The Women in the Castle, by Jessica Shattuck, is another WWII novel but what sets this one apart is that the women are all German instead of part of the Allied effort. The main woman character is Marianne von Lingenfels, a strong, aristocratic matriarch whose castle, by marriage, features in the story itself and becomes home for all three after the war and symbolizes the struggles they endure to face the reality of their situation, loss, and sense of identify.
The other women are Benita, an ingenue Aryan prototype who marries Marianne's childhood friend, a Nazi resistor, and Ania, the purported wife of another Nazi resistor.
Shattuck does an excellent job of telling the stories and back stories of all three women, weaving in their children's lives and experiences. I felt both sympathy and frustration with all three, and really appreciated getting a look at the German experience during and after WWII.
I particularly admired Marianne's leadership, even when those around her resented her for it. She is the reason any of the extended circle survived, and while her tactics and forcefulness may have caused their own wounds, she truly did what needed to be done.
I thought the ending was particularly satisfying and realistic.
Great review.
ReplyDeleteI have heard good things about this book. The fact that the protagonists are Germain is indeed different. Based on your description, the characters also sound very well crafted.
I will put this on my list. I am interested in reading about apolitical Germans and how they coped during the Nazi regime and WWII. A couple of weeks ago I read Faye Kellerman’s Straight Into Darkness, which has a German investigator as protagonist and is set in the 1930s just before Hitler becomes Chancellor and I appreciated its perspective.
ReplyDeleteI really want to read the non-fiction book On the Other Side: Letters to my Children from Germany 1940-46 by Mathilde Wolff-Monckeberg for this reason someday.
The character Marianne is not apolitical, btw. She is a Nazi resistor as is her husband and friend. The other two are more ambiguous...
DeleteThat is a different perspective to take when writing a WWII novel. It's certainly not a POV I've read before. I'll have to see if my library has a copy. :)
ReplyDeleteHad not heard about this book, Your review has me interested. What would it be like living in Germany right after World War II as the three women grapple with how an evil like Nazism could come to power. People don't often realize fascism taking root until it's too late. Lessons for today.
ReplyDeleteI read & liked this in April. It definitely was a new take for me on WWII. I liked the first half of the story the best and the last part not as well. Glad you enjoyed it. Here was my review: http://www.thecuecard.com/books/women-castle-anne-green-gables/
ReplyDeleteIt was your review that made me get on the library wait list for this book! We disagree about the ending, but I agree that the first half is riveting.
DeleteI really enjoyed this one as well. I liked that the other ladies were ambiguious and very realistic. I'm reading 40 Autumns right now which is a great memoir set right after WWII and the splitting of a family between East and West Germany. Very intriguing.
ReplyDeleteOh, that sounds super interesting. Thanks for the tip.
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