A family of rural Germans rush to escape their country as World War II comes to a violent close, befriending both Jewish and English soldiers on their trek. An insider's perspective about the ludicrisy of the war on Jews from the viewpoint of Germans not ensconced in townships, and also of the Russians' brutality. ( )

A poignant and masterful tale of the tragedy and the impact and deregation suffered by all of Europe during the Nazi regime. A reminder of the need for constant viligance against evil.

WWII story which demonstrates that lines often become blurred in wartime. For instance, there is the "chameleon" Uri, a Jew who poses as a Nazi officer as he helps a German family running from the invading Soviets. Remember the subject matter---not for the faint of heart. Bohjalian did his homework before he wrote this very sad yet hopeful read. ( )

The Emmerich family leaves their Prussian farm in the closing days of WWII in order to attempt to escape the invading Russians. Mutti, her young son Theo, her beautiful daughter Anna and Callum, a Scottish POW who has become Anna's secret lover, meet up with Uri Singer, a Jew who escape a train to Auschwitz and has assumed the identity of Manfred, a Wermacht corporal, in order to get by. As they journey the small group gets even smaller and their fates intertwine with that of Cecile Fournier, a concentration camp inmate forced to march as well. An oddly beautiful story of life, love and resilience, but also deprivation, loss and injustice. Unique and highly recommended. ( )

The William & Mary Alumni Boston Chapter selected this novel set in German-occupied Poland at the end of the Second World War. It tells the story of three different journeys that intertwine and complement one another. First there is the Emmerich family, prosperous German farmers in East Prussia with the elderly father and eldest sons off fighting, the women and children flee west to safety from the Russian army taking with them a Scottish POW. Then there is Uri, a Jew who escaped from the prison trains and has spent two years taking on the uniforms and identities of various German officers both for survival and sabotage. Finally there is Cecille, a French Jewish woman forced with her fellow prisoners on a death march (although this is the least well-realized of the three storylines).

Bohjalian does not shrink from the details of all that was horrible about the war and the Holocaust. Yet, in the end this is a book about hope. After tearing us down, Bohjalian builds us back up with the romance of 18-year old Anna Emmerich and the Scottish airman Callum, the persistence of Cecille, the bravery of Uri and many small, kind acts. The one thing I wish the author had not done was to distance the Emmerich's so much from Nazism. It seems a cop-out that many authors/filmmakers fall on is the "good German" instead of trying to find humanity or promise of redemption in those who adhered to this evil ideology.

All in all a gripping and well-written novel. ( )