The Women at Hitler's Table by Rosella Postorino is based on the real life women who were forced to work as food tasters for Hitler in the later years of the war when he was based at the Wolfsshanze , his hidden headquarters in Eastern Prussia. Paranoid about suspected attempts to kill him and already picky about the food he ate, he rounds up ten young women from the locality to act as official tasters. Every day they will be given the food that is to be served to the Fuhrer and observed for at least an hour after eating it to ensure there are no ill effects. In effect they are expected to sacrifice their life for the Fuhrer, and while some of the women consider it an honour, our narrator Rosa is considerably less enthused. Formerly from Berlin she is now living with her in-laws while her husband is away at the front , and she is struggling with both missing him and feeling out of place in the small village. Over the course of the time spent as a taster, she manages to form friendships of a sort with some of the women, but it is an illicit affair with one of the soldiers which may prove to be her undoing, or the only thing that will save her life.
Based on a true story, this was an aspect of the war that I had not really heard about before, and for that reason I found it an interesting proposition. While I could empathise with the character of Rosa, I struggled to connect with her, and between that and the writing style which I found a little awkward I can say that while I enjoyed the book I did not love it.
I read a review copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Another book about Hitler/ the war etc. It was interesting enough to read but I do think that there are a lot of these types of books out there now, and this one was good....not amazing.

‘A disturbing, powerful and beautifully written novel based on shockingly real events’ Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo

The International Bestseller 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

East Prussia, 1943. Hitler hides away in the Wolfsshanze – his hidden headquarters. The tide is turning in the war and his enemies circle ever closer.
Ten women are chosen.
Ten women to taste his food and protect him from poison.
Twenty-six-year-old Rosa has lost everything to this war. Her parents are dead. Her husband is fighting on the front line. Alone and scared, she faces the SS with nothing but the knowledge every bite might be her last.
Caught on the wrong side of history, how far is Rosa willing to go to survive?

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, WW2 is my favourite period of history to read about, especially when the books are set in Europe and one top of that, one part of that time in history in particular that fascinates me is Hitler’s final months while he was hiding away in his bunkers. I’ve read a couple of books from the POV of his inner circle, but this is the first time I’ve seen the story of his food tasters told.

This is a fiction, but it is heavily inspired by true events, and in particular, Hitler’s last surviving food taster, who died shortly after revealing her experience to the world. As it is based on real life, several actual incidents that took place between 1943 and 1945 are included, including the attempted bombing of Hitler’s meeting with Mussolini and his move from East Prussia to Berlin for the final weeks of the war.

I read this in one sitting. I was hooked from the very first line. It felt less like I was lounging in the sunshine (which is what I was physically doing) and more like an experience. I felt like I went through every trauma, fear and success with this group of women and their families. Our narrator, Rosa, was an incredible protagonist, continually torn between whether she is a good German and whether she is a good person while she tries to survive. This is one of those remarkable books that stays with you long after the final page is turned, the only thing that stopped me giving it four stars was the very ending – if only it had ended a few pages earlier!

Unfortunately I did not get on with this book and therefore cannot rate it very highly. I really struggled to connect with the characters and storyline.

Superb book with a great plot and relatable characters. A great read that keeps you gripped in the plot and stays with you long after. I really enjoyed reading this book.

This is an interesting book giving more information than I knew about the life of Hitler's tasters. Added to that is a mysterious storyline involving a few of the characters. The story is strong and the book feels historically accurate. A recommended read.

With thanks to Netgalley and Hapercollins

The women at Hitler's table is a very emotional read that is so very sad. A good but emotionally book. Found myself thinking about this book long after I had finished.

I found this book difficult to get into. The writing is strangely dispassionate and factual. None of the characters were appealing, and some of their actions inexplicable: why does Rosa pursue an affair with a frankly creepy stalker commander? Why would a commander traumatised by what he has witnessed at a concentration camp deliberately denounce one of the food tasters as Jewish and have her sent away?

Perhaps, as it's based on a true story, these are simply events that really did happen in a crazy time of war. In which case, I feel a biography or a history would tell it better. It certainly didn't work for me as a fictional tale, I'm afraid.

This is a very powerful novel written about something which I had no idea had occurred. Poignant, sensitive and thought provoking.

Gripping, moving and emotional- I really enjoyed this book. It is well written with great characterisation. I could totally believe that these events were true and highly recommend reading it.

An engrossing read, based on a true WW2 story:
Of late there have been many WW2 novels, based on true stories, published 75 years after the war ended. Probably the most successful being Heather Morris's "The Tattooist of Auschwitz".
The "Women at Hitler's Table" by Rosella Postorino is another such true story, based on the story of Margot Wolk: a food taster for Adolph Hitler. The novel captures the obsession of the Fuhrer that he was destined to be poisoned by his enemies.
It is 1943 and the fortunes of war are changing: as Hitler hides away in Wolfsshanze his enemies are getting ever closer. Adolph is convinced that these enemies are determined to kill him by poisoning his food. (A shade ironic that it was to be by his own hand that his life was ended.)
Young Rosa is selected by the SS to be one of ten food tasters who ensured that the food served to Hitler was poison-free. Only after an hour had passed, with no ill effects on the ten tasters, would the meals be deemed safe for Hitler to eat. (Quite clearly the Fuhrer wasn't troubled by eating his food cold). The novel captures the relationships which are formed amongst the tasters and between the tasters and SS Guards.
Rosa's plight encapsulates the fate of many Germans who lost everything thanks to the war: her parents are dead and her husband, who is fighting on the front-line, is reported missing in action: a euphemism for likely dead. The end is near and all but the SS and Hitler can see it coming.
A powerful but distressing tale, reminiscent, to me at least, of V S Alexander's "Her Hidden Life" which similarly features the food tasting regime demanded by Hitler to protect him from his enemies both real and imagined. For readers who liked "Cilka's Journey", "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" and "The Beekeeper of Aleppo".

