Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Germany, 1934. Surrounded by beautiful wedding china, we share our first dinner alone as husband and wife. But, instead of sharing affections, all he talks of is his admiration for Hitler. I force a smile, but my blood runs cold. How can I stay with him, now I know what he truly is?
Six years later. When Anna is approached by the Polish resistance while sheltering in Warsaw, she is eager for the chance to fight against German occupation. Managing a network of spies behind the façade of a café for enemy soldiers will mean risking everything. But, after fleeing her fanatical Nazi husband only for war to follow close behind, Anna can’t run any more.
Every conversation she overhears between the unsuspecting officers at the café brings back awful memories of the Nazi her husband became and makes her more determined to do what is right. Spending more time with the resistance behind the scenes, she grows close to them all—especially a brilliant young doctor with deep hazel eyes called Mateusz, who shows her a kindness she has never known.
As they work together, Anna can’t help imagining what life would be like with him, instead of the man she is tied to. But one day her dreams of a future with Mateusz, and freedom for her country, are shattered. Her husband has tracked her down.
Terrified, Anna knows that living as his wife again is her chance to gather information that could help end the war. But can she keep her nerve long enough to spy on her own husband? And with such a high-ranking enemy officer watching her every move, can she protect Mateusz, the man truly she loves, from the firing line?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Polish Wife to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Polish Wife is the second book in The Secret Resistance series by Gosia Nealon. It follows the same events as detailed in the first book The Polish Girl, although this time around the focus is on a different character - Anna. I was happy to discover that Anna would feature heavily this time around as I had found her to be an intriguing character from book one who seemed to have a very important and vital role to play in the work of the Polish resistance in and around Warsaw. We also learn much more of Mateusz, the brother of Wanda, the prominent character from book one. He had been very much on the periphery and more or less absent from the previous story. Reading of the same events that have already been explored in much detail can become repetitive but thankfully this wasn’t the case here as gaining a new perspective through the eyes of different characters meant it made the plot and the events that occurred feel fresh and new. This book can easily be read as a standalone and in fact if you haven’t read the first book it will make you want to go back and read it and then you will be all set for the next instalment, The Polish Daughter.
Germany, 1934, Anna has been married to Helmut for a year. Her father is a famous engineer who will in future years go on to work for the Nazi party. Anna,had believed her life would be a fairy-tale but rather the opposite has occurred. Helmut beats her and treats her with contempt, disdain and hostility. Her father knows what is going on but stands firm in that she is not allowed to get divorced and she must be respectable in the eyes of German society. Anna is miserable and her mother can see this and although she herself can’t escape her husband she sets in motion a plan for Anna to escape. Her mother has inherited a dwelling in Warsaw and the lawyer Witek will help Anna once she makes it to the city. Anna promises herself never again to be vulnerable. She will be strong, independent and will never let anyone hurt or bring her down. She stands true to these qualities for the majority of the book but time and time again she is tested beyond measure.
Between chapters, although not every chapter, the plot moves forward in years and it was initially disconcerting but then I became used to this pattern. With the outbreak of the war, Anna is willing to do her bit and she joins the Polish resistance with Witek as their chef. She is willing to risk her life fighting Hitler as the rules enforced to degrade human beings most notably the Jewish population are abhorrent to her and she will not stand by and let innocent people lose their lives needlessly. The threat of Helmut discovering where she is hangs over her but I admired how she put herself in dangerous situations repeatedly alongside her fellow resistance members.Their unity and strength to join together with one common aim is inspirational. The café she operates in the dwelling provided by her mother is the perfect place for her to play on the fact she is German. People may believe her to be a traitor as she entertains Germans officials and soldiers but really Anna is playing a very clever game. One where she is in a constant state of peril but at the same time she can glean important information which will aid the resistance effort.
I loved Anna as a character. She was brave and tenacious and used her German heritage to her advantage and in particular when she literally goes back into the lions den on a certain mission. I thought it was fascinating the dynamics that played out around the midway point between herself and her father. It could have all been so different and one sided, but the alternative aspect presented to the reader certainly gave plenty of food for thought. Alongside, the main strand of the book was Anna’s blossoming feelings for Resistance fighter Mateusz. Again, as with other aspects of the book, I felt at times that more exploration of this was needed. It seemed as if they were very much connected at some stages and then so far apart both physically, mentally and emotionally at others that to get a real sense of their feelings evaded me at times. But in the second part of the book which focused on the Warsaw uprising things became much clearer and I felt the love and devotion they had for each other even if everything was conspiring against them. To me that was mostly Mateusz’ political viewpoints and that he was quite stubborn even towards the end of the book.
Mateusz is the brother of Wanda, who was very much an enigma in book one so it was a relief in some ways to learn much more about him now. Mateusz can no longer run his doctor’s office anymore as the Gestapo wish him to work exclusively for them which he is certainly not comfortable with. Mateusz joins the resistance and throughout the development of his strand of the story which slowly but surely intertwines with Anna’s the reader can see fire in his belly and soul. He is dogged and determined to engage with as much resistance activity as possible in order to bring down the fall of the Germans. The unimaginable things occurring to the Jewish population leave him full of revulsion and anger and as he gets to know Anna he feels even more strong willed and tenacious in his efforts. There was a slightly sinister slant to his story that was randomly and intriguingly scattered throughout the main book. I was on alert as to what was going on and I could sense that this would climax in something either really positive or on the opposite end of the spectrum it would end in pure disaster. I felt it mixed in well with the overall themes and added a little spice and excitement to at times what was a difficult read in terms of what was happening during the war. If I had to choose I think I preferred the character of Anna over Mateusz as at times I found his personality traits and some of his actions frustrating.
The Polish Wife was another very good read from Gosia Nealon. Yes, as with book one I did find it took its time to get going and there were quite several lulls at certain points. Yet, once it found its rhythm the ante of the plot was really upped and you become deeply invested in the eventual fate of the characters in particular Anna and Mateusz. I would say I would have loved even more exploration of the dynamics between Anna and Helmut. I did sense the danger, threats and manipulation that existed between them but I wanted even more. I thought, despite how things panned out regarding that situation, that even more twists would have been great and a lengthier sense of wondering what would happen and even more elements of danger and suspense were needed. The Polish Wife is a heart-breaking tale of sacrifice, devotion, courage, bravery and fighting in the face of evil and seemingly unstoppable forces. It explores its themes well and is a worthy addition to the World War Two genre and reminds us the work and dedication of so many shall never be forgotten.
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