This book takes an interesting angle on the Holocaust and, especially, the complicity of 'ordinary' Germans but I found it a disappointing read. Focalised via a young translator called Eva in the 1960s, it seeks to engage with the question of past guilt - but I found the whole thing unsophisticated. Eva feels like a character in a YA book: she knows practically nothing about the war, she's not even a very good translator, and she's shocked and horrified when she learns about Auschwitz. This might work if the reader is, somehow, similarly innocent but for me, as an informed adult, it's just irritating watching Eva uncover her own national history with the requisite hand-wringing.

I also found the writing, possibly translation, clunky so that the prose can lack flow. And there's a whole soap opera around Eva's family and wealthy boyfriend that feels like padding.

A complex idea but treated rather simplistically.

This book does improve as you read it. The second half was much better
It took time to get to know and like the characters
The writing style is complicated and the plot is slow to develop

I was aware of a movement in Germany during the 60s where young people were questioning what their parents did in WW2. This book tells the story of Eva and her awakening of her parents involvement in WW2. It shows that what happened to previous generations, continues to cause hurt and suffering for the generations that follow.
The accounts from Auschwitz were heartbreaking and it was interesting to see how the Germans involved in the court case reacted to them.
I read the book quickly over a few days and would be interested to read more by this author.

I found this book very enjoyable. I have read a lot of WW2 history and fiction set in that period. This story is different in that it deals with the first postwar generation of Germans who were infants during the war and have forgotten what really happened. Their parents have reinvented themselves and their family history. As one character puts it most of Eva's generation act like a bunch of aliens in brown shirts descended on Germany for the duration of WW2 and carried out terrible acts which most Germans were not complicit in. Gradually the main character, Eva begins to question her family's role in the events of WW2 and her memories begin to surface. This is set against the background of the Frankfurt trials which were the first trials set in Germany almost 20 yeas after Nuremburg. The book also deals with the role of women after marriage and the thorny isue of women working outside the home. However I found it difficult to understand the motivation of the older sister Annegret, her boyfriend and the story if David was never resolved properly I felt. All said I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

I was really excited to read this book as I love reading books from this time period. The book started strongly and I really enjoyed the beginning chapters. However as the book went on I found that the plot started to make less sense and I also really started to dislike nearly all of the characters in the book. I think that this book could have been better though out and overall a more enjoyable read,

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC