The Berlin Apartment

Before picking up this book I knew very little about the Berlin Wall and vaguely remember hearing of its collapse when I was in high school. So, I'm thankful that Canadian author Bryn Turnbull has written this well-researched book that details the impact of the wall on the people who lived on either side of it.

Lise and Uli are a couple in love and on the cusp of becoming engaged when the Berlin Wall, a fortified and highly monitored structure, was built almost overnight, severing the city in two, leaving Lise in East Berlin and Uli in the West. Determined to be reunited with Lise, Uli devises a plan to dig his way into East Berlin and bring Lise back to him. 

Turnbull brings the era to life with vivid descriptions of what life was like on both sides of the wall, particularly East Berlin where the government had a choke hold on its citizens as it monitored, threatened, indoctrinated and limited information. Turnbull balances history with some romance and an ending that I anticipated but was totally satisfying.

Turnbull gives her readers a well-researched slow burn story that spans decades and incorporates themes of love, loss, bravery and resilience with some poignant moments for good measure.  

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to MIRA for the complimentary digital copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Bryn Turnbull

Genre: Historical Fiction

Type and Source: ebook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: MIRA (Harlequin)

First Published: August 27, 2024

Read: August 10 - 18, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: Berlin 1961: When Uli Neumann proposes to Lise Bauer, she has every reason to accept. He offers her love, respect, and a life beyond the strict bounds of the East German society in which she was raised — which she longs to leave more than anything. But only two short days after their engagement, Lise and Uli are torn violently apart when barbed wire is rolled across Berlin, splitting the city into two hostile halves: capitalist West Berlin, an island of western influence isolated far beyond the iron curtain; and the socialist East, a country determined to control its citizens by any means necessary.

Soon, Uli and his friends in West Berlin hatch a plan to get Lise and her unborn child out of East Germany, but as distance and suspicion bleed into their lives and as weeks turn to months, how long can true love survive in the divided city?