Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Berlin, 1941: Margarete Rosenbaum is working as a housemaid for a senior Nazi officer when his house is bombed, leaving her the only survivor. But when she’s mistaken for his daughter in the aftermath of the blast, Margarete knows she can make a bid for freedom…
Issued with temporary papers—and with the freedom of not being seen as Jewish—a few hours are all she needs to escape to relative safety. That is, until her former employer’s son, SS officer Wilhelm Huber, tracks her down.
But strangely he doesn’t reveal her true identity right away. Instead he insists she comes and lives with him in Paris, and seems determined to keep her hidden. His only condition: she must continue to pretend to be his sister. Because whoever would suspect a Nazi girl of secretly being a Jew?
His plan seems impossible, and Margarete is terrified they might be found out, not to mention worried about what Wilhelm might want in return. But as the Nazis start rounding up Jews in Paris and the Résistance steps up its activities, putting everyone who opposes the regime in peril, she realizes staying hidden in plain sight may be her only chance of survival…
Can Margarete trust a Nazi officer with the only things she has left though… her safety, her life, even her heart?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of A Light in the Window to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Right from the explosive opening page of Marion Kummerow’s new book, A Light in the Window, the story of Margarete unfolds at a breakneck pace with innumerable twists and turns that leads to an incredible story full of sacrifice and danger. Margarete works for the Huber family in Berlin and as she is a Jew is treated with nothing but contempt and disdain. She is viewed as a dirty Jew, nothing but subhuman filth and responsible for the all the problems and hardship that Germany has had to contend with. As the bombs fall on the city, the house where she works is destroyed. She wakes in the rubble and finds herself the only survivor. Herr and Frau Huber are dead along with their daughter Annegret.
A sheer stroke of luck leads to Margarete’s survival but what price will she pay when she makes a brash, spur of the moment decision? She swaps her papers with those of Annegret’s and assumes her identity. She has gone from a Jew to being the daughter of an influential Nazi. The question throughout the book is whether she made the right decision? Should she have just fled instead of taking on a role fraught with danger especially considering the two Huber brothers, both of whom have important roles in Hitler’s government, will surely discover what has happened?
Admittedly, I did become confused at points as Margarete was switching between her own name and that of Annegret. The list of the tangled web of lies she created grew so long that when she was interacting with the brothers and trying to keep her story straight I think she was even beginning to confuse and doubt herself. But it's definitely worth sticking with as I found this to be almost like a mystery/thriller packed full of tension, suspicion and unease and with one false move the whole game could be up. I was visualising this on the big screen as I was reading and think it would make a great film.
Margarete travels to Liepzig and stays with an Aunt but still her cover must not be blown. Thanks to her new identity she gets work in a university library but everything she is tasked with doing goes against with how she has been brought up. She is used to being abused and mistreated and shamed in the streets but now as the ‘daughter’ of an important German she is afforded a different viewpoint even though when she returns home each night she is worried about being found out. Especially as suspicion grows when she fails to turn up for the funeral of her ‘parents’. Margarete struggles with the implications of her life changing decision and she grapples with the consequences throughout the book. Her own safety and freedom comes at an enormous price. She has to walk, talk and act like the very person she hated most in the world. As she is drawn deeper into the lion’s den in order to confront the devil, will she be able to stay strong and tell her tale?
I found there to be a lot of repetition initially as to how Margarete felt about the decision she had made. Literally the same thing was said over and over with just a few words changed. I felt it had been said once it didn’t need to be repeated again and again and it was like it was being used as a filler in of sorts. But once this stopped I found the flow of the story to be excellent and I existed in a constant state of fear for Margarete. She became a pawn in a disgusting game and even though she knows she is slightly better off in her new found situation rather than facing harassment, brutality and abuse in a camp still her conscience constantly plays at her as to whether she made the right decision? She was a strong, brave and admirable character but when her feelings begin to change you lose some respect for her but at the same time I did see where she was coming from considering how well pivotal male character had been written. Even I began to feel the way she did.
Wilhelm, the younger of the Huber brothers, was a complex character and my opinion of him swayed back and forth. He had a desk job in Paris and enjoyed a kind of playboy lifestyle. He abhors Jews and will do his bit to rid Germany and the world of them although he doesn’t play as an active role as his older brother Reiner who was the worst of people. Such malice and awful opinions Wilhelm could show but then at other times he demonstrated a more compassionate, caring, understanding and human side so much so that I was horrified to find myself almost warming to him. He is distraught to discover that the inheritance he had hoped for will not materialise until he marries and produces a male heir.
Wilhelm has his goal of getting his inheritance at the forefront of his mind and as news of Annegret begins to emerge he delves that little bit deeper and discovers the truth behind what Margarete has done. To be honest I found this aspect of the story became implausible and quite far fetched at times. What German officer would do what Wilhelm did given their stance on Jews and the war in general? Would his plan really work? To mention specific details as to what unfolds would give away the main points of the story and this is where things did become a bit confusing but it didn’t always sit right with me that Wilhelm would be so accommodating. He was also placing himself in the firing line given the consequences if what was going on had been discovered. It didn’t bare thinking about if Reiner figured out what was going on but I suppose Wilhelm had his own clear long term goal in mind and was determined to achieve it but I guess he didn’t take into account his human emotions taking over at times.
A Light in the Window is a very quick read and it’s really edge of your seat stuff from beginning to end. I found the ending to be quite rushed. I was nearing the 90% mark of the story and I still felt there was so much more left to be explored. But upon finishing the story I discovered that there will be a sequel which makes sense. In the end notes by the author she explains how this book was inspired by a short story that she wrote and she wished to explore how Margarete’s story continued once the dust had cleared from the rubble. I did feel this read very much like a short story as the pages seemed to fly by and before I knew it I had reached the end. I still wonder would it have been better off continuing on where it left off rather than waiting for another book but on reflection I truly was left hanging and it has made me very eager to see how Margarete’s story is further developed. I enjoyed this book. It was different from the usual World War Two historical fiction books that I have recently read. It keeps the reader on their toes constantly guessing as to what would happen as the situation Margarete found herself in seemed to grow worse with each turn of the page. She played a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a moral dilemma at its very core. Is one person’s life worth more than another one’s? Read this intriguing book and decide upon the answer for yourself.
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