HEIMAT

This was a really good read that was well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters that I really took too. The plot had obviously been well researched but was still engaging to the reader. It is a herat-wrenching read at times, but one that is definitely worth reading.

521 pages

5 stars

Four young men leave their heimat (villages or homes), in Germany in 1929 for various reasons. They sail on the great ship Bremen on her maiden voyage in third class steerage. Mathias, a baker, Josef, a watchmaker, Edo a Jewish man and Feliks a Polish farmer strike up a friendship that will last their entire lives. On the same ship will be Willy Ernst, a bully from the same heimat and Peter Rust, an American professor at a Pennsylvania University.

When Willy Ernst shoves Peter Rust on to the tracks at the train station, the four young men rescue him. This incident ties them together for a lifetime.

What follows is a drama of the struggle of being an immigrant in a strange land where one does not know the language and faces distrust and discrimination. We also experience friendship, prohibition, the depression, intrigue, war, heartache and triumph. The book also cites letters from home. It shows the rise and fall of Hitler and his terrible policies and his extreme racism. and the hopes of the average citizens. The letters outline post-war Germany and the terrible cost to the average citizen of Hitler’s megalomania. It includes the terrible building of the Wall between West and East Germany and its subsequent triumphant removal.

This book is very well written and plotted. It is laid out linearly from 1929 to the 1960’s plus. It closely follows these families, their hopes and dreams and disappointments. We come to intimately know the characters involved. We are actually in the room with them witnessing their actions and hearing their words. I truly loved the novel. I certainly hope Mr. Marzell decides to keep writing.

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this engaging book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.

As a descendent of German immigrants over several generations, this is especially interesting. The view of those on the ground makes for good and terrible stories. Hardly anyone went back to Europe if they made it to Canada or the USA or Brazil. But the homeland or Heimat never leaves you, no matter what generation you're in.

This was an interesting look at my past and how history is told and retold by those who experience it. Creative non-fiction, probably.

Would be especially interesting reading for those who went through WWII or are listening to stories from Grandma and Grandpa about those days, whether they were in Germany, the rest of Europe, or in the USA.