What a fascinating book featuring an unknown part of German history. Rosa lives with her in-laws while her husband joins the German army to fight for his country. She is plucked from her rural life to be one of Hitler's food tasters to ensure he is not poisoned. She is thrust into a group of ordinary German women, some of whom support and revere Hitler and those who don't want to be any part of what is happening to them. A stark reminder that the German people were just like ordinary people in most countries - caught up in a war they did not want. Welll written, well drawn characters and a touching story.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Rosella Postorino/HarperCollins UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a fascinating book. I loved the characters and the slightly detached telling of the story. A group of women, complete strangers, are brought to Hitler's headquarters every day to taste the food that is then served to him. After every meal they have to wait an hour or so to see if the food has been poisoned and its during this time initially that the women start to forge some sort of friendship but they aren't friends. They all have secrets. How they interact and try and live in such a dark time. Fascinating.

I really enjoyed reading about this period in history and the personal stories of the women involved. However I was disappointed with Part 3 which I felt fell flat.

This was a fascinating read - although this was a work of fiction it was based upon true events and I felt I learnt a lot about this period of history.

At times i felt the plot jumped around a bit and I was disappointed with the ending but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of reading

This was an amazing book inspired by real life events and an article written about Margot Wolk who only spoke of her experience as one of Hitler's food tasters at the age of 96.

It's 1943, and Rosa Sauer has moved from Berlin to East Prussia following the death of her parents. She's living with her in-laws while she awaits the return of her soldier husband, Gregor. She is recruited against her will by the SS to become part of a group of ten women who will become Hitler's food tasters. They must eat the food prepared for Hitler to check that it hasn't been tainted by poison. As Rosa gives up hope of her husband returning home after he's declared missing, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a Nazi Lieutenant, Albert Ziegler. They begin an illicit affair and her feelings are complicated. She feels ashamed but at the same time - 'in the solitude of my secret, I felt complete freedom'.

It was interesting to read an account of what war was like for a non-Jewish German citizen. Rosa is a complex character, and her feelings about war and love and friendship made her such a strong female character. As the book draws to a close, we learn about her life after the war ended and it was a bitter-sweet conclusion to a beautiful story.

This book is, in turn, heartbreaking and fascinating, all the more so because it’s based on true life events. It will shock the reader to see how this terrible situation allowed people to forge friendships and then destroy them in the plight for self-preservation.

A different type of novel on a situation none of us could even contemplate.

3.5*
People use love to justify all kinds of things…..

At the end of the novel, the author describes how she read about Margot Wölk, one of 15 people conscripted during WW2 to test the Führer’s food before it was set on his table at the Wolf’s Lair (die Wolfsschanze). You can read more about her fascinating and terrible life in this article in der Spiegel. Before the author could interview her, however, she passed away at the age of 94.

WW2 is in full swing and Rosa Sauer has abandoned her bombed-out apartment in Berlin and moved in with her parents-in-law in Gross Partsch, only a couple of kilometres from Hitler’s hideaway. Whenever he was in residence she, and several other women would be taken to the local barracks to eat samples of the food prepared for him that day. If one of them should become ill or even die, then they would be the victim, not Hitler himself.

Imagine the fear of eating and the pleasure of eating so indubitably mixed – the best food was chosen and cooked at a time when most of the population had little or no food. But with every mouthful came the risk that a dish may have been poisoned. Imagine! Three times a day you ingest some wonderful dishes but you also know you might die! What a terrible and frightening predicament.

The author has crafted a novel around the life of fictional Rosa Sauer. She has a huge amount of loss already. Her husband Gregor is missing in action and her parents are both dead. She gets on well enough with Gregor’s parents and, given the circumstances, she tries to build some kind of life for herself.

It is, in the main, a well written narrative that sometimes feels just a little fractured. It is a translated work of fiction and I wonder if the translation makes it at times feel quite stilted and wooden. For example, “My organs banged together” (talking about internal organs rather than the musical variety) feels a very odd turn of phrase.

