The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

*The Women in the Castle will be released Tuesday, March 28th!*

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. William Morrow, 2017. 368 pages.

*I received a physical ARC courtesy of HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.*

As some of you may know, I tend to be skeptical of World War II-themed books. I have read so many of them over the years that I slowly became burned out on the genre, and now I am very choosy about those that I do pick up. I am extremely pleased to report that The Women in the Castle was a WWII book that I really enjoyed!

This story centers on the postwar lives of three women: Marianne, Benita, and Ania. We do get a few chapters told from the perspective of Benita's son, Martin, but overall this book is told from the perspective of these three women. The content and plot of this particular story was very unique and refreshing to me. Most of the books I've read that centered in Germany during WWII were told from the POV of Jews, those in concentration camps, or those running from Nazis; in this book, the story is told from German women who were not especially in danger of Nazis. Instead, this book seems to focus more on their own guilt and emotions as they come to terms with the horrors that occurred during the war and what role they did or didn't play.

This is not a linear book. Each chapter begins with a location and a date, and though it does move in a linear fashion some of the time, there is also a jumping around between dates and locations. Honestly, I'm not usually a fan of this style in books, but Shattuck is so careful with her storytelling that it actually fits in rather well and makes for an interesting read.

 I was particularly impressed with the development of each woman and how distinct each was. Shattuck could have easily gotten stuck in having three widows who were too similar in personality, but she somehow moved away from that and managed to keep each character unique to who they are. I enjoyed learning about each woman as more and more of their story was revealed and the reader is able to see more aspects of them. 

Shattuck's prose is both descriptive and simple at the same time. It is not overdone, but it is also not overtly simple, either. The Women in the Castle is not what I would call a 'page-turner,' but there is a compelling quality in Shattuck's writing that made me want to keep reading. Her words are almost haunting as they capture the darkest and most personal sentiments of these three women as they come to terms with their experiences during and after the war. 

The Women in the Castle is a thoughtful book. There is not a lot of action of suspenseful moments; instead, things are told in a thoughtful, deliberate manner in a specific order. If you enjoy World War II novels or enjoy reading books with strong character development and that are more character-focused than plot-based, then this is absolutely the book for you. 

Overall, The Women in the Castle receives four stars from me!

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You might also like:
The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff

The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

Whistling Women by Kelly Romo

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff

*The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff is available Tuesday, February 21st!*

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff. Mira, 2017. Hardcover. 368 pages.

There is no shortage of World War II-era books roaming about, and I have certainly read my fair share of them. In fact, I used to read so many that I found myself becoming a bit tired of reading books in this particularly period of time and actually stopped for a while. I've recently been sent a few ARCs set in World War II, however — such as The Orphan's Tale — and I felt that it was finally time to jump back into this interesting period.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if this was the best book to start with. The Orphan's Tale is by no means a bad book, but it wasn't really at that good, either. I found the premise intriguing: a young girl, Noa, who is kicked out of her house for becoming pregnant finds herself living on her own, saves a baby from the likely fate of death, and eventually finds refuge at a circus. Once at the circus, she is introduced to Astrid, the lead aerialist and our second main character, and that is the basic setup of this novel. I'm a fan of circus-related stories, so I thought this would certainly be an refreshing setting for a book of that type. 

The problem, however, was that I never felt truly connected to the story. I read about the characters' issues, but I never fully felt them or felt overly attached to them. Noa is surely an interesting young woman, but she was written to be somewhat flat and uninteresting. I also found her frustratingly naive, which was something I couldn't get over. I understand that she might not have been quite as fully aware of the dangers of the current time period as Astrid, but I just don't understand how she could have been nearly as naive and trusting as she was. And I won't say too much in the way of Noa's love interest in case of spoilers, but I felt that that entire storyline was unnecessary and hard to believe. The love interest, Luc, was somehow even more flat as a character than Noa, and I was unable to discern the connection between the two. 

Astrid was slightly more compelling to me, and I found myself more interested in her storyline than in Noa's. She had much more in the sense of street smarts, and I found her story much more compelling overall.

The chemistry between the Astrid and Noa was written well, and I appreciated how they managed to form such a strong bond of friendship, though I will say that the dynamic between the two changed too quickly from enemy to friendly. There just wasn't quite enough development to build up to the forming of their strong friendship. 

The Orphan's Tale is written in alternative first-person narratives told by both Noa and Astrid, and I liked the idea, but there were far too many instances in which I had to double check which narrative I was reading from. Both had a similar voice, and there was not much available to make it possible to tell them apart. 

My last problem was the ending. In general, I like this type of ending in books, as I find it takes strength and leaves a lasting impression. In this case, it felt entirely too abrupt and unfinished, leaving me feeling as though the author just needed to quickly wrap up this story as easily as possible. 

Despite the many flaws I found within The Orphan's Tale, this was still an entertaining story that did keep me reading. I enjoyed seeing another side of those impacted by the Nazis -- I had never even considered how something like a circus would be treated in these circumstances, so I definitely enjoyed that aspect. I would recommend this to those who enjoy World War II novels and want something a little different.

Overall, I am giving The Orphan's Tale three stars.

*I received a physical ARC of The Orphan's Tale in exchange for an honest review courtesy of Mira publishing.*

You might also like:

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

TBR Thursday: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

This week I have decided to jump on board with TBR Thursdays, created by Kim @ Kimberly Faye Reads! This feature was created with the intent of spotlighting a title from your shelf that you planning on reading in order to discuss why you want to read it, as well to discuss the book with others! If you'd like to join, feel free to use the banner created by Kimberley (or your own), and stop by her page to participate.

Today's pick is The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck! I haven't read very many World War II novels in a while because over the year I've gotten pretty burnt out on them, but I'm pretty intrigued by the sound of this one, so I think it's time I go back to this historical period. I have an ARC of this one waiting for me to start within the next week or so, so I'm looking forward to it!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined—an affecting, shocking, and ultimately redemptive novel from the author of the New York Times Notable Book The Hazards of Good Breeding

Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany’s defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once grand castle of her husband’s ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resistor murdered in the failed July, 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband’s brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows. 

First, Marianne rescues six-year-old Martin, the son of her dearest childhood friend, from a Nazi reeducation home. Together, they make their way across the smoldering wreckage of their homeland to Berlin, where Martin’s mother, the beautiful and naïve Benita, has fallen into the hands of occupying Red Army soldiers. Then she locates Ania, another resistor’s wife, and her two boys, now refugees languishing in one of the many camps that house the millions displaced by the war. 

As Marianne assembles this makeshift family from the ruins of her husband’s resistance movement, she is certain their shared pain and circumstances will hold them together. But she quickly discovers that the black-and-white, highly principled world of her privileged past has become infinitely more complicated, filled with secrets and dark passions that threaten to tear them apart. Eventually, all three women must come to terms with the choices that have defined their lives before, during, and after the war—each with their own unique share of challenges. "

Publication Date: March 7th, 2017
William Morrow

Are you interested in reading this book? What books are on your TBR?

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