4/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: historical fiction, WWII, the Holocaust, slice-of-life stories, multiple POVs

This review has been posted to GoodReads and my blog.

TW: minor sexual assault, the Holocaust

This is a pretty quick read that I thought was fairly enjoyable. The beginning was a bit confusing, since we're immediately introduced to a lot of different narrators, but it's one of those things where things start making sense after each narrator has had a chapter or two. It's definitely a slice-of-life story, which I tend to not like that much, but I do think it's a nice end/beginning of year book and I do love historical fiction, so the lack of plot didn't bother me.

Ignoring the prologue, the book opens with Isaac, the watchmaker, as he's hiding a watch in his shop and making his way home. Isaac is someone who's already had a lot of loss and grief in his life, and he's already kind of in a bad place mentally when he's scooped up and brought to Dachau. Despite his grief, he's friendly to everyone and makes fast friends with another prisoner, the cook, a prisoner-gardener, a young child, etc., and so it was nice to see an older, grizzled character who wasn't a complete ass at the same time. I liked reading about Isaac fixing watches and other things, and it's clear he has a great appreciation for how things work.

Anna is a rather skittish character at the beginning, understandably. She's also suffered loss, though hers is more recent than Isaac's, and she's still dealing with it even as she tries to survive Dachau. She takes on somewhat of an older sister role for another prisoner, Nina, as well as for Friedrich. Anna looks for nice things where she can, such as in Greta's cooking or in the spring air, though it's often difficult for her to balance the pain and the beauty. Anna's a survivor, though, and her hope begins to show through as the book goes on. Anna does have a couple brushes with sexual assault, twice with Becher and another time with a guard, though luckily it doesn't get very far either time and isn't explicit.

Friedrich is the young son of the Bechers, and is freshly home from boarding school. He's caught between his childish curiosities, his parents' strict (and extremely Nazi) nature, and what he's able to see and discover for himself. I feel bad for Friedrich, considering neither of his parents seem to want to even be parents, and he's so lonely for just any company. It makes sense, then, that he begins befriending Isaac and Anna. I enjoyed seeing Friedrich's reckoning with what was going on in what is basically his backyard, as well as his decision to break away from his parents' beliefs.

The last narrator, who actually narrates through past tense letters, goes by J. A. L. and was a gardener at the Bechers' place before Anna and Isaac got there. I enjoyed the reading of his letters, though some of them did contain some disturbing anecdotes about the camp, as would be expected. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of a trip he went on with his father as a young teen. J and his dad were clearly close, he features in several anecdotes, and the letters function as both a vector of memory and as a way to introduce his lover to his father. Some of the early letters are kind of boring and drag on, but once J starts getting into some of his stories I enjoyed them a lot more.

For side characters, Greta was an absolute charm. She works for the Becher's as a cook, though she's from the nearby town and not the concentration camp, and is sympathetic to the prisoners. She's continually looking out for them and taking the blame for things as well as sneaking them food and drink to help them keep their strength and stay healthy (or, as healthy as possible). Nina is a prisoner in the same cabin as Anna, though she's about a decade younger. Despite having been in 3 other camps, Nina is more optimistic than Anna about their outlook, though she worries for the brother she was separated from. Levi is another prisoner who works at the Bechers', though he's only there when the gardens and yard need tending. If Nina is optimistic then Levi is 10x as optimistic, always smiling and cracking jokes, and just generally refusing to let the situation bring him down.

On the other side of things is Obersturmführer Becher himself, who is a nasty piece of work. He runs Dachau and clearly has no love of Jews, but he pulls from the camp to get most of his house staff. He gives Anna and Isaac smiles accompanied by threats and is just generally also horrible to his son as well, screaming at Friedrich and being a control freak. His wife, Liesl, is also a horrible person. She often freaks out about Anna and Isaac, and is terrible to Friedrich as well. She gets increasingly horrid as the book goes on, blaming people for things they had nothing to do with and falling into fits of either glazed eyes or screaming. Herr Schmidt is really the last side character and no one actually seems to like him. He struts about the Bechers' house like he owns it, bosses Friedrich around in the same way as his parents, and is terrible to Isaac and Anna.