Once Rosa managed to escape, as the Russians were moving West right at the end of the war, the time sequence was not clearly constructed, which was a bit jarring. The plot to kill Hitler by Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg gets a quick look-in but it needed clearer embedding in the storyline (or leaving out altogether). As it was, references were made and then put to one side.

It is of course a fascinating subject and the reader can certainly pick up details of life around that time. Hitler himself was vegetarian and seemed to have a quite fragile constitution. Her Hidden Life by V S Alexander also creates a story around the life of Hitler’s tasting crew, this time creating fictional character Magda Ritter – and this author, too, was inspired by the story of Margot Wölk.

An interesting novel about Rosa, one of Hitler’s food tasters (to make sure he wasn’t poisoned). I’ve read many novels based around those who suffered during World War One, but fewer, if any, of normal German people during the war. So this was intriguing from that point of view.

The story held me, mostly; I got a bit bored with Rosa at a few points and read faster than I normally do. The ending felt strange, jumping in time so swiftly that I had to reread the paragraphs a few times to work out what was happening.

The author conveyed a sense of loss well. One I’m glad I read.

This book was just not for me. I struggled to engage with the characters and gave up reading part way through.

A refreshing take on the perennial topic of WW2. Written from the perspective of a normal German person , caught in the horror of war but not persecuted or fanatical .

This is a slower paced novel but evocative of the time and all the more powerful for being based on a real woman.

The ending is weirdly incongruous stylistically and seemingly tacked on but a small quibble .

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of Rosella Postorino’s ‘The Women at Hitler’s Table’ in exchange for an honest review. It’s ebook and audiobook editions are already available with the hardback edition due out in the U.K. on 14 November.

Originally published in Italy in 2018 it was translated from the Italian by Leah Janeczo. In the USA it has the alternative title: ‘At the Wolf’s Table’.

In 2014 the author read an article about Margot Wölk, Hitler’s last living food taster. While Frau Wölk passed away before Rosella Postorino could contact her, she was inspired to write this novel about the women who served as food tasters for Hitler.

1943, East Prussia. Twenty-six year old Rosa Sauer has lost both her parents and her husband, Gregor, is away fighting at the Russian front. Then she is conscripted along with nine other local women to serve as food tasters for Hitler at the Wolfsshanze – his hidden headquarters where he has become increasingly paranoid about being poisoned.

Rosa narrates the story as a senior citizen, which gives the novel the feeling of a memoir. While fictional, Rosella Postorino clearly researched Hitler’s time at Wolfsshanze and the information available about the women who served as his foodtasters.

I certainly appreciated the story of Rosa and her relationships with the other women in the group and the tension they faced daily with each mouthful they ate. Some of the group clearly worshipped Hitler, while others were more opposed to him though they could not express such opinions openly. Rosa also relates details of Claus von Stauffenberg’s failed assassination attempt.

I found this a strong character-driven novel that related a bleak tale linked to this little known aspect of the war. It was quite slow in terms of pacing, but would expect that given that it was reflecting a true story rather than being a thriller. It certainly held my attention.

It is a novel that I would expect to be popular with reading groups given the scope for discussion on various themes that it provides.

I’ve read a few books about the wars this year, it’s been a bit of a theme. With so much already written about this dark period of history, it feels amazing that there are still so many unique stories to be told. Which, of course, is ridiculous, as so many people were affected, and each of them has a story to tell.

This is a fictional account of the lives of women who tasted food for Hitler towards the end of the war, when he feared people were trying to poison him. It tells the story of Rosa, who has left Berlin for the countryside for her safety, only to become embroiled in the terrifying and dangerous job of food tasting.

While this is fictional, and not based on any particular survivor story, it presents a reality so believable, you can imagine it did happen. The fear of eating poisoned food battling with the benefit of the pay and the food - at once giving the women life, while always threatening to take it away - is a fascinating focal point, as are the stories of survival, love and loss going on around it.

An interesting perspective on the Second World War and a bleak, but fascinating story of how ordinary lives are irrevocably changed by war.

