Welcome to Litsy!

Everything about this book from its brilliant title to the hidden & more obvious themes of denial, culpability, responsibility, hope and betrayal was beautifully written & woven. While the subject matter was difficult, I found the book accessible & hard to put down. It‘s an interesting perspective of the Holocaust that I often don‘t see in fiction. I thought the author magnificently blended fact & fiction creating a plausible & compelling story.

It‘s a #GooglyBook @rockpools and I‘m totally immersed in the story- have you read it?? A German dr is sent to Buchenwald, the Nazi “work camp” as a prisoner because he has a Jewish grandparent. It soon comes to an officer‘s attention that Dr. Weber is able to treat those with cancer. What is SS Sturmbannfuhrer Hahn willing to do to get the help he seeks? I love all the grey areas this book tackles. Excellent choice for #BookClub

Starting this #chunkster #UpNext #HighExpectations despite the fact that my bookish bestie “didn‘t get on” with this one 😂

Lovely #BookMail from the wonderful @TrishB
I LOVE the Liverpool bookmark 💗💗💗
Thanks so much for sending this book my way- I‘m looking forward to reading it 🤓

#FirstLineFridays

@ShyBookOwl

A sobering yet not sensational or judgemental story of those in and around Buchenwald “model camp”, how they bought into what they were being told from those in charge, and from propaganda. Told from the perspectives of Greta and Dietrich, an officer at the camp, and Dr Weber who is of distant Jewish descent, this is extremely well done historical fiction that still, unfortunately, felt timely today.

I‘m guessing it‘s definitely me by all reviews. Didn‘t like any of the characters (I know you‘re not really supposed to!). But Greta! Really, were any of the officers wives this stupid and naive? Got to 150 pages and that was it, wasn‘t enjoying at all.

Another book from the #womensprize long list that I probably wouldn‘t have read otherwise, but I‘m glad I did as it turned out to be one of my favourites.

Greta‘s husband is a senior officer at Buchenwald in WWII so the family live just outside the camp. Greta becomes ill and one of the prisoners is called upon to treat her with an unusual machine he had invented.

Told from 4 different POV, this is an interesting and unusual perspective of WWII

Fourth of my Women‘s Prize longlist reads. I usually get engrossed in long WWII narratives and this was no different. The story of an unlikely friendship with a prisoner at Buchenwald and a German officer‘s wife. Told from the POV of the prisoner, the husband, the wife, and a chorus of bystanders.

Historical fiction about a German work camp during WWII. Skillfully told from 4 POV. Moving and straightforward story telling. Not my favorite from the Womens Prize list but close to the top of the list of the ones I have read so far.

A powerful examination of the human tendency towards willful blindness. I found the “From the Private Reflections of One Thousand Citizens of Weimar” sections, a sort of chorus from residents of the nearest town to the Buchenwald camp, especially effective.

My sixth from the #womensprize longlist. Sorrow and Bliss remains my favorite, but I wouldn‘t be sad if this one makes the shortlist.

If you only want to read one #WomensPrize nominated book 📖 this year, choose #RemoteSympathy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,75/5

Another from my Women‘s Prize order. I hadn‘t even heard of this one before the longlist announcement and it sounds so good. #bookmail