There are two twists at the very end of the book, the first of which has more hints throughout the book than the second. I really enjoyed reading the epilogue because of the two twists, particularly the second one, and I thought Schabowski did a good job with hinting at both of them and drawing them out throughout the book.

One thing I wasn't entirely a fan of in the book was the hinting at a budding relationship between Anna and Isaac. At first I wondered if maybe I was just thinking there was a smaller age difference than there was, but Isaac is 60-something and Anna is 29. Their friendship is fine and I think it's very sweet, and honestly it could've been left at that and the book would've still been fine. There are a few references to them developing more romantic feelings for one another, though, and though it seems to be reciprocal, huge age gaps just aren't something I'm a fan of.

Overall I think it's a good book. I enjoyed the three main narrators' relationships with one another, barring the potential budding romance between Isaac and Anna, and I really liked reading J. A. L.'s letters. I took off a star because 1) as mentioned, I didn't like the potential Anna-Isaac romance, and 2) I enjoyed it, but it was a 'good/meh' book and not a 'great' book.

Heather Morris fans will not want to miss Carly Schabowski’s affecting, heart-breaking and powerful tale of love, courage and sacrifice: The Watchmaker of Dachau.

It’s 1945 and fear, sorrow and despair have become daily companions to good people everywhere who are struggling to survive in an unfair and unpredictable world. For a group of terrified men and women packed in a train travelling over the Bavarian countryside, the future has never seemed more insidious or uncertain as they wonder what tomorrow will bring. Among them, Jewish watchmaker Isaac knows that time is running out for him and wherever he is being taken to against his will, the only certainty he has is that he won’t be leaving it alive. But on arrival at the Dachau concentration camp, Isaac is shocked to his very core when he is pulled from the crowd and put up in the nearby household of Senior Officer Becher. Why was Isaac singled out like this? What is Becher planning? And what plans does the officer have for the Jewish watchmaker of Dachau?

Installed in the house Becher shares with his spoiled wife, Isaac immediately realises that this was not an act of charity on the officer’s behalf. But his skills in watch-making will prove useful to Becher and as long as the officer can find a use for him, than Isaac is safe. But once Becher has no more need of him, Isaac knows that a terrible fate awaits him. Until he meets Anna Reznick, who is employed as a servant by the Becher family. The two immediately strike up a friendship which quickly leads to something far deeper than either one of them imagined. But when Isaac makes a shocking discovery that puts his and Anna’s life in even more danger, he cannot help but wonder what price he will have to pay in the name of love?

Carly Schabowski’s The Watchmaker of Dachau is a haunting, atmospheric and intensely dramatic tale that will shock, devastate, enthrall and captivate readers and have them feeling every single emotion which the characters in this wonderfully written novel go through. Carly Schabowski writes with great depth, compassion and feeling about finding strength in difficult times, the power of kindness and the reserves of courage which we find within ourselves when going through difficult times.

A brilliantly nuanced tale about resilience, redemption and love, Carly Schabowski’s The Watchmaker of Dachau is a superb novel I won’t forget in a hurry.

The blurb of this book says that it is based on a true story. I've not been able to find the person(s) whose life is depicted in these pages. But it does make for a very interesting attempt to tell an honest Holocaust story.

The book is told from multiple perspectives: an old Jewish man Isaac, a young Jewish woman Anne, a German boy Friedrich, and an anonymous Jewish man who narrates his version of the events unfolding around him through his letters. Each character has a unique voice and hence each of them revealed a different aspect of the war. I enjoyed the first three perspectives a lot. Isaac and Anne bring such realism to the horrors of the concentration camps, some of which were absolutely unbelievable to accept. Friedrich's pov is unique not just because of his age but because of his ethnicity too. Having a kind German voice in Holocaust fiction is a rarity. The fourth anonymous narrator does have an important role to play but a lot of his narration simply dragged and hence reduced the pace of the original story. 

