*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.
Title: The Berlin's Wife Choice
Author: Marion Kummerow
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
Berlin, 1939.
Edith Falkenstein once lived a fairytale life. Falling in love
with Julius introduced her to a
world she had only dreamed of. She wore the finest silk dresses to host parties
in their historic mansion home.
But those days are a distant memory. Under Nazi rule, her
Jewish husband Julius has been stripped of everything. Now the couple share a
cramped apartment with other destitute families, and the priceless jewels that
once adorned Edith’s neck have been sold to buy food on the black market.
Julius was lucky to escape being imprisoned once, and
Edith knows he won’t be so fortunate a second time. The echo of boots marching
across the city is a constant reminder of the danger they face. She begs Julius
to flee the country, while they still can.
But as war rages across Europe, the journey will be
fraught with peril. All Julius has ever wanted is to keep Edith safe. He knows
there is only one way to truly protect the woman who stole his heart all those
years ago—even if it means breaking hers.
Time is running out and Edith must decide: let Julius go or follow her heart and her husband into the danger that lies ahead…
The Berlin Wife’s
Choice is the latest compelling historical fiction novel by Marion Kummerow and
the second book in her ‘German Wives’ series. I read and reviewed the first
book in the series ‘The Berlin Wife’ (previously published as The
First Spark of Fire) earlier in the year (click here to read my review) and
it was one of my standout historical fiction novels of the first half of 2023
so I was eagerly anticipating the release of The Berlin Wife’s Choice and it certainly
didn’t disappoint.
Our story follows
on directly from the end of The Berlin Wife in 1938 and takes us on a
journey through the events leading to the outbreak of war and then into the
early years of the war. One of my favourite thing about Marion Kummerow’s novels
is the way they take a deep dive into the time period in question and cover
many key events in depth. As the narrative spans a shorter timeline than was
covered in The Berlin Wife (which was set between 1923 and 1938) we do
see a smaller number of significant events but those which were featured, which
included The Gleiwitz Incident and the continuing introduction of antisemitic laws
in Germany, were explored well. As with the previous book, the history was
all clearly meticulously researched.
In The Berlin Wife’s
Choice, we continue to follow the stories of Edith and Helga, two
non-Jewish women supporting their Jewish husbands (and in Helga’s case, also
her half-Jewish children) through the introduction of antisemitic laws. They
are both fantastically written characters and it is brilliant to explore this
unique perspective on the rise of antisemitism in Germany. Through Edith’s
husband Julius, who has recently been released from Sachsenhausen, we get a fantastic
portrayal of his lasting trauma following his experiences of being arrested and
spending two days in the concentration camp. We also continue to follow Edith’s
brother Joseph as he rises through the SS ranks, gaining further insight into
how indoctrinated he has been into the Nazi regime. He is extremely well written
as a truly vile character and his sense of self-importance was sickening, even
describing himself as “omnipotent” at one point.
Overall, The
Berlin’s Wife Choice is another powerful historical fiction novel from Marion
Kummerow and a fantastic new instalment of the German Wives series. The series
is a must-read for those with an interest in Second World War history and I’m
eagerly anticipating the release of the next instalment ‘The Berlin Wife’s
Resistance’ in early 2024.
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