central characters of the story, Renate and Ilse, are early teens as the Nazis begin their ascent in German politics and society. They are initially unbothered by these new ruffians whose presence gradually increases. The other major character is Ilse’s daughter Ava who is trying to sort out her mother’s role in the war, her complete parentage, and what to expect from life.
The action moves back and forth between 1933, 1989, 1939, the 1940s and 1950s, gradually revealing stages of the story and relationships. The chapters are dated and titled with the appropriate character’s name to eliminate confusion. Gradually, the pattern is set and the baring of the story occurs. The details of the indignities meted out to Jews, half-Jews, etc is shown clearly here, seen especially through Renate and Ilse’s eyes.
There will be personal betrayal to accompany the national and European witch-hunt. There is so much devastation left in the wake of all of this. Wunderland shows us some of the personal aspects of this national, in fact international, tragedy. And it shows the cost paid over generations to come.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
February 17, 2019
I received a free publisher's digital advance reviewing copy, via Netgalley.
The novel is told in the voices of three women—Ilse, Renate and Ava—and in different places and time periods, ranging from Germany in the 1930s to New York in 1977 and 1989. Ilse and Renate are young girls and friends in 1930s Berlin, and Ava is Ilse’s daughter who lives in New York in the 1970s and 1980s chapters. The book bounces around a lot between different time periods and characters. But each chapter identifies the character and the time, so as long as you pay attention to that, it’s not confusing.
The strength of Epstein’s novel is that she takes us into the minds of her characters and makes us share their experiences and feelings as if we were there with them. Of course we know the horrors of Nazism, but Epstein manages to make us put our knowledge aside and see things as we might have if we had been there when the Nazis consolidated their power and Hitler’s vision for a glorious Germany galvanized much of a nation.
There is one particularly gripping scene of Ilse and Renate going to a movie theater to see Leni Riefenstal’s Triumph of the Will, her documentary about Hitler and the Nazi Party Congress of 1934. If you’ve ever ever seen that film, you know how impressive an achievement it was in both film and propaganda. The girls watch it in a theater packed with people who have lived through their country’s defeat in the Great War, then the massive hyperinflation and economic depression. Now they are watching a stirring film that begins with the wonders of flight, the arrival of their leader in the ancient city of Nuremberg, torch-lit processions and then the leader’s spellbinding speech painting a vivid picture of a glorious future in which Germany vanquishes its enemies and becomes great again. The theater erupts in rapturous salutes, and Epstein makes us feel a part of it. The emotional appeal of extremist authoritarianism is all too horrifically clear.
Through Ilse and Renate—and Renate’s family—Epstein shows us how this extremism supplants moral and societal norms with a new ideology in which there is only one correct race and outlook, and those who don’t or can’t fit that ideology are first marginalized and then victimized. The Nazi-minded people suddenly believe themselves to be superior, not because of anything they’ve done, but merely because they are “Aryans.” Almost as a pack of animals, they turn on their non-Aryan friends and neighbors. Their victims can’t understand how they are now suddenly worthy only of contempt and cruelty by people they thought were fellow Germans and part of their community. Though Epstein’s tone is never didactic, it’s impossible not to read this book and think about the many people today who have learned nothing from history and are caught up in the same extremist and hateful thinking that only leads to alienation and destruction, not greatness.
The purpose of the Ilse/Ava element of the story, and the 1989 chapters is to relate what happened to Ilse, Renate and their families after 1939, and to reveal the pain that grew from Ilse’s and Germany’s Nazi past. These chapters (maybe 20% of the book’s total) are a little overwrought, but they give us an insight into the psyche of the disillusioned authoritarian believer: the bit where she expresses regret but can never really accept responsibility.
While so many WW2 historical novels feel exploitative, this one is raw and authentic.
The novel is told in the voices of three women—Ilse, Renate and Ava—and in different places and time periods, ranging from Germany in the 1930s to New York in 1977 and 1989. Ilse and Renate are young girls and friends in 1930s Berlin, and Ava is Ilse’s daughter who lives in New York in the 1970s and 1980s chapters. The book bounces around a lot between different time periods and characters. But each chapter identifies the character and the time, so as long as you pay attention to that, it’s not confusing.
The strength of Epstein’s novel is that she takes us into the minds of her characters and makes us share their experiences and feelings as if we were there with them. Of course we know the horrors of Nazism, but Epstein manages to make us put our knowledge aside and see things as we might have if we had been there when the Nazis consolidated their power and Hitler’s vision for a glorious Germany galvanized much of a nation.
There is one particularly gripping scene of Ilse and Renate going to a movie theater to see Leni Riefenstal’s Triumph of the Will, her documentary about Hitler and the Nazi Party Congress of 1934. If you’ve ever ever seen that film, you know how impressive an achievement it was in both film and propaganda. The girls watch it in a theater packed with people who have lived through their country’s defeat in the Great War, then the massive hyperinflation and economic depression. Now they are watching a stirring film that begins with the wonders of flight, the arrival of their leader in the ancient city of Nuremberg, torch-lit processions and then the leader’s spellbinding speech painting a vivid picture of a glorious future in which Germany vanquishes its enemies and becomes great again. The theater erupts in rapturous salutes, and Epstein makes us feel a part of it. The emotional appeal of extremist authoritarianism is all too horrifically clear.