There are many other interesting characters in the book such as Greta the cook and Herr Becher the German commandant. This is a book that seems to be driven ahead entirely by its characters than the plot. 

I did enjoy a major part of the book (except for the aforementioned 4th narrator) but found the ending a letdown. The picture-perfect movie ending spoilt the overall impact of the book for me.  Don't get me wrong; the book is still a heartbreaking and seemingly realistic read all the Holocaust. But the end didn't impact me as much as the rest of the book did.

The book definitely pulls at your heartstrings. The story starts towards the end of WW2 and tells the story from 3 POVs Isaac and Anna who are in a concentration camp but have been chosen to work for the Commandant of the camp and Friedrich who is the son of the Commandant. 

This story provides a glimpse into the lives of 2 Jewish adults and how they came to be at the camp and shares their memories and stories of happier times in their lives and the way in which they are treated by the Commandant and his wife. Friedrich’s POV shows a child growing up in a hostile home and learning from the secret friendships he makes with both Anna and Isaac as he questions the world around him at a time when it was most dangerous to do so. 

All characters interact with Greta the housekeeper who is not Jewish and the kindness and courage she shows in small ways to help Isaac and Anna in the most horrendous of times.

There is a message of positivity throughout the book that the small things are important and that you should take joy in the things that you can when you can. Not to compare present day to the events of WW2 I felt this message was especially poignant reading this story in 2021 during a global pandemic when so many are suffering.

The story is well written and the characters are developed well, which made me a reader feel like i knew them which certainly triggers an emotional response from their story. 

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. 

#NetGalley #TheWatchmakerofDachau

The Watchmaker of Dachau by Carly is a historical fiction book set in Dachua, one of the Nazi death camps during World War Two. I have read Carly Schabowski's work previously and loved it, so I had nothing stopping me with this book. 
The prologue begins in Cornwall 1996,  and soon transports us to 1945 to the death camp Dachau. Issac Schüller arrives and is singled out to use his watchmaking skills in the household of senior Officer Becher. Issac realises he will only stay alive while he is useful. Anna Reznick is maid to the Bechers and finds she has a real friend in Issac, even in the horrific circumstances they are in. The discovery of a pile of letters puts both Issac and Anna in danger.
The story is told from multiple points of view which helps us get to know the characters more and creates depth to the setting. A story that is all things at different times while reading it, horrific but yet touching. It is stories like this that are needed in todays world, if only to refresh peoples memories that it wasn't just about the camps and the atrocities, it was about the people and their strength while in these terrible places. They weren't just numbers or a religion, they had families and dreams. This book evoked so much emotion for me, the kindness and the hope of the occupants hurt so much knowing that so many million Jewish people were brutally killed during this time. 
Needless to say I was transported to Issac and Anne's world and the writing was beautiful, and even though the suffering was almost tangible the fact that the people could still have hope and have little moments was heartwarming.
 A book that put me through the emotional wringer and back again and is a beautiful and emotional read, a powerful story that begs to be read and one that is so thought provoking that it lingers qfter you have put it down.
 Thankyou to Bookouture and NetGalley for the book to write this review today.

I love the way the author tells us this story from multiple points of view. Each of those points of view are very important. You hear from Isaac who is the glorious watchmaker and can fix anything elder character. 29 year old Anna’s point of view from inside the house of the Bechers is of courage and kindness, although I’m pretty sure she would tell you she’s not very courageous! The third character you are told the story from is 11 year old Friedrich Becher. He has been taught by his parents (who share no love for him) to despise Jews. People he has never met. Friedrich learns what is really going on beyond his garden wall at the Dachau camp and is repulsed by it. He becomes firm friends with Anna and Isaac, who listen and have time for him, unlike his parents.

