Cover Image: The Women of the Castle

The Women of the Castle

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Member Reviews

It is very unusual to read about the German Resistance to the rise of Nazism. This is an apparently very well researched novel, in part derived from the experiences of the author's family members.
The three central characters are well realised and offer stark contrasts in their responses. As a result this is a believable and absorbing novel, which is enjoyable and sweeps the reader along.

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I really enjoyed this. The characters were really well done and I liked how the plot gradually got better as the book wore on.

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What an absolutely phenomenal novel!! Starting out in 1945, this compelling book follows three women, Marianne, Benita and Ania, who along with their children, become family. The three women are bonded by the fact that their husbands were executed after they attempted to assassinate Adolf Hilter, and failed. Marianne had promised her husband and the other two men that if the attempt was unsuccessful she would search for their wives and children and keep them safe. Miraculously, Marianne finds all of them. They make a home in Marianne's late husband's family castle, a castle that is enormous, but has seen better days (no running water or electricity). As the women and children begin to find their "new normal" it becomes very apparent the toll the war took on everyone. With each of the women experiencing very different situations both before and during the war, their reaction to regular life after the war is quite diverse.

I am blown away completely by this book! This storyline is brilliant and extremely powerful. I was captivated from the beginning and I can honestly say there wasn't any part of this novel that lagged for me. I loved the fact that Jessica Shattuck explores each of the women's past, which sheds A LOT of light on their present. The writing was so descriptive that I felt like I was watching a movie--and speaking of movies, I would love to see this book on the big screen! Jessica Shattuck is an author that's new to me, but I have already looked up her previous novels because I will definitely be reading them! The Women of the Castle is a 5+++ star read and a 2017 favorite!! I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone--a MUST READ!!

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Oh what a touching story. I felt so much for these women. This was such a touching story. One woman had an idea of what her of what her husband was doing but she she kept it in the back of her mind. She said "no way, this was not happening in my world". Another wife was so innocent and young, that she had no idea that she had no idea that this was even going on. The final wife was aware, shocked, and appalled and for that reason she took her two boys and left.

Such was the life that these three women were together after their husbands were gone, either through death or because they left them. Their stories are sorted and the lady of the castle (Marianne) took them in. Either through the knowing of their husband such as the case of Benita, the wife of her childhood friend, Martin. And Ania, the wife of another resistor who Marianne does not recall the name but still admits her to the castle.

These three ladies bond and become friends while the war goes on around them. Together they raise their children and become a family as such. The bond that they form lasts a lifetime for all of them and the book is the story of these three women. While they are together and their lives before they come together.

It is a very touching and moving story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was entertaining, moving, mesmerizing, haunting, chilling and I really grew to like these characters immensely.

Huge thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

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The widow of a man executed for being accused of trying to kill Hitler, Marianne has returned to the crumbling castle that belonged to her husband's family. She has a promise to keep, she will round up the children and widows that conspired with her husband. Beginning with the son of her best friend, she travels cross country building a new family. An Incredible story

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