The Women in the Castle
by Jessica Shattuck
4 stars
Shattuck expertly weaves together a story set at the end of World War II in Germany that shares the tragedies and the secrets of three widows who barely know each other. After Germany’s defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the crumbling castle called Burg Lingenfels that was once her home. Her husband was a resister and was hanged for trying to assassinate Hitler. Marianne promised her husband and the other co-conspirators that she would find their widows and help them. As Marianne, finds them (Ania, Benita and their children) and tries to create a home she discovers that each have secrets and repercussions that will make their lives complicated. The story does go back and forth in time and ends in 1991 with everyone reuniting back at the castle and allowing the reader to discover where everyone ended up. I liked the way the author examined the aftermath of Germany’s loss on the citizens and that the story was told from the Germans’ prospective, some who really thought Hitler was insane while the others were just trying to survive. Each woman reacted to the moral dilemmas that impacted each of their lives and the stories showed how they came to terms and how each moved on. The story starts out slow but picks up the second half. Recommend!
Read-alikes
The Blindness of the Heart by Julia Franck
The Good at Heart by Ursula Werner
The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook
