Reading this masterful novel was both painful and exhausting. This is the story of what it was like to live in Berlin in the early 1940s. Written by someone who lived through it, this novel shows how everyone suffered under the political system of Nazi rule. The concentration camps hover as a warning for gentiles and Jews. The atrocities committed against the Jews of Poland is beginning to be whispered about in dark places at the beginning of this story. The unrelenting fear and threat of violence that people lived with under the Nazi regime is unimaginable. I think it’s perhaps impossible for someone who has grown up in a well-established democracy to truly comprehend such an existence and the toll it takes on one's conscience. --You can read the rest of my review on my blog at https://wildmoobooks.com/2010/10/26/hans-falladas-1947-anti-nazi-classic-every-m... ( )

There are so many layers to this book. I was a bit disappointed initially because I had expected it to be about the Quangels and how heroic they were. So the sub-plots on the other characters were initially distracting. But they all built up to a convincing and memorable book. The Quangels were so convinced that their postcards would make a difference. And yet, almost all who found them were fearful and handed them to the police at the first instance. The Quangels didn't know. You can almost feel Otto Quangel's disappointment when he found out how badly received their postcards were. But what matters more is not the reception but the response and the principles or conviction it is based on. Little does Otto know that he did have a convert - Inspector Escherich. His death was earth-shattering. The Klugels were not the only ones resisting. Eva Kluge resisted in her own way to retain her self-respect. She left the party and bore the consequences. Rather fairy tale ending for her to find a new family including a son but well, we all need such fairy tales. ( )

Joel Gardner gave me this book

This is a phenomenal book - it is able to show the system of oppression in Nazi Germany at a level that makes it clear how much courage it took for anyone to show the smallest of resistance - and how such resistance has ripple effects around them that pulls any and all of their family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances in. It is able to show the pathetic meanness of human beings who exploit others without second thought - and that of those who don't think at all. If you want to know what it feels like to live in a country where neighbors spy on each other, where it is rewarded to report people to the police without evidence, for ridiculous infractions, you should read this book. After all, there is now at least one state in the U.S. where this is going to be perfectly fine to do. ( )

Despite the title and the fact that the novel is about Nazi era Berliners and the terrible fates of all who attempt to defy the Party it is surprisingly uplifting and hopeful, even funny. It's written in a style reminiscent of a spy-intrigue novel but there are many more layers of deeper meaning than your typical spy novel. There's a motley cast of characters and each person and their story is extremely well developed. Initially the reader can easily see each character as a good guy or a bad guy, but these lines get very blurred as we realize the power the Nazi Party has over everyone's actions and thoughts. They are all victims in different ways. Ultimately it's a tale of totalitarianism and its effects on every day people. ( )