Cover Image: The Women at Hitler’s Table

The Women at Hitler’s Table

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Member Reviews

A book about important subject matter, and a part of the history of women that perhaps not many people know about. I think perhaps I read it at a time where I was looking for a lighter read though, as I can't say I fully enjoyed this book. This is a review from one person at one time though!

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a very uncomfortable read but a beautifully written book about the true story of Margot Wolk who's job was as a food taster for Hitler.
She died in 2014 aged 96 and the novel looks at how she coped during the war.

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This was a very interesting read about a group of women that I knew nothing about before, well researched and brilliant characters, A very powerful book that everyone should read although some details are disturbing they should be better known

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What an extraordinary, unusual book!

I'm afraid I'm pretty near saturation point with stories about women in WWII and they all start to merge into one another. But not this one! It's so original I'd recommend it to anyone, not just people who enjoy 20th-century historical fiction.

Rosa moves to south-east Germany to live with her in-laws, uneasily so, while her husband is away fighting., Unfortunately for Rosa, Hitler's retreat, the Wolf's Lair, is nearby and food tasters are needed for a paranoid Fuhrer who fears being poisoned. So they recruit local women, who have no choice but to go to the retreat and do as they're told.

It's a frightening and dangerous time for the women but they forge new relationships - though, of course, not everyone is friendly.

It's a powerful story of female friendship and solidarity, of trust and betrayal, of love and loss, of survival and guilt. The powerless women begin to seize what power they can and take what little victories come their way. The sense of menace is almost unrelenting, but there's hope, too.

What astonished me is that it's based on the real lives of women food-tasters, so there's a bonus in finding out about an aspect of history which has been forgotten.

I also like the way that we see a variety of attitudes towards the war; it's good to remember that not every German supported the Nazi regime.

Beautifully written, thoroughly convincing, this book gives you plenty of food for thought.

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This was a really good book, as someone who studied Hitler quite in depth at uni this was an aspect only touched upon not covered in any detail so it was good to see this side of things and open up the door to learn a lot more about the food tasting aspect.

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Tense and grim, this was an interesting, less often discussed part of Hitler's reign centered around the women picked up to keep him company at meals.

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There are many many books written about the greatest atrocity of our time. And I have read many a historical fiction surrounding the Holocaust, concentration camps, the Nazi occupation of Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece and France. There have also been many a true story inspired account which have been fictionalised but still as shocking as the truth which had occurred.

THE WOMEN AT HITLER'S TABLE offered something different in the form of the women who were Hitler's very own food tasters, inspired by the life of Margot Wölk (1917-2014), the last of his surviving tasters. It isn't until she is near the end of her life at 95 years old, that she decides to tell her story and reveals the truth before her death in 2014.

In this story, she becomes Rosa Sauer, a secretary from Berlin who upon marrying her boss anticipates a life of contentment and marital bliss. But when he is sent to war and bombs descend on her city, Rosa finds herself alone and without family so relocates reluctantly to the countryside and her in-laws. However, being a city girl in the country sets her apart and in 1942 she is conscripted along with many other women to become food tasters in Hitler's lair, should his food be poisoned.

The concept is an interesting one and I'm not sure whether it is because it has been translated but I found it difficult to hold my interest. I was unable to finish it though I did try to in an effort to see how things end. However, that is not to say that this book is not a fascinating tale because I daresay it is. And since movie rights have apparently been bought I look forward to seeing it played out on screen which might be far more interesting to follow. As it was compared to the likes of "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" and "Cilka's Journey", both of which I could not complete either, I should have taken that as a sign.

THE WOMEN AT HITLER'S TABLE is a highly regarded book by all accounts. It just didn't enthrall me.

I would like to thank #RosellaPostorino, #Netgalley and #HarperCollinsUK for an ARC of #TheWomenAtHitlersTable in exchange for an honest review.

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An interesting take on a WWII novel, Rosa flees bomb stricken Berlin to live with her inlaws in the countryside after a bomb kills her mother, her husand is already on the front line in Russia. Her inlaws live not far from the Wolfsschanze - the head quarters of the SS where Hitler is based. Shortly after arriving Rosa is visited by the SS and told she is needed by the Fuhrer, she finds herself with a group of 9 other local women tasting food for Hitler to check for poison.

Being told from the perspective of an ordinary german trying to survive you learn of the mistrust between people, the hidden threat from the SS at all levels of their lives, the difficult choices made, how an innocent comment can change a life and the guilt of surviving.

The last part of the story is weak, it feels like an afterthought on how to end the story.

I was given a copy of The Women at Hitlers Table by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

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A powerful, albeit difficult read based on the true story of the women who worked as food testers for Hitler, trying his food before he did to ensure he wasn't poisoned.

It is deftly written and nuanced, covering a number of difficult issues with care and sensitivity. The women's attitudes towards Hitler vary and things aren't as black and white as you might expect.