Through Ilse and Renate—and Renate’s family—Epstein shows us how this extremism supplants moral and societal norms with a new ideology in which there is only one correct race and outlook, and those who don’t or can’t fit that ideology are first marginalized and then victimized. The Nazi-minded people suddenly believe themselves to be superior, not because of anything they’ve done, but merely because they are “Aryans.” Almost as a pack of animals, they turn on their non-Aryan friends and neighbors. Their victims can’t understand how they are now suddenly worthy only of contempt and cruelty by people they thought were fellow Germans and part of their community. Though Epstein’s tone is never didactic, it’s impossible not to read this book and think about the many people today who have learned nothing from history and are caught up in the same extremist and hateful thinking that only leads to alienation and destruction, not greatness.
The purpose of the Ilse/Ava element of the story, and the 1989 chapters is to relate what happened to Ilse, Renate and their families after 1939, and to reveal the pain that grew from Ilse’s and Germany’s Nazi past. These chapters (maybe 20% of the book’s total) are a little overwrought, but they give us an insight into the psyche of the disillusioned authoritarian believer: the bit where she expresses regret but can never really accept responsibility.
While so many WW2 historical novels feel exploitative, this one is raw and authentic.
November 8, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Pub. Date: April 23, 2019
Though I found “Wunderland” to be a letdown, this may be my own fault. The author, Jennifer Cody Epstein, has written for BC, HBO, and The Wall Street Journal, among other prestigious journals. Because of her credentials, maybe I was expecting something unusually good and/or different. Or, possibly my disappointment may be because historical fiction is my favorite genre. I may have simply read one too many WWII stories revolving around the Hitler Youth movement. Nevertheless surprisingly, I did not feel the empathy and rage that I should have when the persecution of the German Jews began in this novel.
The story goes back and forth in time from 1933 to 1989. In 1933, we are in Berlin and meet two preteen and then teenage female best friends. In 1986, we are in the East Village and we meet the grown daughter of one of the Berlin friends who is estranged from her mother. The daughter has no idea who her father is and her mother is still mum on the subject. There is some suspense as to her paternal parentage. Could she be the daughter of a nameless Nazi? Was her mom part of the breeding program wherein German women were impregnated to produce children of alleged Aryan purity? Unfortunately, the writing is underwhelming, making the reader not invested in the question. I do believe that Cody Epstein does a good job in catching the dynamics of female teenage friendships (competition for a boy’s interest) as well as mother/daughter relationships (always knowing how to push each other’s buttons). But, this insight into relations is not enough to hold the reader’s interest long enough to care about the characters.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Leave Me Alone I am Reading & Reviewing: https://books6259.wordpress.com/
Twitter: Martie’s Book: https://twitter.com/NeesRecord
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Pub. Date: April 23, 2019
Though I found “Wunderland” to be a letdown, this may be my own fault. The author, Jennifer Cody Epstein, has written for BC, HBO, and The Wall Street Journal, among other prestigious journals. Because of her credentials, maybe I was expecting something unusually good and/or different. Or, possibly my disappointment may be because historical fiction is my favorite genre. I may have simply read one too many WWII stories revolving around the Hitler Youth movement. Nevertheless surprisingly, I did not feel the empathy and rage that I should have when the persecution of the German Jews began in this novel.
The story goes back and forth in time from 1933 to 1989. In 1933, we are in Berlin and meet two preteen and then teenage female best friends. In 1986, we are in the East Village and we meet the grown daughter of one of the Berlin friends who is estranged from her mother. The daughter has no idea who her father is and her mother is still mum on the subject. There is some suspense as to her paternal parentage. Could she be the daughter of a nameless Nazi? Was her mom part of the breeding program wherein German women were impregnated to produce children of alleged Aryan purity? Unfortunately, the writing is underwhelming, making the reader not invested in the question. I do believe that Cody Epstein does a good job in catching the dynamics of female teenage friendships (competition for a boy’s interest) as well as mother/daughter relationships (always knowing how to push each other’s buttons). But, this insight into relations is not enough to hold the reader’s interest long enough to care about the characters.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
Find all my book reviews at:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Leave Me Alone I am Reading & Reviewing: https://books6259.wordpress.com/
Twitter: Martie’s Book: https://twitter.com/NeesRecord
June 13, 2019
3.5 stars
I recently watched a series about Hitler and his inner circle. One of the things that stuck with me was how Germany's culture after the first WW was one built on violence and thuggery. Hitler and his henchmen took advantage of that culture and were able to get in power by using violence and fear. I thought of this while reading Wunderland. The ability of the Nazi's to instill such fear and trickery over it's people using false propaganda and blatant violence.
Wunderland was a fabulous example of how the Germans played into the Nazi's tactics. Turning against Jewish people who were up until that point friends and pillars of the community. This story is heartbreaking and emotional. Whether it's anger, disgust, sadness, shock or other emotions, you will definitely feel something while reading this book.
Wunderland is about the impact that country loyalty has over friendship when the two are at odds. It portrays the lengths that one will go to hide one's pain and regret. This would have been a perfect story for me except for the long winded descriptions and unnecessary tangents that detracted from plot development. I also found the jumping between different time periods to be confusing. I much preferred Ilse and Renate's story to Ava's. The latter seemed pointless at times, not adding much to the plot.
Overall though this book is worth the read, particularly for fans of historical WW2 fiction.
Thank you to publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I recently watched a series about Hitler and his inner circle. One of the things that stuck with me was how Germany's culture after the first WW was one built on violence and thuggery. Hitler and his henchmen took advantage of that culture and were able to get in power by using violence and fear. I thought of this while reading Wunderland. The ability of the Nazi's to instill such fear and trickery over it's people using false propaganda and blatant violence.
Wunderland was a fabulous example of how the Germans played into the Nazi's tactics. Turning against Jewish people who were up until that point friends and pillars of the community. This story is heartbreaking and emotional. Whether it's anger, disgust, sadness, shock or other emotions, you will definitely feel something while reading this book.
Wunderland is about the impact that country loyalty has over friendship when the two are at odds. It portrays the lengths that one will go to hide one's pain and regret. This would have been a perfect story for me except for the long winded descriptions and unnecessary tangents that detracted from plot development. I also found the jumping between different time periods to be confusing. I much preferred Ilse and Renate's story to Ava's. The latter seemed pointless at times, not adding much to the plot.
Overall though this book is worth the read, particularly for fans of historical WW2 fiction.
Thank you to publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 1, 2019
I was sent an ARC of this book by Crown, whom I wish to say thank you to.
Now, down to brass tacks.
This was one of those amazing stories that I wanted to finish in one sitting, but I had to go and do the work thing. And no, it’s not a typical story that takes place during the Second World War in Germany. Parts of this story are unpredictable and that makes the story even more compelling.
And you need to ask who is the villain and the hero of the story. Finding this out will surprise you.
Now, down to brass tacks.
This was one of those amazing stories that I wanted to finish in one sitting, but I had to go and do the work thing. And no, it’s not a typical story that takes place during the Second World War in Germany. Parts of this story are unpredictable and that makes the story even more compelling.
And you need to ask who is the villain and the hero of the story. Finding this out will surprise you.
January 6, 2019
Thanks to Crown Publishing and #NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I first gained access to this book in September of 2018 but I didn't finish reading it until late November. There were a number of reasons for that - some of them personal and other obligations getting in the way but I also fond it a difficult book to read. The story is set in multiple time periods and moves back and forth between them. I was first drawn to reading it because of the WW2 theme which typically fascinates me but the early parts of the book just didn't resonate with me. It wasn't that the book was badly written. It was well-written, but when one of your main characters joins the The BDM (Bund Deutscher Mädel, abbreviated as BDM) and becomes thoroughly indoctrinated in the Nazi ideology you know that she is not going to be a particularly likeable character. The story focuses on the friendship between Ilsie, her Jewish friend Renate and Ilsie's daughter Ava.
Ava spent part of her early years in a German orphanage but was alter claimed by her mother who had survived the war in spite of indicators that made that seem unlikely. Her relationship with her mother has always been frought with angst and a feeling of distance and this came across in the author's writing. When the story begins Ava is a young mother herself and seems to be constantly in a state of struggle with her surroundings, her daughter and her mother. When she learns of her mother's death and receives a batch of letters written to a woman she has never heard of it sets off the movement between time periods as we gradually get to see the bigger picture of what it was like for Ilsie and Renate as the war was beginning and how that ultimately affected Ava.
The parts of the story that gripped me the most were those that focused on Renate and her experience first of all discovering that she was considered to be Jewish although she had no prior inkling of that and then seeing how the growing hatred of people who had once been her friends caused her life to change. The author clearly put a great effort into researching the time period and what it was like for the average German growing up as well as those who were subject to persecution. Life wasn't easy for either of them and watching Ilsie's decline from being a best friend to a distant stranger is an important thing for the reader to see as it could easily happen in our current era of stigmatization. It is also eye-opening to see the damage that was caused to her daughter as a result of this.
The further along I progressed in the book, the more gripping I found it to be. It had some twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and a sense of irony that was palpable. Although I struggled with liking Ilsie and Ava which held me back in my reading, the book was well worth persevering to the end. I would recommend it to those interested in learning more about this time period.