I loved this book. If you enjoyed “The Tattooist of Aushwicz”, you will definitely enjoy this book too. It was well written and the characters were well rounded. I couldn’t recommend this book more. 5 *****

A disturbing story about unknown victims of war.
I had never thought about Hitler's food tasters until Margot Wolk shared her experience of being one of the chosen women a few years ago. Sadly she died shortly afterwards 2014, so a lot of her story was left untold. This novel uses the known facts to flesh out what, undoubtedly, her fears surrounding the events surrounding 'the worst part of my life.'

Ten women were selected and taken to one of Hitler's military bases in rural East Prussia. Their job was to taste his food to check if it had been poisoned. At this point of the war, 1943, things were starting to go bad for Germany, and the Nazi party faced threats from the inside as well as from the Allied Forces. The tension was high.

At the beginning when the women are first brought together, there are the normal social shuffles. Like any group there are cliques, awkward glances and squabbles as they get to know each other and find their place in the group. A bit like a school setting, it is a tad tedious but some strong characters develop and their idiosyncrasies are original and distinctive. The personalities cover the spectrum to form a likely group.

Choices are difficult during a wartime regime where survival is paramount and hangs over everyone every day. Staying alive means humiliation and indignity and is expressed in uncomfortable and vivid accuracy. Alone with her thoughts the first-person narrator struggles with Justification, guilt and the barriers she, and everyone else, puts up to protect themselves and each other.

At times this book makes unpleasant reading made even more so because it is probably very accurate. As her husband says of excrement: 'evidence that God doesn't exist.' the book is earthy and unglamorous. Challenging, well written, intense and tragically human. Highly recommended.

This story is inspired by true events and the life of Margot Wolk. For whatever reason Margot chose to take her secrets and her story to her grave. I can imagine she perhaps felt guilt in some measure. She was the only one of the women to survive and they didn't die of old age - her connections proved advantageous to her survival at the time. There was also possibly a feeling that she was one of the people keeping Hitler and his officers alive.

Rosa is picked by the SS to work in Hitlers Lair, as one of a group of women who taste the food before Hitler and his officers partake of the same meal. Make no mistake this wasn't voluntary, and despite there being austerity and a lack of food due to the war, eating the food was no pleasure.
When a meal turns into a game of life or death each mouthful of food becomes a balancing act between culinary delight and painful death.

Postorino shows the eccentric and paranoid side of Hitler. The way he was consumed with fear, which in turn fuelled his hatred and anger. It has an element of Roman pomposity to it - taste my grapes peasant.

In a way I found it disappointing that the author didn't actually speak to Wolk - this is actually the aspect of the story I felt was missing, because it lacks the authenticity of an eyewitness. There are moments that speak to the trauma, the ruthless methodology of the regime. Then there are others, which smack of gratuitous drama.

Don't get me wrong, the read and the story that inspired the book, are absolutely compelling. Postorino gives life to one of the stories that vanish in the many folds of historical accounts.

An emotional, vivid portrayal of life as one of Hitler's food testers, based on a true story this is an interesting, thought-provoking story. It highlights good and evil and everything between the two extremes. The ten women are varied in everything but their role as food testers, and this makes for a tense story, and volatile team dynamics, as they try to survive in a world, not of their making, based on unimaginable evil.

I have read a fictional interpretation of this story before, and this one is equally well-written. The dark horrors of war have a morbid fascination, and this noir story is both engaging and repellant. The historical references will appeal to those who like historical WW2 fiction, but the real draw of this story is the women and their beliefs, motivations and interrelationships.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Collins -Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was a brilliant read and one that is perfect to escape for a few hours and loose yourself.
Characters that fall out of the pages of the book and make you fell apart of the story, the setting is lovely and captured well with words.
A great read. that I would highly recommend.

Another novel based on true events. This one follows Rosa who is Hitlers food taster another with a group of ladies who fear if that meal is their last. Great characters and well written and interesting. I did find the style of writing a little hard going at time but overall a good read.

This is an historical novel based on real events. It follows the story of Rosa, one of ten women chosen to be Hitler’s food tasters as he hides away at Wolfsshanze in 1943. Rosa has moved from Berlin to live with her in laws, as her husband is away fighting in the war. Everyday she is taken By the SS guards, and made to test the food that Hitler will eat. The relationships between the woman forced to do this task is not always smooth, and inappropriate relationships are also revealed.
I enjoyed the perspective this novel offers the reader. We often read about the appalling treatment of other nations by Hitler during the war so it is interesting to read how he also had the capacity to be cruel to his own people.

a completely different view of such a major life event. brilliant read well written, i dont feel i can say i enjoyed it as it was such an awful time for our ancestors but i found it intriguing

This was a very interesting story about a group of women who are tasters for Hitler in case his food is poisoned. Many Germans were starving during the war so having sufficient to eat was unusual but the fear of eating poisoned food hung heavily over the women. The story goes into the personal lives of the women and how their friendships develop.

I really liked the writing, the story and the historical setting. Very good.