Isaac works all day long fixing watches in the cold shed down in the garden. He finds some old letters under the floor which could spell trouble for him and Anna who he shares his discovery with.

It’s a book that will absorb into you, will bring emotions and tears. You will wonder where the time went! There are a couple of parts of the book that shocked me so please be warned it’s not for the faint-hearted. It’s such a fantastic read, that I’ve found it hard to get the words right for this review. Highly recommended and a well deserved 5 stars for the author.

This was heartbreaking, a real tear jerker. It wasn't just another concentration camp story. We see love, loss and self preservation. Even when life has caused Anna and Issac to be constantly guarded, constantly on their toes, they learn that they are never truly safe. I devoured this book. I didn't expect each twist and I really didn't want it to end.

This book surpassed my expectation of the book description. I have read quite a few books on the “death camps “ so I was thinking it would be centered more around the Dachau camp. However, that is not quite the case. 
The book is multiple narrative and you have Anna’s voice,( she is a maid in the home of a Senior Officer Becher), Isaac ( a watchmaker and tinkerer in the shed of the home of Senior Officer Becher, and Friedrich young son of Senior Officer Becher. 
These three lives become interwoven around the death Camp Dachau in a relationship that one would not truly comprehend unless they had to endure such atrocities. The human indignities that were thrust upon this one select group is unfathomable. 

The author has written with such inflection that I felt as though I felt the human spirit disappearing at times, but then one word would boost the emotions to another level. The author has such confidence in her writing style that her characters leap from the book into your thoughts and I could not put down this book till I read it from cover to cover!

I definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Although I regularly read historical fiction novels set during the era of World War 2, I have always avoided the stories set in the death camps. However, because I enjoyed Carly’s previous book, I decided to read this one.

As you would expect there is a lot of heartbreak and tragedy in this book. The camp leader, Becher, is using Anna and Isaac as ‘slave labour’ to help run his home more efficiently, which leads to his young son, Friedrich meeting both of them and questioning the Nazi propaganda against the Jewish people.

We discover how Anna and Isaac ended up in Dachau camp, and the stories of their family and friends too. The story is mostly set towards the end of the war, as the Allied troops are heading across mainland Europe, to try to rescue the people who have been imprisoned by the Nazi regime. Isaac and Anna try to help each other, and their roommates to survive the hunger and the punishments.

Carly’s storytelling swept me into the past, on a very emotional journey. Quickly the characters became important and I didn’t want to put my Kindle down. I stayed up late reading this, a sign of a good book. The ending was a mixture of happy and sad.

This is a non spoiler review, so I’m not going to give any of the twists in the tale away. It was sadly all too believable, that something like this could have happened. Isaac and Anna’s story will stay with me for a long time. I’m happy to recommend this book.

How is it that authors find a new and heartbreaking way to write about a time period you think has been written about time and again? Everytime I think I've read my last WWII book another gem comes along (recently The Children's Train and The Paris Library). I loved this one and am glad to be introduced to this author and will be looking for other books 📚 thank you for the opportunity to read this story.

I have always "enjoyed" (although not sure if that is the correct word to use) books based in concentration camps and have found myself fully immersed in the lives of people who lived through those horrific years. This book was no different, but the main location this time, being Dachau and not Auschwitz. 

Like others, this is a heartbreaking story. It's full of suffering, death, but also full of warm friendships that have formed through these times of adversity. 

Isaac is the "Watchmaker" and is sent to work at the house of Sturmbannfuhrer Becher. This wasn't just to fix watches but to do all sorts of tasks that was demanded of him. Also introduce into the mix, warm characters like Greta, the cook from the local village; Anna, also from the camp, who works in the house alongside Greta and Friedrich, the son of the Sturmbannfuhrer. 

