Reviewed by Emma Crowley
1941, Germany: There’s a man in uniform outside my door. They’ve come for her. My beautiful little girl is wrenched from our home and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. But I vow to find Clara… no matter what it takes.
Minki Sommer strokes the blonde curls away from her daughter’s face and her heart swells. Clara is the most precious thing to her and each day she whispers a promise to keep her safe…
Before the war began, Minki had everything – an attentive husband, three adorable children, and a successful career as journalist. But all that changed in an instant.
Her sweet Clara, with her blue eyes and porcelain features, started having fits. Since then, Minki hasn’t been able to sleep properly because she knows children with illnesses like Clara’s are being stolen away in the night.
Her husband’s connections high up in the Nazi Party make the situation even more dangerous. Minki tries to escape the city with her children, but finds she is unable to leave. And then the moment she’s feared arrives: her husband has betrayed her.
Minki is devastated as her darling girl is ripped from her arms. But she vows she will use every last breath in her body to find her missing child, no matter how dangerous it is to cross a country at war…
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The German Mother to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The German Mother, the new book from Debbie Rix, begins in Germany in 1920 and takes us all the way to the conclusion of World War Two in 1945. Split into four distinct sections, it tells the story of two women, Minki and Leila, who meet at university in Munich and form a friendship. Both come from different backgrounds and religions but they are united by their love for writing and hope to become journalists. Their paths merge and diverge over the course of the story. They come together, drift apart through circumstance but underneath it all when they need each other the most they are there for one another despite having diametrically and polarising opinions as to the as to the political and economic situation in Germany.
The story itself spans a significant and long time period and there is a lot of detail to absorb in terms of both women and what is happening to the country they call home. I did find the second half much better than the first as at times we were only getting backstory until just before the war started and then significant and life altering events occurred. At the time of reading, I thought there were a lot of unnecessary details regarding their time in university, who they met, what did they did when they completed their degrees and the back and forth between jobs on various newspapers and to be honest at times I did grow a bit bored and wanted something exciting and gripping to happen. But I am glad I persisted through the first half because now having finished the book and having had time to reflect I can see that the majority of the first half was needed to really set the scene and tone for what was to come. Yes, at the time of reading, I thought parts one and two needed editing and condensing but really I was wrong as these sections gave us a deep insight into what shaped and informed both Minki and Leila in their later lives and how they came to mingle in the upper echelons of Nazi society. How they used the power of the written word to express what was happening to their country all because of one man’s desires to exert supreme control.
Minki from the outset is a very divisive character and dare I say it for the vast majority of the book I didn’t like her at all and nor could I condone some of her actions or the people she integrated herself with. But by the end I had completely changed my mind about her and I think that’s what the author was trying to achieve and she did this in an excellent and well developed way. Minki grew up as an only child, her mother having died young and her father controlling her every move in life. At university she was the life and sole of every party enjoying the independence university afforded her. She carried these characteristics through her early working life. She was headstrong and passionate but when it came to the political situation and the rise of Hitler to power she very much put her head in the sand and continued on with her party lifestyle and relationships with many men. There were no redeeming qualities at this stage that I could discern regarding Minki. Yes, she was independent, opinionated and had a mind of her own but to me I was disgusted that she left Leila in her wake and even more so when she became embroiled in the party through her brief relationship with Joseph Goebbels and Max, a film producer, whom she goes on to marry.
There are so many contrasts between Minki and Leila which only become apparent the further the story develops. There were endless times where I wished I could reach into the pages of the book and tell Minki to wake up and see what was happening around her especially to Leila and her young family. It’s only when Clara, Minki’s daughter, is taken from her that finally I could see the wool falling from her eyes. Then at that point when she needs all the help she can to try and get her back I thought why should Leila help you. She told you time and time again what was happening as the National Socialist party rose to power. I think deep down Minki did know that she was in too deep but it would take something very personal to make her stand up and go against the regime. When this does occur that’s when I started to feel a small shred of empathy which only grew as she did a complete 360 and finally showed her true worth. She could see the terrible injustices being meted out to innocent people and this even came to her door. I was delighted to see her growing a backbone and some form of conscience and she became a completely different character from the one I had first encountered but I questioned whether she could make it through the darkest of times when herself and Leila discover what has been going on in relation to those Hitler deemed the undesirables.
By far, the best character for me was Leila because she was strong and steady throughout and always knew right from wrong. Coming from a Jewish family and working as journalist although one very different in style to Minki she could read the signs long before war broke out. She knew that Hitler was dangerous and like her fellow journalists she didn’t shy away from telling the truth. I admired her as a character from beginning to end. She had liberal values and knew the right to life and free speech were the bedrocks of democracy which Hitler was determined to crush. I think at times they wedge that appeared between herself and Minki that she was sad and disappointed about it. But the entire story demonstrates that once a friendship is formed that turns into a bond like sisters, well it can never be broken.
A friendship/relationship can stagnate and suffer and endure trauma but once there is any ounce of love and respect there than there is hope for it to be salvageable.I loved how despite all they endure Leila never gave up on Minki and in fact her life path despite the loss she endures sees her emerge stronger and in some ways career wise and professionally better off than Minki. She seemed to go from strength to strength because people could see the good qualities she possessed and her talent for rooting out a story. She had to become self sufficient and independent and I really don’t know how she carried on given what happened to her but her determination and fearless attitude deserved much respect and appreciation. This truly came to the fore in the last quarter or so of the book.
I have read countless books set during World War Two and you think you have read it all but here I found myself learning new facts and details. Specifically, the focus given to the programme of eugenics enacted by Hitler and his party.I thought it was brilliant how this aspect of the story was cleverly embedded into the lives of Minki and Leila and it opened my eyes to even more of the horrors the regime inflicted even upon their own people as well as the Jews residing in Germany. Those with genetic defects were identified as a drain on society who could never contribute to the great Aryan race Hitler was trying to create. Debbie Rix goes into detail as to what happened to those known as the undesirables and it was horrifying to read about and it reminds the reader of the torture and needless trauma inflicted on so many innocent people inflicted by those who were ruthless in their power and authority and really one thinks the German population should have done more to stop the onslaught but they were so brainwashed that this wasn’t achievable.
The story of Minki and Leila and all they endure is not straightforward nor is their friendship and Minki as I have said is a divisive character whom you will struggle to find redemptive characteristics for until at least the halfway point of the story. But still, The German Mother is a powerful and important read and I am glad Debbie Rix pushed both women to their limits as it made for an inspiring read.
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