I first gained access to this book in September of 2018 but I didn't finish reading it until late November. There were a number of reasons for that - some of them personal and other obligations getting in the way but I also fond it a difficult book to read. The story is set in multiple time periods and moves back and forth between them. I was first drawn to reading it because of the WW2 theme which typically fascinates me but the early parts of the book just didn't resonate with me. It wasn't that the book was badly written. It was well-written, but when one of your main characters joins the The BDM (Bund Deutscher Mädel, abbreviated as BDM) and becomes thoroughly indoctrinated in the Nazi ideology you know that she is not going to be a particularly likeable character. The story focuses on the friendship between Ilsie, her Jewish friend Renate and Ilsie's daughter Ava.
Ava spent part of her early years in a German orphanage but was alter claimed by her mother who had survived the war in spite of indicators that made that seem unlikely. Her relationship with her mother has always been frought with angst and a feeling of distance and this came across in the author's writing. When the story begins Ava is a young mother herself and seems to be constantly in a state of struggle with her surroundings, her daughter and her mother. When she learns of her mother's death and receives a batch of letters written to a woman she has never heard of it sets off the movement between time periods as we gradually get to see the bigger picture of what it was like for Ilsie and Renate as the war was beginning and how that ultimately affected Ava.
The parts of the story that gripped me the most were those that focused on Renate and her experience first of all discovering that she was considered to be Jewish although she had no prior inkling of that and then seeing how the growing hatred of people who had once been her friends caused her life to change. The author clearly put a great effort into researching the time period and what it was like for the average German growing up as well as those who were subject to persecution. Life wasn't easy for either of them and watching Ilsie's decline from being a best friend to a distant stranger is an important thing for the reader to see as it could easily happen in our current era of stigmatization. It is also eye-opening to see the damage that was caused to her daughter as a result of this.
The further along I progressed in the book, the more gripping I found it to be. It had some twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and a sense of irony that was palpable. Although I struggled with liking Ilsie and Ava which held me back in my reading, the book was well worth persevering to the end. I would recommend it to those interested in learning more about this time period.
September 18, 2019
This story starts in 1989, NY, with Ava Fisher. She receives an urn with her mother’s ashes and letters addressed to Renate Bauer. She has been estranged from her mother Ilse for some time.
Then the story alternates among those three women back in time.
1933, Renate’s story starts with her being in trouble and then relating how it all happened. It involves her best friend Ilse.
1977, Ava’s story goes back to a time when her mother Ilse comes to NY to visit her and her daughter Sophie.
1935, Ilse’s story starts with her looking for her lanyard to complete her BDM attire as she is going to the movies.
All those stories seem to be scattered with no cohesion. At 20% of the story, I absolutely could not get into the story and the 20% I’ve read I didn’t enjoy a bit of it. At some parts, the story is overwhelmed with lots of dialogue, which for me wasn’t interesting, making the story rather disengaging.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
Then the story alternates among those three women back in time.
1933, Renate’s story starts with her being in trouble and then relating how it all happened. It involves her best friend Ilse.
1977, Ava’s story goes back to a time when her mother Ilse comes to NY to visit her and her daughter Sophie.
1935, Ilse’s story starts with her looking for her lanyard to complete her BDM attire as she is going to the movies.
All those stories seem to be scattered with no cohesion. At 20% of the story, I absolutely could not get into the story and the 20% I’ve read I didn’t enjoy a bit of it. At some parts, the story is overwhelmed with lots of dialogue, which for me wasn’t interesting, making the story rather disengaging.
@FB/BestHistoricalFiction
May 24, 2021
Otra novela histórica ambientada en la Segunda Guerra Mundial que me ha encantado, un libro de 600 paginas que se lee en dos días.
La novela estará contada en dos tiempos, durante la Segunda Guerra y después.
En 1989, Ava, recibe una caja con las cenizas de su madre (Ilse) y un montón de cartas que nunca mandó a su gran amiga Renate.
1933. Ilse y Renate fueron grandes amigas antes de que llegara la Segunda Guerra Mundial, ya que en ese momento, cuando ambas quieren ingresar en las juventudes hitlerianas, Renate, tiene sangre judía.
Una historia de traición y muchos remordimientos, que hasta el final del libro en 1989 y tras leer todas las cartas, no tendrá su cierre. Es una novela que se basa sobretodo en la amistad y la lealtad, en la familia, en la superación, en secretos y en el perdón.
No es una historia como otras basadas en campos de concentración, es una historia que aun siendo ficción, puede pasar a muchas familias. Los personajes, tienen sus mas y sus menos, pero si tengo que quedarme con alguno, claramente es con Renate, todo lo que pasa y por todo lo que lucha, donde de tenerlo todo pasa a no tener nada por “obligación”.
Me ha gustado mucho como esta escrito, y aunque es verdad que hay historias muy parecidas me ha gustado la trama, la forma, y el final. Siempre recomiendo este tipo de libros, y esta vez no va ser menos.
La novela estará contada en dos tiempos, durante la Segunda Guerra y después.
