On the surface, Sigrid Schröder is the model German soldier’s wife: She goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her meddling mother-in-law, all the while ignoring the horrific immoralities of the regime.
But behind this façade is an entirely different Sigrid, a woman of passion who dreams of her former Jewish lover, now lost in the chaos of the war. But Sigrid is not the only one with secrets—she soon finds herself caught between what is right and what is wrong, and what falls somewhere in the shadows between the two . . . -- Berkley
Last year, I read CITY OF WOMEN by David R. Gillham on my train trip to New York for BEA, and I couldn't believe how good this novel was. Truly, I was blown away by! The historical elements were fascinating, but so were the characters. Here's a little snippet from my review, "CITY OF WOMEN is historical fiction at its best. It has romance, intrigue, and suspense. It also just happens to take place during one of my all-time favorite time periods -- World War II." You can read the rest of my review here.
But I wasn't the only reader who was seriously impressed by this book. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, Kirkus Reviews named it a Best Book of 2012 and Slate deemed it one of the most overlooked books of 2012. It's even been optioned for film by writer/director Stanley Tucci and will be produced by the same company behind Winter’s Bone, Babel, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
As of today, CITY OF WOMEN is now available in paperback, and I have a copy to share with one lucky Booking Mama reader courtesy of the publisher. To enter, just fill out the form below before May 20th at 11:59 p.m. ET. I will randomly select and notify the winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you with U.S. addresses only. Good luck!
CITY OF WOMEN was a disappointment for me. That's putting it lightly. Yet I read so many good reviews of this book, like this one, that I have to wonder if they read the same thing I did. This is not a well written book.
ReplyDeleteThe dialog and many of the situations are just plain corny. The story is loaded with convenient coincidences. The woman who goes out of her way to help hide Jews in World War II Berlin is, at the same time, a tramp who can't get enough sex but pretends to be shocked about others' sexual experiences. She is a caricature, as are all the characters. None reacts as someone really would.
The author said he wanted to put ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. But that's not what this book is. These people are not ordinary; they're unrealistic and ridiculous.
I won this book through librarything.com. I requested it because I believed the reviews.
I remember how much you liked this one! Always so fun finding such enjoyable reads!
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