The coolest, smartest book clubbers in town!

(Show this to your friend who thinks we are old gray-haired ladies!) 

Comments from our host Roz:

 "Man's inhumanity to man...around  forever, sadly.  Casual antisemitism of the German middle class in the 1930's is transformed into state-sponsored persecution.   What would you do? Would you be complacent?  Show humaneness?  Have moral commitment to become actively engaged and try to save some of those who are being persecuted?  Sigrid Schroder made a choice.    

(vocabulary to note)                                                                                

MISCHLING-less than 100 percent Aryan offspring. 

CATCHER-Jews working for the Gestapo. Who turned-in other Jews, for benefits and privileges. 

U-BOATS-Jews who have submerged beneath the surface of the city's daily life."                                  

            A good read about moral responsibility!  ROZ

Comments from Kelly P - always insightful:

"The beginning of the book was slow but I felt the plot picked up about halfway through. The story and setting were very interesting and I appreciatedseeing WWII through German citizens' eyes. We read that the author wanted to provoke conversation and the "what would I do?" question.

I believe he succeeded in that and I think our group would agree. It was interesting to hear our members' thoughts on that topic!

My biggest problem with the book was with the characters. My favorite books have well developed characters, but in this book, I had trouble connecting with any of them. I wanted to love Sigret and feel close to her, but I never did. Her actions were admirable and thought-provoking, but I would have liked to know more about what she was thinking that led her to make the very difficult decisions she made throughout the book. 

All in all, a good read and discussion."

Many thanks to our virtual book club member Robynne for her comments!

 "I thought of the "what would you do if" with a patient today, who had a Sigrid of sorts in her life. Basically, it was an angel father-figure neighbor, who took her out of an abusive situation as a teen and let her come live with him. Had he not "done the right" thing, her poor spirit might have been crushed. So we have examples of this in our lives, too."