Happy Tuesday afternoon/evening!
I have another review today for a wonderful historical fiction novel. I am always inspired and humbled by WWII books. Thank you so much to Lisa for my invitation to this tour! 🗝
My Thoughts
𝔖𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔱𝔥. ℜ𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢. ℌ𝔬𝔭𝔢.
This was a compelling story about love, heartbreak, and sacrifice. No matter how many books I read about WWII I am always shocked by the horrors of war and The resilience of humans. Amanda was a happily married mother and the owner of her family bookshop. Then things begin to change. The books were ordered to be burned, her husband was sent away, and her daughters’ lives were in danger. Amanda’s one goal now is the survival of her daughters and she will sacrifice whatever it takes to ensure their safety. 80 years later Elise receives letters written by her mother all those decades ago. Letters that make her face secrets, some she has live with and some she never knew. Who are you really, when you’ve lived someone else’s nlife? This book wove some true events into the story. Including book burning, the annihilation of a French Village, and a boat of German refugees heading to Cuba. This is something I really love about historical fiction, you always learn something while reading.
This book grab me from the first page. The writing was straightforward and concise, and I thought that was perfect for the subject matter. My heart broke for Amanda and I was humbled by her strength. The atrocities of war are so disturbing, so dark, so unfortunate. The bulk of the story was bleak but there was hope peppered throughout. Although I have to say as dark as most WWII books are I always find light in the strength of the characters.
This was a well told story that read quicker than most historical fiction books. The characters were so compelling and I felt so much for them. This is a book that I think will appeal to most historical fiction fans.
*** Big thanks to Atria for my copy of this book ***
About the Book
Berlin, 1939. Bookseller Amanda Sternberg and her husband, Julius, dreamed of blissful summers spent by the lake at Wannsee and unlimited opportunities for their children. But that all falls apart when the family bookshop is destroyed and Julius is sent to a concentration camp. Now, desperate to flee Nazi Germany and preserve what’s left of her family, Amanda heads toward the south of France with her two young daughters—only to arrive with one. In Haute-Vienne, their freedom is short-lived, and soon she and her eldest daughter are forced into a labor camp, where Amanda must once again make an impossible sacrifice.
New York City, 2015. Eighty-year-old Elise Duval receives a call from a woman bearing messages from a time and country that she forced herself to forget. A French Catholic who arrived in New York after World War II, Elise is shocked to discover that the letters were from her mother, written in German during the war. Despite Elise’s best efforts to stave off her past, seven decades of secrets begin to unravel.
Based on true events, The Daughter’s Tale chronicles one of the most harrowing atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II. Heartbreaking and immersive, it is a beautifully crafted family saga of love, survival, and redemption.
Berit Talks Books 