The author has built some great relationships amongst the characters of both the camp and the household. I have to admit to tears in parts. I liked how the author had split chapters into the different characters, allowing you to get to know the character better. 

The only part that I didn't always feel connected to, was the characters written about J.A.L. You find out more about who this relates to at the end of the book. Because I didn't see how it fitted in, I got a bit bored with it. 

All in all I thought this was a well written book, full of great people; full of historical intrigue and an insight into the lives of those that made it, or didn't make it, through those horrific times.

The Watchmaker of Dachau is the second novel from Carly Schabowski and it takes us to the heart of the concentration camp Dachau, just outside Munich, where unspeakable atrocities occurred during World War Two. The story opens with the briefest of prologues which normally give us the merest of information to get our interest piqued. Not much at all was given away here except that in 1996 in Cornwall, a woman is waiting for someone or something and is finally facing up to something. To be honest, by the time I reached the very end I had completely forgotten that the prologue had ever taken place. 

I found myself jolted back to the modern day having been completely immersed in the story that unfolded behind the walls of the camp much of what took place there having been kept secret from the world at large at the time. The ending did tie in nicely with the prologue but I found it to be rushed and would have liked even just a few more pages of exploration allowing me the time to soak in the consequences and developments I was reading of. But aside from that I found this book to be much better than the author’s debut. The chapters were short and intense which made me fly through the story and I read it more or less in two sittings. There is a story within a story taking place here, not dual timeline, more so they run alongside each other as the main characters endure suffering, brutality, loss and devastation.

The focus is on two people who come to be interred in the camp because of the simple fact of their religion. Isaac and Anna are very different in age, he being in his 60’s and Anna is in her late 20’s.Yet a friendship is forged through circumstance and it is one full of hope, love and strength as they try to sustain each other through harrowing times, danger and terror. Loyalty, sacrifice, kindness, hope and human connection are the main traits they find in each other and as they navigate the last year or so of the war in the camp they come to rely on each other for support, courage and stability. Theirs is not a love story and in a way I was glad of this, it’s been done before in books of this genre. Instead the focus is on simple human interaction and connection and through the supporting cast of characters they aim to make it to the bitter end to see freedom no matter what horrors, deprivation, starvation and traumas that are endlessly thrown in their direction. When all else is lost, hope and love stay strong.

Initially I did find the story jumped around a bit too much from character to character until it found its rhythm and pace and then settled down. The chapters go between Anna, Isaac and young Friedrich, the son of the camp commandant. Isaac had escaped capture for the majority of the war, he remained hidden away in his tiny village. His shop no longer open, yet he ventured there to look at the watches and all the things he has fixed in the past. His profession will see him through the tough times as he captured and sent to Dachau. We’ve all read the details of the various camps that existed at the time and here no detail was spared. To Isaac, it’s a minefield and he can’t comprehend that this has happened to him. He thanks God that his wife Hannah had long passed away and did not have to endure this torture and humiliation. 

As a reader over time you can become hardened to the different descriptions of what the prisoners went through. They do not lose their shock or their impact but just when you think you have read it all, having read so many books in this genre, there was one scene which was just utterly horrific and barbaric. I cried out in shock as it was just so difficult to read and then with a turn of the page when I thought I couldn’t be shocked even more there was a description which just made my stomach churn. I had to stop for a moment or two before I could read on as it was so just so brutal and made me feel such sadness and anger for what went on. 

Isaac’s story takes us to a different area of the camp few prisoners would have known about. The camp commandant Beecher confiscated the tools he uses for watch repairs. Beecher was an abusive, cruel, sadistic man who even his son lived in fear of. He had an ultimate plan for Issac and he finds himself working at the house on site where the Beecher family live. Confined to a shed doing any repairs Beecher asks of Isaac, he soon meets Anna. She too is a prisoner but has been tasked to work as a maid in the house. She brings food and water to Isaac and they strike up a friendship because they know that their life hangs by a thread. That at any moment on the whim of a guard or Beecher they could be gone and their light extinguished forever. They recollect their life stories to each other, the freedom they once took for granted, the love and support of their families and how they imagine freedom once more will be theirs. They are constantly on edge and who wouldn’t be given their situation. They try to do everything right but they never know if a certain day will be their last.

