Those Who Save Us

Another novel set in Nazi Germany is “Those Who Save Us” by Jenna Blum. I enjoyed this moving story.

The narration takes two views. First, Anna, a young German woman that falls in love with and hides a Jewish man. When he is discovered and sent to Buchenwald, a pregnant Anna hides in a bakery basement. She is forced to do many things over the next few years to survive.

Fast forward to the future, where Anna’s daughter Trudy, tells her current day story. She struggles to understand her mother, not knowing what she has gone through and she has her own difficult love story.

The focus of this book is on secrets and survival. How far would you go to save your life and the life of your child?

On the positive side, I was really moved by a speech given by a Jewish survivor in the middle of the book. I relished Anna's story and how she was able to find strength to survive a difficult time in her life.  

I thought the ending could have been stronger, or that some of Trudy's story could have been truncated, as Anna's was more interesting. In fact, having the entire book about Anna's struggles may have been better.

Overall, I do reccommend this story if you enjoy touching historical fiction.