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After finishing Pet I just had to read more by Chidgey. This fictional novel, thoroughly researched, involves a German administration officer at Buchenwald, his wife & child, a prisoner of the camp, and, randomly, an account from townsfolk. The events going on in the camp are written in such a way as to slowly numb you because, of course, what‘s happening couldn‘t actually be happening. It‘s a tough one to read but masterful in how it‘s written.

Finally getting around to reading this Kiwi author. And it was a masterpiece IMO. Yes the subject matter is harrowing (the wife of a Nazi officer living next door to the Buchenwald work camp meets a doctor who is an inmate) but seeing these horrors from the perspectives of some of those who were nearby asks fresh questions. The format is also clever - we have the perspective of the wife and doctor but also the Nazi husband and the villagers nearby

Absolutely stunning and thought provoking. Set in the town near the Nazi camp of Buchenwald, it is the intersecting stories of an SS officer, his ill wife and a physician who is a prisoner of the camp. It is a story of the lies we tell others and that we tell ourselves and offers no easy answers.

This one was one of my #14books14weeks2023 picks (already behind). This was a good one but difficult. The story revolves around examining the different perspectives in & around the Buchenwald concentration camp. It‘s sad to realize just how lies can spread & people can believe false info without question (although it‘s something that we see daily, unfortunately). SS Officer Hahn & his wife were not really likable characters which is the point.

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I love books that use a small lens to tackle a huge subject. We see the horror of the Holocaust, the actions and mind games of key players through two families eyes. The real power of this story is in it's understated nature, how things are justified and twisted, how lies are built on lies and how we, as humans, are driven to want to believe in them. There are characters here that will stay with me for a long time and i'm grateful for that.

Just starting this today - thought I‘d just read the first chapter before dinner! Oops… many pages past the first chapter! Dinner will be late tonight!

This book really surprised me. I was so frustrated with most of the characters throughout the book, but at the same time I found myself unable to stop reading. This may be the first book I've read that takes this point of view on the Holocaust. It made me think about our world today and how so many people just blindly follow leaders and orders without question.

This is definitely a book that is going to stay with me for a long time.

#AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Hey @Allylu did you play yet today???

This was a newer read for me, gifted by @TrishB another look at WWII but through the eyes of a Nazi commander and his wife - I‘m tagging two NF below that were also excellent 🤩

Chidgey crafted a story of complicity and denial on so many levels in this telling of the horrors of the Holocaust. This book is brilliant and chilling and expertly displays the worst traits of humanity in full force.

My favorite long weekend plans - new books from the library. My current read is at the top, and is so far a chilling, brilliant story.

Everything about this book from its brilliant title to the hidden & more obvious themes of denial, culpability, responsibility, hope and betrayal was beautifully written & woven. While the subject matter was difficult, I found the book accessible & hard to put down. It‘s an interesting perspective of the Holocaust that I often don‘t see in fiction. I thought the author magnificently blended fact & fiction creating a plausible & compelling story.

It‘s a #GooglyBook @rockpools and I‘m totally immersed in the story- have you read it?? A German dr is sent to Buchenwald, the Nazi “work camp” as a prisoner because he has a Jewish grandparent. It soon comes to an officer‘s attention that Dr. Weber is able to treat those with cancer. What is SS Sturmbannfuhrer Hahn willing to do to get the help he seeks? I love all the grey areas this book tackles. Excellent choice for #BookClub

Starting this #chunkster #UpNext #HighExpectations despite the fact that my bookish bestie “didn‘t get on” with this one 😂

Lovely #BookMail from the wonderful @TrishB
I LOVE the Liverpool bookmark 💗💗💗
Thanks so much for sending this book my way- I‘m looking forward to reading it 🤓

#FirstLineFridays

@ShyBookOwl

A sobering yet not sensational or judgemental story of those in and around Buchenwald “model camp”, how they bought into what they were being told from those in charge, and from propaganda. Told from the perspectives of Greta and Dietrich, an officer at the camp, and Dr Weber who is of distant Jewish descent, this is extremely well done historical fiction that still, unfortunately, felt timely today.

I‘m guessing it‘s definitely me by all reviews. Didn‘t like any of the characters (I know you‘re not really supposed to!). But Greta! Really, were any of the officers wives this stupid and naive? Got to 150 pages and that was it, wasn‘t enjoying at all.

Another book from the #womensprize long list that I probably wouldn‘t have read otherwise, but I‘m glad I did as it turned out to be one of my favourites.

Greta‘s husband is a senior officer at Buchenwald in WWII so the family live just outside the camp. Greta becomes ill and one of the prisoners is called upon to treat her with an unusual machine he had invented.

Told from 4 different POV, this is an interesting and unusual perspective of WWII

Fourth of my Women‘s Prize longlist reads. I usually get engrossed in long WWII narratives and this was no different. The story of an unlikely friendship with a prisoner at Buchenwald and a German officer‘s wife. Told from the POV of the prisoner, the husband, the wife, and a chorus of bystanders.

Historical fiction about a German work camp during WWII. Skillfully told from 4 POV. Moving and straightforward story telling. Not my favorite from the Womens Prize list but close to the top of the list of the ones I have read so far.

A powerful examination of the human tendency towards willful blindness. I found the “From the Private Reflections of One Thousand Citizens of Weimar” sections, a sort of chorus from residents of the nearest town to the Buchenwald camp, especially effective.

My sixth from the #womensprize longlist. Sorrow and Bliss remains my favorite, but I wouldn‘t be sad if this one makes the shortlist.

If you only want to read one #WomensPrize nominated book 📖 this year, choose #RemoteSympathy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,75/5

Another from my Women‘s Prize order. I hadn‘t even heard of this one before the longlist announcement and it sounds so good. #bookmail