En 1989, Ava, recibe una caja con las cenizas de su madre (Ilse) y un montón de cartas que nunca mandó a su gran amiga Renate.
1933. Ilse y Renate fueron grandes amigas antes de que llegara la Segunda Guerra Mundial, ya que en ese momento, cuando ambas quieren ingresar en las juventudes hitlerianas, Renate, tiene sangre judía.
Una historia de traición y muchos remordimientos, que hasta el final del libro en 1989 y tras leer todas las cartas, no tendrá su cierre. Es una novela que se basa sobretodo en la amistad y la lealtad, en la familia, en la superación, en secretos y en el perdón.
No es una historia como otras basadas en campos de concentración, es una historia que aun siendo ficción, puede pasar a muchas familias. Los personajes, tienen sus mas y sus menos, pero si tengo que quedarme con alguno, claramente es con Renate, todo lo que pasa y por todo lo que lucha, donde de tenerlo todo pasa a no tener nada por “obligación”.
Me ha gustado mucho como esta escrito, y aunque es verdad que hay historias muy parecidas me ha gustado la trama, la forma, y el final. Siempre recomiendo este tipo de libros, y esta vez no va ser menos.
April 27, 2020
With COVID days, I’ve found myself in the supermarket aisle since my library is inaccessible, bookstores are closed and delivery is happenstance. The first pages of this trade paperback were so compelling it made its way into my basket, (with appropriate social distancing- no one was in the book aisle!!) in spite of having grown tired of WWII historical fiction. The novel’s treatment of its subject matter - an insider’s look of a young Nazi woman devoted to the cause of the Reich, and its repercussions to her daughter and grandchild- were worthy reading, moving briskly from one timeframe to another.
I’m not terribly fond of split time novels, but this one was thoughtfully done. Ilse, the Nazi, never becomes heroic and the anguish she causes impacts not only the society of the Jews which we will never forget, but creates a secretiveness which becomes cross-generational.
I mused too on our present fascination with Ancestry and other such DNA family tree sites, when war, its consequence and immigration may mean parentage will remain hazy under the best of circumstances, even with chromosomal help, unlike the very satisfying conclusion to Wunderland.
I’m not terribly fond of split time novels, but this one was thoughtfully done. Ilse, the Nazi, never becomes heroic and the anguish she causes impacts not only the society of the Jews which we will never forget, but creates a secretiveness which becomes cross-generational.
I mused too on our present fascination with Ancestry and other such DNA family tree sites, when war, its consequence and immigration may mean parentage will remain hazy under the best of circumstances, even with chromosomal help, unlike the very satisfying conclusion to Wunderland.
January 21, 2021
I enjoyed Wunderland by Jennifer Cody Epstein. It was a truly a original perspective for a WWII novel.
It's focus is stark chronicle of Nazi Germany through the experiencs of two teenage girls.
Truly, a fast paced page-turner, Wunderland traces the lives of three women across two generations of wartime Germany.
The characterization is realistic. Ilse Fischer and Renate Bauer are very genuine characters. Like looking into a prism, this story can be viewed from different angles. One perspective is the personal impact on teenage girls. Another, a story of a daughter searching for the truth about her mother’s past, old secrets and heart piercing lies.
One negative is that the timeline jumps for the character Ava. Going from adult with a teenage daughter; then she's a teenager; later she's starting school again she's an adult. My head was spinning.
A very enjoyable book, in spite of the Nazi cruelty. I highly recommend.
It's focus is stark chronicle of Nazi Germany through the experiencs of two teenage girls.
Truly, a fast paced page-turner, Wunderland traces the lives of three women across two generations of wartime Germany.
The characterization is realistic. Ilse Fischer and Renate Bauer are very genuine characters. Like looking into a prism, this story can be viewed from different angles. One perspective is the personal impact on teenage girls. Another, a story of a daughter searching for the truth about her mother’s past, old secrets and heart piercing lies.
One negative is that the timeline jumps for the character Ava. Going from adult with a teenage daughter; then she's a teenager; later she's starting school again she's an adult. My head was spinning.
A very enjoyable book, in spite of the Nazi cruelty. I highly recommend.
July 2, 2019
I won't be summarizing the story-line, but instead will review my likes and dislikes.
My biggest dislike was the historical accuracy of the novel. Many dates were off, amongst other things. For example: In 1935 Ilse is part of the BDM but has not experienced or succumbed to any racial propaganda, which is largely unlikely. The Nuremberg Race Laws were started in September of 1935; but before that time they already tolerated violence against Jews and that year in particular was a violent one.
The story reasons Isle joining the BDM to feel like she is part of something. Yes, the feeling of being part of change and being something bigger was appealing, while the monatary value was also substantial to those effected by the recent depression shortly before. Everyone had their own reason for joining, but antisemitism was prevalent and very much understood--especially with BDM leaders and it is ignored in this novel until later in 1938. Among other things during this time, they were indeed taught to identify Jews as the enemies. The novel does not acccurately reveal these thoughts or ideals for youth members until years later.
