City of Women by David R. Gillham

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City of Women  by David R. Gillham


                Sigrid Schroder is one of the many women waiting for her husband to come home from war in Berlin in 1943. The wireless keeps saying that the war is almost won, yet the bombs continue to come and the air sirens continue to wail. In the meantime Sigrid has taken a lover, a Jewish lover named Egon, who she has fallen in love with. She has also befriended a young woman by the name of Ericha, who she comes to find out is part of a network of people aiding Jews and criminals as they flee the country. Her knowledge of the crimes has turned her into an accessory and she has decided not to stand idly by but to become a part of the network even though it spells danger for everyone involved.
                Can I just say that I loved that this novel took place in Berlin? I absolutely did. It heightened the suspense of the novel knowing that everything was taking place in the heart of the Nazi capital. Here we have Sigrid who lives with her mother in law, is cheating on her husband and starts supporting the resentment. Her mother in law dislikes, her neighbors are nosy and she doesn’t trust her only friend. She is testing herself and her limits all while in the middle of committing crimes that could likely get her whole family killed. I liked her. She was a well-developed character with obvious flaws but I was drawn to her and as the story progressed and intensified I was rooting for her, scared for her and proud of her. In times of war, you have to constantly reevaluate what you stand for and she was constantly doing that. It was obvious she was becoming stronger and I admired that. It lent itself to a great story.

                Now how is this historical fiction novel set in World War II Germany different from any other novel of the same genre? I have no idea. I haven’t read them all but I will say that this one was very suspenseful and filled with drama. It focused on the women waiting at home and that was a view point I wasn’t familiar with. It was also filled with suspense, a good helping of backstabbing and rumor mongering with a little forbidden sex thrown in for good measure. It was a page turner, filled with unexpected plot twists, a sense of danger and a touch of helplessness. No one can imagine how they would react in these situations but I thought Gillham produced an extremely telling rendition of what life may have been at this time. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it to fans of historical fiction.  

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