In the shed, underneath the floorboards, Issac discovers a hidden bundle of letters, drawings and diary entries. He decides to read these and soon learns they were written only the year before in that very shed. Every so often we have chapters in the form of letters and we have a new story emerging. One of true love as the author writes to the person he or she loves the most. It’s a beautifully written love story that gives Anna and Isaac comfort yet they are keen to know what happened to the author. I was hoping for a bit more of a search to uncover the answers behind the letters from Isaac and Anna but this couldn’t have happened as they hadn’t a lot to go on and really through weakness from lack of food and the panic and fear that existed daily for them this searching and uncovering a mystery couldn’t really happen. 

I did think the aspect of the story with the letters when all was ultimately revealed was so bittersweet and heartbreaking and I had to re-read a page or two several times to make sure I was understanding the connections. This is where I thought things were rushed a hit and bit more fleshing out of the explanation was needed. Near the very end, I did think hold on had I read this before in that something happens and I could have sworn I read more or less the exact same thing in another book. I pushed this idea aside as I knew it was a new book but I thought it was strange that I had this real feeling of déjà vu from another book. The name of which I can’t recall at the moment.

Yes Anna and Isaac are strong and inspiring, and I don’t think I will look at lemons in the same way again, but for me who really was a stand out character was Friedrich. He returns home from school having been called back by his father. He has no clue why and has never been to this house occupied by his parents. No doubt about it there are very strong echoes of Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas when it comes to Friedrich. That’s what instantly sprang to mind when I first encountered him, the innocence of him as he has no clue what exists beyond the boundaries of his garden wall. He is not allowed to enter certain rooms or venture to certain places on the grounds. He knows Anna and Isaac are Jews and that he is meant to intensely dislike them but yet he hasn’t that within him to do. He sees them as normal people which they are and he has no idea of the camp or what goes on there. 

Friedrich is lonely and longs for friendship and love because he gets none of this from his parents. I loved Friedrich as a character, he was the total anthesis of his parents and what he does for Anna and Isaac was just so beautiful and heartwrenching. The author did a brilliant job of showing how clueless Friedrich was to what was going on around him and how he saw the good in everything because he knew no different. 

The Watchmaker of Dachau was a very good read and one I enjoyed immensely although enjoyed is the wrong word given the subject matter. It’s an important, memorable story that will linger with one long after the turn of the last page.

This story is a historical fiction about world war II.

This is a first time read of this author and im glad I gave her a try.

It has dual POV which I like because there's different point of views from different characters.

This book was emotional in some places and full of hope in others.

Highly recommend

This book caught my attention because I love stories set in this time period. This was an endearing story of love, courage, and friendship. Although it is heartbreaking to read about what these people had to endure, the authors ability to draw attention to the small things in life that matter was very meaningful. I enjoyed watching the characters grow because of what each person had to offer so selflessly. The alternating perspectives of the characters did not take away but add to the story line. It really helped to see how each persons actions and words affected the others. So many good lessons can be learned from this book. I am glad I read this book. If we can learn just a few things from these characters, our enjoyment level of life will increase. Thank you Carly Schabowski for sharing this story.

A powerful Historical World War Two novel.
An unforgettable novel of human kindness,
What a emotional read inspired  by a true story.  The Watchmaker of Dachau is truly a haunting,heart wrenching story.  There is hope, friendships, despair, tears, sadness and suspense as well as inspirational moments.  
In this terrible, atrocious time friendships were made along with the perseverance to survive.
Well written, well researched....highly recommend you pick up this book.
Thank you to NetGallery, Bookouture and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.  All opinions expressed are my own.

The Watchmaker of Dachau takes place during World War I

The story will drum up memories of The Boy in Striped Pajamas for those who have read it. Two of the main characters, Anna and Isaac, are prisoners of a concentration camp. The both are given the task of serving a nearby German military family, Anna as a maid and Isaac has the mechanical handyman. Through their eyes they watch a high-ranking German officer and his family start to become panicked over the news that the Americans will be arriving to liberate the Dachau camp. The family also has a young son, who is neglected by his mother and father, but bonds with Anna and Isaac secretly.  The story then follows these people through their hardships and glimmers of light. 

The story offers a different perspective on how the prisoners of the camps may view other prisoners who may have “easier” jobs. I thought that this was an interesting perspective. I appreciated how the author told the stories of these people.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, for me though it did not stand out. WWII and the Holocaust are subjects that written about a lot in fiction, so I found myself thinking of those stories while reading this one.

A woman gets ready to leave her house and realizes she has forgotten her watch.  This leads her down memory lane.
While walking home from his watch repair shop Isaac Schiller blacks out and then awakens on a train platform.  He knows the Jews have been disappearing but not sure what is happening.  
Anna Reznich is in the Jewish concentration camp and has been loaned out to Officer Beecher family as a housemaid. She serves Officer Becher, his wife Lisle and Frederick, the eight year old son.. 
Upon arrival to the camp, Isaac’s watchmaking tools fall out of his suit and Officer Beecher recognizes his skill and gets Isaac assigned work detail to his household.  This leads to finding secrets that put his and Anna’s life in great danger.
This is a page turning read that is definitely worth reading. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC and great read.
#Netgalley #Bookouture #TheWatchmakerofDachau

I haven't read anything as touching or heartfelt as The Watchmaker of Dachau in years. This poignant tale emphasized the physical and emotional struggles that the prisoners of concentration camps experienced, yet at the same time, focused on the joy and comfort they found within each other during the darkest of times. Schabowski's storytelling was absolutely effortless---as I read through the characters' thoughts and daily routines, I felt myself growing so close to them and was moved by their bravery and optimism.

Watchmaker, Isaac; maid, Anna; and Freidrich, son to Sturmbannfuhrer Becher, all find themselves trapped in the confines of a house where they know they are unwelcome and unwanted. Anna struggles to compose herself in front of Frau Becher, who makes her a nervous wreck, but she knows delivering her dinner plate without dropping anything could be the deciding factor in whether she lives or dies. Isaac, a watchmaker by trade, has been requested by Herr Becher to fix everything from his grandfather clock, to pocket watches, to cars. He knows his fellow prisoners are slaving away at the camp every day, so he finds solace in being able to use his mind and keep his thoughts occupied with repairing the watches. Freidrich Becher, their young son, struggles to understand his family's present circumstances; his father is unnecessarily harsh with him, his mother would prefer if he didn't exist, and he can't understand why he can't see his best friend from school or play too far away from the house. Their three varying perspectives and experiences bring them together to form an amazingly powerful friendship that brought me to tears more than once.

I have personally visited Dachau and seen the abominations that occurred there firsthand, which made this book all the more special to me. Visiting a concentration camp is an unforgettable experience and made me ponder the evil and hatred that lives within humans; most of us want to push it away, but some embrace it, and when they choose to act upon it, we see the horrors people are capable of. I'm so inspired by the strength of each and every prisoner of the concentration camps. This book did an incredible job of accurately portraying the terrible conditions the Nazis created and their detestable treatment of Jews; while focusing on the empowerment Jews felt in sharing life memories with one another, attempting to keep their good humor, and not letting their captors rob them of the dreams they still carry for their lives. I will hold onto this story---the mistreatment that made me angry, the longing for better that made me hopeful, and the simple joy of empathizing with another human that made me smile & shed happy tears.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Carly Schabowski, and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC of The Watchmaker of Dachau in exchange for my honest review!

