The German Wife

The German Wife is the whole bookish enchilada. You have two well-developed characters whose lives you're equally invested in, wonderful and complex themes that create amazing book discussion, and multiple timelines within a story that is well-researched and set in fascinating historical eras.

The story is told in the alternating points of view of two female characters - one German and one American, and pivots between three settings/eras - Germany leading up to WWII, Oklahoma during the Great Depression and the horrific dust storms and Alabama in the 1950's during the race to get a rocket into space. 

Sofie von Meyer Rhodes lives in 1930's Berlin with her family and love of her life, her husband Jurgen, a rocket scientist. Through Sofie's eyes, we see the rise of power and propaganda of the Nazi party and how her family is pulled into its orbit, despite their opposition to all that the Nazi party represents. The second POV is from Lizzie, who grew up on a small Oklahoma farm during the Great Depression. 

In 1950, Lizzie is now married to Calvin, who works for the American space program and Jurgen is one of many German scientists who are brought over from Germany to work on American space initiatives and quietly pardoned for their involvement in the war. It is through the lives, secrets and haunted pasts of the characters - both main and secondary - that Rimmer shows how lives were impacted -- by loss, tempers, prejudice and the dark days during and after WWII. It was these insightful POVs and the themes of prejudice and the issue of choice that were most impactful for me and will promote fascinating discussion.

Poignant, thought-provoking, and unputdownable, this is a well-written story that is wonderfully complex as it tackles issues of prejudice, justice, and the power of time, empathy and forgiveness. This story will hit you in the feels and give you much to think about - particularly the moral struggle to make the right choice. And that despite our best efforts and internal struggles, the choices we make or do not make, even in the most horrific and almost unimaginable of circumstances, will have an impact. We hope that we'd always make the right choice, the moral choice, but put in similar circumstances, would you?

Get your hands on this book now!

My Rating: 5 stars

Author: Kelly Rimmer

Genre: Historical Fiction (WWII)

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher: Graydon House

First Published: June 28, 2022

Book Description from GoodReads: The New York Times bestselling author of The Warsaw Orphan returns with a gripping novel inspired by the true story of Operation Paperclip: a controversial secret US intelligence program that employed former Nazis after WWII.

Berlin, 1930—When a wave of change sweeps a radical political party to power, Sofie von Meyer Rhodes’s academic husband benefits from the ambitions of its newly elected chancellor. Although Sofie and Jürgen do not share the social views growing popular in Hitler’s Germany, Jürgen’s position with its burgeoning rocket program changes their diminishing fortunes for the better. But as Sofie watches helplessly, her beloved Berlin begins to transform, forcing her to consider what they must sacrifice morally for their young family’s security, and what the price for their neutrality will be.

Twenty years later, Jürgen is one of the many German scientists offered pardons for their part in the war, and taken to America to work for its fledgling space program. For Sofie, this is the chance to exorcise the ghosts that have followed her across the ocean, and make a fresh start in her adopted country. But her neighbors aren’t as welcoming or as understanding as she had hoped. When scandalous rumors about the Rhodes family’s affiliation with Hitler’s regime spreads, idle gossip turns to bitter rage, and the act of violence that results will tear apart Sofie’s community and her family before the truth is finally revealed.