nanopas reviewed Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
Started off strong, slow-paced after the halfway mark
4 stars
The first half of the book is very well-written (or shall I say, well translated). It does an excellent job of setting up an environment of fear and distrust in 1940s Berlin. I also liked that it does not focus solely on the protagonists - Otto and Anna Quangel. There's also the postwoman Eva, her husband and neighbour, Borkhausen, the Persnickes, Quangel's son's girlfriend, Frau Rosenthal and Judge Fromm, etc. The fact that it is based on a real event, makes the book all the more poignant to read. However, once the Quangels have dropped their first anti-Hitler postcards and the police have gotten involved, the writing got somewhat slow paced and drab. That being said, I would still highly recommend this book.
The first half of the book is very well-written (or shall I say, well translated). It does an excellent job of setting up an environment of fear and distrust in 1940s Berlin. I also liked that it does not focus solely on the protagonists - Otto and Anna Quangel. There's also the postwoman Eva, her husband and neighbour, Borkhausen, the Persnickes, Quangel's son's girlfriend, Frau Rosenthal and Judge Fromm, etc. The fact that it is based on a real event, makes the book all the more poignant to read. However, once the Quangels have dropped their first anti-Hitler postcards and the police have gotten involved, the writing got somewhat slow paced and drab. That being said, I would still highly recommend this book.