Having just finished the book in much the same way I do any compulsively readable book - in one or two "good goes," I am struck by five thoughts, give or take:
1) This would appeal almost exclusively to a certain type of female audience. Men who choose history or historical
…more fiction would find little or no new information in this particular read and would not select it. I echo other reviewers in that one or two women in my book group avoid any of this type of "unpleasantness" and would nix this as a group choice.
2) Many European readers whose antecedents survived the war in both the Western and Eastern theaters - from the pre-war 1930's well through its aftermath, will be all too familiar with the horrors, the fears, and the social interactions described as lived and reported by their own family members. A new generation of Europeans and perhaps North Americans readers for the first time will have their eyes opened to some uncomfortable truths.
3) The food tasters (for purposes of the plot) seemed to have a lot more freedom and slack supervision than would seem credible. Luckily, no one alive can contradict the author's version and apparently no further research has been done to contradict this otherwise.
4) We readers, as in real war, are left with many unanswered questions, ironically, save the fate of our female protagonist's husband. Rosa's Gregor for much of the book is presumed missing somewhere on the Eastern Front. The plot finishes up with that circumstance resolved.... just how effectively, the reader is left to ponder...
5) Our main character's mother was a Berlin dressmaker of some apparent skill - which seems a useful "chick lit" device that gooses up both the social interactions and the sexual situations involving her daughter Rosa - possibly consistent with a formulaic romance novel...
In summary, on the losing side of an unrighteous war, there are are very few heroes to be celebrated; even "survivor status" has its detractors - particularly among the survivors themselves... (less)
