This novel flows powerfully, and these pages are full of hard truth. It's a novel that makes me ask questions about the limits that were placed on women throughout history. Any readers like me will still be interested in this historical tragedy.

Elisabeth von Schwabacher has just returned to her family home in Berlin from three years of music study in Vienna. She is an accomplished pianist and along with the fact that her father is extremely wealthy will be considered one of the catches of this year's matrimonial events. But in 1896, there are several things against her as well. Elisabeth's family is Jewish and there is open discrimination against them in society. She is also quite outspoken and has returned home with ideas of what women should be able to have outside of a marriage.
Two nobles court her. One is an old friend but she isn't interested in him romantically. The other is from an impoverished family although their standing in society remains high. Elisabeth is immediately attracted to him but isn't sure she wants to marry anyone. She decides that this close to the nineteenth century she should be able to do as she pleases and determines that she will take him as a lover. The noble is more than willing and she does so. Her family discovers this and are appalled. They send her away to relatives.

But love will out and the noble and Elisabeth eventually marry. She goes to his estate only to be shocked at how different it is from the heights of Berlin society. His family is open with their distaste for her Jewishness as are the other families in the area.

Dana Mack is a historian, musician and journalist. This is her debut novel but her articles on various subjects have appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor and the Washington Post. Her background has made her the perfect author to write this novel about women's changing roles in society and the fact that the Jewish population were being ostracized long before Hitler came to power. This book is recommended for historical fiction readers.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it worked perfectly as a historical novel. The characters were great and I enjoyed that each character felt like a real person. It was a great story and I look forward to more from the author.

What a wonderful novel! So reminiscent of the fiction of Theodore Fontane. The story of a woman navigating the upper echelons of the stuffy Prussian society at the end of the 19th century. Marriage, woman emancipation & woman conditions in the aristocratic society of Wilhelmine German. An engrossing plot with finally drawn characters & the ever growing menace of antisemitism within German society. This novel will definitely haunt me for a while!

Many thanks to Netgalley & the author for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel

~ Thanks to NetGalley and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review ~

I was so intrigued by the beautiful cover of "All Things that Deserve to Perish" that it only took a quick look over the blurb before I wanted to read it. Unfortunately, the actual reading of the book itself took a lot longer, and a large part of that was due to the fact that I had a really hard time getting into the story. The narration is written both in third person and first person (in letter form), and Mack's detached position as author reminded me somewhat of Jane Austen's approach to writing. However, unlike Austen's works, I found "All Things" to be lacking in warmth and likable characters. Our deuteragonist Wilhelm often acted in ways and said things that repelled me as a reader. Although is likely to be fairly historically correct in terms of how people spoke and thought back then, I just found some of it distasteful. Wilhelm made so many derogatory comments to Lisi about the Jewish people that it was hard to believe that he was actually one of the more tolerant Junkers! I also had trouble understanding the motivations behind the actions taken by some of the characters which made it hard to sympathise with them (RE: Lisi saying yes then no then yes then no rinse and repeat). The explicit sex scene halfway through the book felt out of place - not because I'm a prude, because I understand that sex scenes can be effective - but because it was just SO in detail that I thought that the book would employ eroticism consistently thereafter like a lot of modern romance novels. Yet it took nearly an additional third of the book before another, milder sex scene takes place. I'm not complaining about the frequency of sex scenes, or even the detail itself. More that it was at this point that the book pulled me out of the serious historical romance it had presented itself to be, then moved on with its former tone as if nothing had changed. By the final third of the book, I was engaged enough by the plot to be tearing through the pages, but I would be lying if I said that eagerness to finally finish didn't play a part.
Aside from the writing not being poor enough to deserve 2 stars in my opinion, Mack's obvious knack for history was what I found most pleasurable during my experience reading this novel. There is an attention to detail which I admire, and I loved the summary at the end that explained some of the historical context. I had never heard of the Junker class before, nor did I know of their role in aiding the Nazis which, ironically, led to their eventual downfall. Over the past couple of years, I've been consuming more books based around World War 2, and finding out what took place in Germany leading up to its events was very interesting.
I regret not being able to post a more positive review, because that really is a stunning cover and I understand that this was a passion project for Mack. However, the book does seem to be doing well with other readers, and I would encourage curious readers to pick it up to decide for themselves.

Well written story with lively characters. Lisi Von Schwabacher, the redoubtable Jewish heroine, has to deal with balancing the social norms of the time with wanting to be an independent, sexually free 19th century feminist and all on a background of upper-class Germany where antisemitism is bubbling beneath the surface.

