Absolutely loved this one, as did most of the group. Even the one or two who didn't... well, there's always someone who never finishes anything, right? Still we had a great discussion about these unusual characters. Wish I could read it/discover it again for the first time.

Beautifully written, haunting, thought-provoking. Another view of German society leading up to and through WWII, as experienced by memorable, flawed and very human characters.

Very hard to read. Started the book but kept stopping and not interested in the outcome. Not engaging for me personally.

The main story was good. The detail about Germany from the end of WWI to the end of WWII was great. However, it moved slowly, and there was a lot of stuff that you just really wondered why it needed to be there. The rape scene, for example - is economic upheaval, insanity, death, Hitler, the Holocaust and two world wars not enough drama for you? At some point it began to feel a bit contrived or overdone.