In another chapter set during 1936, it talks about British Boy Scouts coming to participate with the Hitlerjugend. This seems highly unlikely since Hitler's Party banned the Boy Scouts in 1935.
I didn't enjoy chapter for Ava as much as I did the chapters for Renate and Isle. Some parts of the chapters for Ava almost seem like "fillers" and unrelated.
The author attempts to connect the story to Alice in Wonderland, but does so loosely and poorly.
The chapters alternate between characters and show the year that the chapter occurs. I included a picture of this.
I really enjoyed the ending to this novel. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Isle and Renate. I appreciated how not all German words and phrases were translated.
My biggest dislike was the historical accuracy of the novel. Many dates were off, amongst other things. For example: In 1935 Ilse is part of the BDM but has not experienced or succumbed to any racial propaganda, which is largely unlikely. The Nuremberg Race Laws were started in September of 1935; but before that time they already tolerated violence against Jews and that year in particular was a violent one.
The story reasons Isle joining the BDM to feel like she is part of something. Yes, the feeling of being part of change and being something bigger was appealing, while the monatary value was also substantial to those effected by the recent depression shortly before. Everyone had their own reason for joining, but antisemitism was prevalent and very much understood--especially with BDM leaders and it is ignored in this novel until later in 1938. Among other things during this time, they were indeed taught to identify Jews as the enemies. The novel does not acccurately reveal these thoughts or ideals for youth members until years later.
In another chapter set during 1936, it talks about British Boy Scouts coming to participate with the Hitlerjugend. This seems highly unlikely since Hitler's Party banned the Boy Scouts in 1935.
I didn't enjoy chapter for Ava as much as I did the chapters for Renate and Isle. Some parts of the chapters for Ava almost seem like "fillers" and unrelated.
The author attempts to connect the story to Alice in Wonderland, but does so loosely and poorly.
The chapters alternate between characters and show the year that the chapter occurs. I included a picture of this.
I really enjoyed the ending to this novel. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Isle and Renate. I appreciated how not all German words and phrases were translated.
August 7, 2022
"Wunderland" was an excellent read albeit how emotional and painful it was to flip through 300-something pages. The main focus of the book was about how the friendship between a German and a half-Jewish girl went south during the Nazi Germany.
Through the story of the German girl, the poisonous effects of propagandas turning regular German to hate, how the youth were being brainwashed, and the gradual changes of hostility towards the Jews were written in some details.
Through the eyes of a German-born Jewish girl, her pain and agony growing up during the unsettling time was heartbreaking to read, as always when reading WW2 novels.
There were remorse, grief, and reconciliation. A bittersweet ending wrapped up the love and feud between the two friends that lasted for over 50 years. A heavy book to read but "Wunerland" was a well-written war novel. 4.5 stars and I highly recommend it.
Through the story of the German girl, the poisonous effects of propagandas turning regular German to hate, how the youth were being brainwashed, and the gradual changes of hostility towards the Jews were written in some details.
Through the eyes of a German-born Jewish girl, her pain and agony growing up during the unsettling time was heartbreaking to read, as always when reading WW2 novels.
There were remorse, grief, and reconciliation. A bittersweet ending wrapped up the love and feud between the two friends that lasted for over 50 years. A heavy book to read but "Wunerland" was a well-written war novel. 4.5 stars and I highly recommend it.
April 18, 2019
4.5 STARS - Wunderland is a Historical Fiction page-turner that brings readers into the lives of two teenage friends, Ilse and Renate, who have vastly different perspectives and experiences during World War II.
The story begins in 1989, shortly after Ilse's death, when her daughter, Ava unearths Ilse's long-held secrets. The story then heads back in time, to Berlin in the late 1930's when Ilse and her best friend Renate are teenagers. It's through the bond of these two young women that we get varying views of the war and witness the disintegration of their friendship and the reasons for it.
What made this book stand out from the many, MANY WWII Historical Fiction books I've read, is how Epstein vividly describes what life was like for German citizens leading up to and including WWII. She describes the rise of the Nazi regime and their horrific methods of growing their power and shows how some German citizens began to believe the propaganda and felt justified when they participated in fear mongering and terror of their own neighbours. She also reveals the dire restrictions, discrimination and abuse Jewish families faced from their own government as well as the pitiful aid from other countries as they tried to flee.
While there's a fair bit of jumping back and forth between time lines (and one that I was less invested in), in the end, Wunderland is an engaging read with story lines that merge into an incredibly revealing look at the rise of Nazism within Germany. But ultimately, the focus on the poignant, heart-wrenching tale about a complicated friendship, long-held secrets, loss and betrayal is what will keep readers glued to the pages.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Crown Publishing for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The story begins in 1989, shortly after Ilse's death, when her daughter, Ava unearths Ilse's long-held secrets. The story then heads back in time, to Berlin in the late 1930's when Ilse and her best friend Renate are teenagers. It's through the bond of these two young women that we get varying views of the war and witness the disintegration of their friendship and the reasons for it.