I wouldn't say this book is a classic in the world of romantic fiction and may not appeal to those who enjoy more modern romance and the plot can at times become a little weary however, it was readable and in many ways an engaging take on this period of European history.

Dana Mack brings all the flourishes and woe that encompassed 19th century Germany to life as her characters navigate their own turbulent lives. Focused on the social lives and perceptions of German Jews, Dana brings all the discrimination, fear and judgement to light in the young life of Elizabeth, who as a young woman coming to age faces these challenges through each of the characters that pressure her. And while this book is structured as a social critique, at least in my opinion, Elizabeth is in every way a modern feminist that rallies the reader beside her as she seeks to push back and carve her own path! There are frustrations, pain, exhilaration, grief and even desire as we follow her through each challenge that comes her way, but most of all, you live through her as Dana parallels our own contemporary lives. Yes there is romance, but in no way would I say this book is a Romance, as Elizabeth's life transcends the trivial need to match-make in such a time, and in more ways than one a fictional-biography of a determined Jewess. While the plot can become repetitive and worn, I view this book as a new 'must-read' for all young woman (and men!).
Congratulations Dana for such an amazing book!

Rich with history. Wonderful characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. I felt every emotion. Simply a GREAT read!

#AllThingsThatDeserveToPerish #NetGalley

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

'All Things That Deserve To Perish', by Dana Mack, is a romance novel attempting to be a roman de fin de siècle. It is peculiar that both the weakness and strength of 'All Things That Deserve To Perish' are the same: Ms Mack was passionate about this story because of all the back knowledge she had on it. As a result, she created a book that tries too hard, and in so doing, it condemns it to fail: the heroine is so special and perky, she’s obnoxious; the hero is either dumb as a bell, or surprisingly admirable; the historical events are too overpowering for the storyline; the attempt at recreating the literary style of the period, too formulaic.

Ms Mack had a great idea, the amazing vantage point of deep understanding of her subject matter, a different period and location to portray than most. More than that, she spent a long time building up her work. All of this translated in too much overthinking, so that like a Sauerkraut, the whole lot has soured. Unlike it, however, it is clearly not by device. What we get is the story of a marriage of lust and convenience between a rich Jewish heiress with musical abilities, and an impoverished Junker heir, at the beginning of the 20th Century. There are long epistolary episodes full of florid language and gossipy meanness (supposed to be witticism) on her part; exclamation marks to denote passion on his part. There are soirees, glittering jewels, outstanding musical, concerts, European tours, discussions of art, etcetera. Basically, we get the trappings of a period world.

We also get very current issues superimposed on historical ones. There is a constant reminder of the rise of antisemitism – Dreyfus gets mentioned; homosexuality – the Eulenburg case is part of the events; abortion – illegal but widespread among the higher classes; religious tensions; even literacy, sexuality, and female emancipation. It is laid thick, constantly, as though Ms Mack feared we might miss the hints, how much destruction these matters brought since. Sadly, the characters seem to learn nothing from them, and remain undeveloped. The events fizz in the background. Even the end brings us back to social and family order.

In reading “All Things That Deserve to Perish” I was swept up in Mack’s vivid portrayal of end-of-the-19th-century upper-class Germany, with its lush surroundings, lavish lifestyle and highly refined culture — and simmering anti-Semitism that portends the Holocaust, and telegraphs warnings about the never-ending cycle of age-old savage Jew hatred in Europe and beyond. The novel’s plucky and entrancing young Jewish heroine, Lisi von Schwabacher, becomes a messenger from the past and the future, warning us about the perils and folly of assimilation. But you don’t have to be Jewish to fall in love with this novel. Any woman who has struggled with the imperative of motherhood vs. the desire for a career will relate to — and root for — Lisi, who is faced with the impossible choice between following her musical talents and succumbing to the era’s suffocating norms about marriage and motherhood. And you don’t have to be a musician to understand and appreciate the high-level musical milieu that Lisi and her family move in, thanks to Mack’s artful way of decoding sonatas and the like without dumbing them down. But what really sets this novel apart is Mack’s engaging storytelling and clever use of letters to reveal the innermost thoughts of not only Lisi, but the cast of characters who swirl around her, including her devastatingly handsome but rigidly traditional, non-Jewish aristocratic suitor. Through her letters, Lisi reveals herself to be thoroughly modern in terms of her sexual appetites and desires for independence, and the desire to develop and express her talents — which makes her very relatable. By the last chapter — which consists entirely of letters back and forth — I felt as though I was an intimate friend of Lisi’s, and I didn’t want to lose her or the story to end. Note to Ms. Mack: A sequel, please!