Weaving in true events, such as the assassination plot against Hitler by Claus von Stauffenberg, it's a book that will stay with you for long after you turn the last page.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

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I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy stories based round World War 2 as its a subject close to my heart as I recall my own Grandparents experiences. What people had to endure during the war is harrowing and being made aware of these experiences is everything we should all be reading about. Well written and a riveting read.

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This was an interesting book but at times I felt myself getting a little lost and a little bored. I’ve heard the audiobook is better and perhaps would recommend that over physically reading this book.

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I ended up listening to this book rather than reading it. I did enjoy this book, however i did get a bit lost at times. I enjoyed it but felt like if i jad read rather than listening i would have given up.

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i lioved this book having read the tattoist of auschwitz, then cilkas journey. I love such reads and storys of true grit and survival. It put a different spin on it and a bit of insight into how it was for the people living through it. Although ive read better in this genre it was still a good book and one i would recommend.

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This book reminds me of "Her Hidden Life" by V S Alexander regarding Hitler's food tasters back when Hitler was frightened for his life by any possible means, including poisoning. Women were taken to do this role, 10 at a time. I was tense reading this as I have seen other media show the SS as really unforgiving men, least excuse and you're shot or tortured, so for me I was expecting something to happen at any moment! I was expecting violence but luckily not much occurred. Just mental torture for the women tasters as any fork full really could be their last. Enough in the story to keep your attention and to keep reading though.

The book was translated and it was done well enough to bring the story across.

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This is based on the true story of Margot Wolk. She was the last of Hitlers poison testers.

This book is different to many other books written about this period of history. It was fascinating but shocking.

This book will stay with me for some time

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This book was poignant and powerful. The writing was lovely and just flowed really nicely. I flew through it.
I learned a lot from this book - it was thought-provoking and shocking and at times upsetting. My heart ached for the main character but I had to know what was going to happen. I will definitely be reading more historical works in the future - I thoroughly enjoyed this.

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I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, and the author Rosella Postorino.
I will never get tired of historical fiction focused around WW2, and this novel was incredibly interesting and engaging.
It covered a previously unknown element of this dark period of our history in emotional and fascinating detail. I am always intrigued to read about the lives of Germans during the war who were not directly involved with the war effort and felt conflicted by the events unfolding around them.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction based on real wartime experiences. 4 stars.

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The Women at Hitler’s Table was a longer read than I’m used to, but, despite its rather tricky subject matter, I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

The story’s pacing is wonderfully done; I don’t think I’ve actually read a World War Two book that’s had the same sort of “mundane” life aspect to it since The Book Thief. The characters were vibrant and heartbreaking, and our protagonist was insightful and full of wonder.

The novel does seem a little over-saturated with characters at times, but this can pretty much be explained by the historical accuracy that the author wanted. There were ten food-tasters for Adolf Hitler, so there are nine women who work with our protagonist. It was somewhat disappointing that we weren’t able to learn more about some of the more obscure food-tasters, but I do think that ten fully-rounded characters would be difficult to keep up with.

You definitely need a good grasp of Germany’s Home Front and Hitler during World War Two. Rosa, our narrator, doesn’t have the time to teach a history lesson. If you’re looking for a Warnbook that’s set in Germany, but is in closer proximity to the War than The Book Thief, you should 100% check out The Women at Hitler’s Table.

One of the most interesting aspects of the novel is Rosa’s conflicting feelings as she works for Hitler. But don’t be fooled, this book is definitely a Hitler-basher. The author’s contempt for the guy is obvious and wonderful.

This is one of the most interesting books I read all year. You’re seriously going to love it. The writing may seem clunky at times, but it’s a (fantastic) translation from Italian. Some of the passages did seem tedious or were lost on me, but I could look past it because of the obvious skill and precision with which this book was written.

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This was an interesting novel, based on the true story of one of Hitler's food tasters. Rosa has moved to East Prussia to live with her in-laws in the countryside, as her husband Gregor has enlisted in the army. Unfortunately, her in-laws live near to 'the Wolf's Lair', where Hitler has holed himself up in bunkers in the forest. The war is not going well for the Nazis and Hitler fears for his life, so a group of 10 local women are forced to become his food tasters, to ensure the Fuhrer is not poisoned.
Rosa is one of these women, and while getting paid a good wage and enjoying delicious food (though no meat - Hitler was a vegetarian), she knows that each meal could be her last. Gregor is reported missing at the Eastern Front, and Rosa embarks on an elicit affair. I don't want to give too much away though!
I struggled a bit to get into this book - it seemed sort of emotionally cold, which may be down to the translation from the original Italian. But about half way through, I was gripped by both the plot and the beautiful writing.
A fascinating novel about a little known aspect of life in Hitler's Germany. Recommended.

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Inspired by the powerful true story of Margot Wölk, this is a heartbreaking and gripping historical novel for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Beekeeper of Aleppo.

This was impressively researched. I think the attention to detail was fantastic. It was a great historical read and extremely interesting.

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