'Traitor' Book Review

Written by Gudrun Pausewang, translated by Rachel Ward. Almost needless to say, I have never read anything by this author before.

I really really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to almost everyone. Why? Because it shows how ordinary Germans felt during WWII. These are the people who lived in Germany, who will always be associated with atrocities, when they had little choice. It reminded me of some American slavery novels, in that it showed among the bad, there were people helping. Even turning traitor against their own family to do so.

Anna was very brave, even though she didn't really mean to be. The ending saddened me; I wanted to slap her for her stupidity, even though I know she was so happy she wasn't thinking. Felix was a great character. In some ways he reminded me of the children in Orwell's 1984 who reported on their parents, simply because they believed it was right. I hated him, but I felt sorry for him too. I could feel his uncertainty and willingness to please.

I give it:

Plot: *****

Characters: *****

Voice: *****

Originality: ***

Dialogue: ****

Which means...four stars.
Amazon listing here.