What made this book stand out from the many, MANY WWII Historical Fiction books I've read, is how Epstein vividly describes what life was like for German citizens leading up to and including WWII. She describes the rise of the Nazi regime and their horrific methods of growing their power and shows how some German citizens began to believe the propaganda and felt justified when they participated in fear mongering and terror of their own neighbours. She also reveals the dire restrictions, discrimination and abuse Jewish families faced from their own government as well as the pitiful aid from other countries as they tried to flee.
While there's a fair bit of jumping back and forth between time lines (and one that I was less invested in), in the end, Wunderland is an engaging read with story lines that merge into an incredibly revealing look at the rise of Nazism within Germany. But ultimately, the focus on the poignant, heart-wrenching tale about a complicated friendship, long-held secrets, loss and betrayal is what will keep readers glued to the pages.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Crown Publishing for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
September 1, 2019
A good read which tells the complex stories of Ilse a German girl and Renate a Jewish girl growing up in Berlin as the Nazi party tightens it’s grip on the city. A different take on this period of history focusing on friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness. I enjoyed the many literary references in the book along with the theme that reading and writing were stabilizing forces in the lives of both girls. The book’s title Wunderland stems from Renate’s love and frequent reading of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland. 4 stars
January 14, 2021
What happens when you commit actions against humanity that can never lead to atonement? What happens when a childhood friendship between two young girls breaks as one one joins the Nazi youth and the other finds out she is Jewish? What happens when one girl is naive and the other is a deceiver to herself and the friend she abandons?
This is a powerful book which I will never forget, although I struggled to stay with it during Kristallnacht and all the events that transpired after. It was a traumatic read with an unusual story line of betrayal that I did not see coming. The consequences of that betrayal affected family history down the years.
If you are looking for a comforting book, this is not for you. But if you want to see human nature at its best and worst and are looking for a great author I highly recommend this book. I listened to it on audio with the excellent narrator, Lisa Flannagan.
This is a powerful book which I will never forget, although I struggled to stay with it during Kristallnacht and all the events that transpired after. It was a traumatic read with an unusual story line of betrayal that I did not see coming. The consequences of that betrayal affected family history down the years.
If you are looking for a comforting book, this is not for you. But if you want to see human nature at its best and worst and are looking for a great author I highly recommend this book. I listened to it on audio with the excellent narrator, Lisa Flannagan.
December 8, 2019
It seems lately that there are a bunch of new books in the vein of WWII and female childhood friends. I am a fan of WWII themed stories. While, I did like this book, I did find that it fell flat some with me. This is because for these types of stories to truly work; so that you can appreciate them to the fullest, you have to for that strong emotional connection towards the characters. I experienced a luke warm bond. In fact, it was the past with Ilse and Renate that I was drawn to the most. The present with Ava did not draw me in as much.
To be honest, it did seem that the past was more of the focal point of the book. It is where the story began in the first place. It is not hard to imagine the strain that Ilse and Renate's friendship was stretched living in their time. I don't know if anyone would have done anything differently in Ilse's situation. Overall, I may not have loved this book but I did like it
To be honest, it did seem that the past was more of the focal point of the book. It is where the story began in the first place. It is not hard to imagine the strain that Ilse and Renate's friendship was stretched living in their time. I don't know if anyone would have done anything differently in Ilse's situation. Overall, I may not have loved this book but I did like it
June 6, 2019
This compelling novel reveals the horrors of Nazi Germany, both in its anti-Semitism and the hypnotic way in which Hitler mesmerized the German population. It tells the story of two best female friends — Renate, whose family is declared Jewish, and Ilse, who supports Nazism. The reader’s heart is doubly broken as one suffers terrible persecution and the other endorses it. Evil when “explained” is still evil, so it was hard for me to ever find Ilse a sympathetic character. I especially mourned for her daughter Ava as she learns of her mother’s true history. A unique entry into the spate of WWII novels flooding the literary market today. 4/5
Pub Date 23 Apr 2019.
Thanks to the author, Crown Publishing, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#Wunderland #NetGalley
Pub Date 23 Apr 2019.
Thanks to the author, Crown Publishing, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#Wunderland #NetGalley
April 30, 2019
This is a riveting and emotional Holocaust novel which centers on the friendship between two teenage girls staring in 1933, at the start of the changes in Germany brought about after World War I and the increasing popularity of Hitler and his Nazi party and its philosophy. Ilse and Renate are as close as two girls can be, sharing secrets, crushes, and school escapades, taking very little interest in the discontent and ominous signs of discrimination. The storyline also includes a glimpse into the future through the character of Ava, who is the estranged daughter of Ilse. The events and upheaval between 1933 and 1989 will have the reader engrossed. The crisis in Germany will shatter even the closest of friendships, leading to an inevitable rift, difficult and life changing choices, and a betrayal so shocking that the repercussions would be felt by future generations. The author depicts life in prewar Germany so vividly that I found myself wondering how I would have dealt with such increasing challenges and obstacles in my daily existence. The helplessness of the Jewish characters and the ruthlessness of the Aryans were both depicted realistically and without apology, bringing the reality of people of the time at the forefront of the reader’s imagination. This is an important novel for our times, bringing a different perspective in this unusual Holocaust novel. Highly recommend this book to readers of historical fiction.