"The Watchmaker of Dachau" follows three storylines, Isaac, a watchmaker, Anna, a maid, and Friedrich, a Nazi commander's son. The setting of the story naturally prepares us for a tragic tale. Dachau is one of the many concentration camps controlled by the Nazi's in World War II. Isaac is a watchmaker, and due to his skill, he does not succumb to the horrors of working at Dachau. Isaac finds himself tasked to fix odds and ends at the camp's commander's house. There he meets Anna and Friedrich.

Isaac is introduced right away and captured right away. The story is highlighting the characters' struggles while in the camp and how each person copes individually. I appreciate the focus on the characters and how they can survive through such atrocities. The novel is based on the latter portion of the camps' existence because there is a constant fear of the Americans arriving. This offers a new perspective on a tragic event in history because the characters have a glimmer of hope in the distance. 

Thank you to Net Galley, Bookouture, and Carly Schabowski for the ARC. I will be highlighting my summary on Instagram (@lyatslibrary)

This book focuses on three main characters and how their stories intertwine. First there is Isaac Schueller, the titular watchmaker. In the beginning of the novel, he is picked up off the streets and transported to Dachau. There, his watchmaking skills come in handy. The overseer of the camp who lives on the property with his family happens to be in need of clock repairs. He has a grandfather clock that was given to him by Hitler himself. After Isaac is able to fix the clock, the camp overseer decides to keep him around the home to perform other mechanical repairs for him, such as fixing cars and his sons train set.

This brings us to the second character, Anna. She is also imprisoned at Dachau, but she is brought to the overseer’s home daily to serve as an assistant to their housemaid. Anna is a kind 29 year-old woman who the family’s son takes a liking to.

Finally, there is Friedrich, the 12 year-old son of the overseer. He does not know anything of Dachau or most of the politics of the time. He comes to form a friendship of sorts with Isaac and Anna.

These characters meet because they are all brought to the camp and house against their will. Isaac and Anna are both Jewish camp prisoners, but Friedrich too is taken out of his boarding school against his will to live at the family’s home. It is Friedrich’s curiosity that binds the three main characters together.

Woven alongside their narrative, there are letters from an unknown source interspersed in the novel. These letters Isaac finds hidden in the garden shed where he is made to work. He shares these letters with Anna and they bond over the story as a form of escapism. The letters are from the previous gardener, but his identity is a mystery until the epilogue.

Overall, I thought the writing was very good and the relationships between the characters were pretty compelling. I found myself wanting to know how each of their individual stories would unfold.

Here I must disclose my own personal bias. I’ve studied the German History and the Holocaust at length in university. I will say, I read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas some years ago now and truly found myself hating the book.

This book is nothing like that. This book is definitely grounded in realism and doesn’t contain any scenes that really rely on a suspension of disbelief. While some scenes are set in the camp, the majority of the book takes place in the home. This book is really about the relationships between the characters at its core, as opposed to being a story about the Holocaust. Much more emphasis is placed on the characters’ interactions than the brutality around them. There are a few notable scenes in this that are the exception, and I would say those are the weak point of the book. For example, there is a scene where the letters discuss boiling bodies and Joseph Mengele (though they don’t name him). As a side note: I also didn’t particularly care for the reveal that the letter writer was gay. Gay men (both Jewish and gentile) faced specific and targeted persecution during the Holocaust that I feel should have been explored in more depth if it was to be included in the book.

While I would not go so far as to say that fiction should not be written about certain events, in the particular case of the Holocaust, I feel that fiction purporting to show the reality and brutality of events will never live up to real survivor accounts. As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. For this reason, I find the book’s strength to be the characters and the weakness to the the occasional focus on external events.

For anyone curious about the use of the Holocaust in works of fiction, I recommend this read from the Jewish Book Council: https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/on-the-future-of-holocaust-fiction