I am really interested in WW2 and enjoy related fiction. I had never read anything about this particular part of history and it is really a potentially fascinating insight into Hitler's inner circle. Unfortunately I learned very little from this novel. I found it to be a little slow and not very well- written.

Rosa has lost her parents and her Berlin flat in the bombing of 1944. She moves to south east Germany to be with her parents in-law, her husband is away in the army. In the forest near her in-laws' home is Hitlers rural retreat. A group of ten women is rounded up to be tasters of Hitler's food to avoid him being poisoned. The novel largely revolves around the dynamics of the group of tasters and how they interact with their captors -although they are paid they have no choice about their employment. compelling and well written, it is well researched and covers the time of the Von Stauffenburg bomb plot of summer 1944. It gives a view of the attitudes of non Nazi party Germans in the late stages of the war..

Based on real events (although a work of fiction) the book tells the story of Rosa, a young German woman who is selected to be one of Hitler’s food tasters.He was paranoid about being poisoned, so all his food was tasted before being served. It’s a slow read where things happen slowly. Relationships are built between the women and the guards responsible for them during their paid employment. It’s major themes are guilt and loss which makes for a sad read at times.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review - thanks to Netgalley and Random House

I had high hopes for this book and it sounded a treat, an emotional rollercoaster if you like. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite pan out. The promising and intriguing blurb doesn’t quite translate onto the page. The first and major issue is the pace of the book. The book is very slow paced, almost torturous at times and I really struggle to wade through it. This was caused by the fact it took about 150 pages to emotionally connect with Rosa. This is not great considering the book is only 352 pages long. I expected to connect much sooner. This is a massive chunk to wade through before I feel connected to the main character. Not great. The book discusses the experiences of fictional characters based on real people during the Third Reich but never really connects to the horror or darkness of the events. I always felt like the author held us at arm’s length. This created distance and affected my enjoyment of the book. I also had issues with the third section of the book which seemed to be written by different person. Rosa’s choice in the end of cowardly and I felt the ending was a cop-out. This book had massive potential which never comes about because the author chose to play it safe.

A fascinating if shocking book that tells the tale of the women forced to be Hitlers food tasters. The story is, as expected, very bleak but at the same time rather addictive. A very unique historical story that illustrates a perhaps lesser known horror story from WW2.

Based on historical research of Hitler’s personal food tasters, The Women at Hitler’s Table presents a fictionalised account of the humiliation, degradation and total control exerted over these ten women by their Nazi SS guards. Narrated from the perspective of the central character, Rosa, the close bonds of survival forged by the women expose some shocking and life threatening secrets.

3.5 stars

A raw, honest story of an area of WW2 that was previously unknown to me. Based on the true story of Margot Wölk. The only downside for me was the too-ing and fro-ing of the storyline which made it a little confusing and disjointed at times. Otherwise, a refreshingly original and poignant read with great characterisation.

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

The author, Rosella Postorino, has written a beautiful and haunting novel featuring Rosa Sauer. I felt sorry for her and enjoyed following her journey as she came to terms with her new life in Gross Partsch. Picked by the Mayor, every day she is taken to barracks where she and the other tasters are forced to eat meals cooked for Hitler. People want to kill Hitler by any means possible, not even his food is safe. If the food is fine, the women survive and can go back to their families. There is always a chance that the food has been poisoned and they will not survive the meal.

Over the next few years Rosa is faced with her husband going missing, a friends’ unwanted pregnancy, the unwelcome attentions of an SS Officer, and an assassination attempt on Hitler involving her friends’ husband. I’m not sure she always made the right decisions but I can’t imagine being a German living at this time, especially in such close proximity to Hitler.

The first two parts of the book I found were quite slow paced. The third part details Rosa’s escape back to Berlin and what happened to her next. Like Margot Wölk, Rosa escaped the Soviet destruction of the Wolfsshanze and surrounding areas, which left all the real food tasters dead. Her life continued in Berlin, forever shaped by her experiences as a food taster for Hitler.