Those Who Save Us – SPOILER ALERT

Those Who Save Us – Jenna Blum

For years now I have been following Susan’s book club, always hearing the stories and gleaning books, but there was never an opening.  (Susan limits enrollment to 12 so everyone gets to pick a book) Finally, there was an opening and I’m in!!!!!  This book was the 1st book I read as an offical “Lit-Chick”!   I’m really looking forward to my 1st meeting on Monday night!

When I started this book I read almost 100 pages in 1 sitting.  And, it was good!  I was sure this was going to be a great quick, 5-star read.   It was a great read.  However, it took me longer than I wanted it to (almost a week) to read it so by the end I was frustrated with it. 

My friend Emily, also a newbie to the book club, posted her review of this book on Goodreads, it was very interesting because she saw things in the book that I didn’t.   Emily saw it as a book about Mother-Daughter Relationships, I saw it as a book about finding yourself.   I think book club on Monday is going to be interesting!

SPOILER ALERT – I can’t tell what I think w/o revealing details about the ending – if you think you want to read the book stop reading now!

Trudy was born in Germany right at the beginning of WWII.  Her mother was a good German, but her father was a Jew.  A Jew who was sent to the camps and eventually killed before Trudy even knew.  Her mother, Anna, never told anyone that Trudy was 1/2 Jewish and went into hiding and ended up playing a role in ending the war.  She also became the mistress of an SS officer which bough her safety during the war.  Trudy grew up thinking that she was the illigimate daughter of this SS officer.  She had no idea of her true identity.  Anna refused to discuss anything from the war. 

Trudy is trying desperately to figure out who she is and rectify and justify her people’s role in the Holocaust.  She finally does figure out that she is half Jewish, however this is at the end of the book and we never get to see how she reacted to this news, what did the knowledge that she was a German Jew do for her understanding of the war?  The end left me very unsatisfied.