January 10, 2021
This book was emotionally exhausting and it had such chilling parallels for the times we we are living in right this moment. From the author's endnotes:
"But I guess I hope that in reading Wunderland, they’ll engage some of the tough questions I engaged with myself while writing it: How do the lessons of the past translate into the present? How you recognize evil amid the everydayness of life—and perhaps even in yourself? And once you recognize it, what do you do about it?"
"But I guess I hope that in reading Wunderland, they’ll engage some of the tough questions I engaged with myself while writing it: How do the lessons of the past translate into the present? How you recognize evil amid the everydayness of life—and perhaps even in yourself? And once you recognize it, what do you do about it?"
December 2, 2018
At this point in my life I have read so many WW2-based novels and memoirs, that I’m either disappointed because the content is too overdone, or overjoyed because someone takes a new angle and delves into it to create a new story. I just finished Wunderland by Jennifer Cody Epstein and all I can say is WOW. Jennifer Cody Epstein manages to recreate several eras and places that are so close to my heart, and weave together lives in a way that you literally cannot put the book down. I’m not kidding when I say I couldn’t put it down - I read Wunderland on my phone and was literally walking around the house doing chores half- heartedly with one hand while reading with the other.
Wunderland is the story of best friends Ilse and Renate in pre-war Berlin, and of Ava, Ilse’s daughter, as a small child and then teen in Berlin, as a young mother and then finally as a mother to a teenager in NYC. The novel skips between times and places, but I had no problem with that: it actually helped with the plot development and intrigue. I love novels that throw readers a breadcrumb here and there, along a winding trail, making you work for the storyline rather than just sitting along for the ride.
Jennifer Cody Epstein has amazing attention to detail, and the descriptions in the novel are brilliant. So brilliantly done that there are parts that play out in front of you, and you feel as if your eyes are glued to a window pane, unable to divert them elsewhere, as much as you want to. The depictions of Kristallnacht are so vivid and real, I actually had to breathe through the waves of nausea rolling through my body. (I had similar emotions reading Herman Wouk’s War and Remembrance).
I also found that Jennifer Cody Epstein did a great job showing just how seamlessly the isolation of the Jewish people happened in Germany, and also how in general the rest of the German population just took it in their stride that people who were once their friends, neighbors, bakers, etc, were suddenly lesser humans. It never starts with the camps. It starts with a few people sowing seeds that then develop into believed truths, and then suddenly crowds are whipped into frenzies, and eyes are blinded by hatred. I also appreciate that Wunderland doesn’t sugarcoat anything: you will most definitely not like all of the characters in the novel.
I’m so glad I read this book, and recommend it to everyone. I haven’t read any of Jennifer Cody Epstein’s other work so I’m going to jump on that in the new year, as her writing really speaks to me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy, and to Jennifer Cody Epstein for writing such a wonderful novel!
Wunderland is the story of best friends Ilse and Renate in pre-war Berlin, and of Ava, Ilse’s daughter, as a small child and then teen in Berlin, as a young mother and then finally as a mother to a teenager in NYC. The novel skips between times and places, but I had no problem with that: it actually helped with the plot development and intrigue. I love novels that throw readers a breadcrumb here and there, along a winding trail, making you work for the storyline rather than just sitting along for the ride.
Jennifer Cody Epstein has amazing attention to detail, and the descriptions in the novel are brilliant. So brilliantly done that there are parts that play out in front of you, and you feel as if your eyes are glued to a window pane, unable to divert them elsewhere, as much as you want to. The depictions of Kristallnacht are so vivid and real, I actually had to breathe through the waves of nausea rolling through my body. (I had similar emotions reading Herman Wouk’s War and Remembrance).
I also found that Jennifer Cody Epstein did a great job showing just how seamlessly the isolation of the Jewish people happened in Germany, and also how in general the rest of the German population just took it in their stride that people who were once their friends, neighbors, bakers, etc, were suddenly lesser humans. It never starts with the camps. It starts with a few people sowing seeds that then develop into believed truths, and then suddenly crowds are whipped into frenzies, and eyes are blinded by hatred. I also appreciate that Wunderland doesn’t sugarcoat anything: you will most definitely not like all of the characters in the novel.
I’m so glad I read this book, and recommend it to everyone. I haven’t read any of Jennifer Cody Epstein’s other work so I’m going to jump on that in the new year, as her writing really speaks to me. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy, and to Jennifer Cody Epstein for writing such a wonderful novel!
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