The book definitely pulls at your heartstrings. The story starts towards the end of WW2 and tells the story from 3 POVs Isaac and Anna who are in a concentration camp but have been chosen to work for the Commandant of the camp and Friedrich who is the son of the Commandant.

This story provides a glimpse into the lives of 2 Jewish adults and how they came to be at the camp and shares their memories and stories of happier times in their lives and the way in which they are treated by the Commandant and his wife. Friedrich’s POV shows a child growing up in a hostile home and learning from the secret friendships he makes with both Anna and Isaac as he questions the world around him at a time when it was most dangerous to do so.

All characters interact with Greta the housekeeper who is not Jewish and the kindness and courage she shows in small ways to help Isaac and Anna in the most horrendous of times.

There is a message of positivity throughout the book that the small things are important and that you should take joy in the things that you can when you can. Not to compare present day to the events of WW2 I felt this message was especially poignant reading this story in 2021 during a global pandemic when so many are suffering.

The story is well written and the characters are developed well, which made me a reader feel like i knew them which certainly triggers an emotional response from their story.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

#NetGalley #TheWatchmakerofDachau

The Watchmaker of Dachau by Carly is a historical fiction book set in Dachua, one of the Nazi death camps during World War Two. I have read Carly Schabowski's work previously and loved it, so I had nothing stopping me with this book.
The prologue begins in Cornwall 1996, and soon transports us to 1945 to the death camp Dachau. Issac Schüller arrives and is singled out to use his watchmaking skills in the household of senior Officer Becher. Issac realises he will only stay alive while he is useful. Anna Reznick is maid to the Bechers and finds she has a real friend in Issac, even in the horrific circumstances they are in. The discovery of a pile of letters puts both Issac and Anna in danger.
The story is told from multiple points of view which helps us get to know the characters more and creates depth to the setting. A story that is all things at different times while reading it, horrific but yet touching. It is stories like this that are needed in todays world, if only to refresh peoples memories that it wasn't just about the camps and the atrocities, it was about the people and their strength while in these terrible places. They weren't just numbers or a religion, they had families and dreams. This book evoked so much emotion for me, the kindness and the hope of the occupants hurt so much knowing that so many million Jewish people were brutally killed during this time.
Needless to say I was transported to Issac and Anne's world and the writing was beautiful, and even though the suffering was almost tangible the fact that the people could still have hope and have little moments was heartwarming.
A book that put me through the emotional wringer and back again and is a beautiful and emotional read, a powerful story that begs to be read and one that is so thought provoking that it lingers qfter you have put it down.
Thankyou to Bookouture and NetGalley for the book to write this review today.

I love the way the author tells us this story from multiple points of view. Each of those points of view are very important. You hear from Isaac who is the glorious watchmaker and can fix anything elder character. 29 year old Anna’s point of view from inside the house of the Bechers is of courage and kindness, although I’m pretty sure she would tell you she’s not very courageous! The third character you are told the story from is 11 year old Friedrich Becher. He has been taught by his parents (who share no love for him) to despise Jews. People he has never met. Friedrich learns what is really going on beyond his garden wall at the Dachau camp and is repulsed by it. He becomes firm friends with Anna and Isaac, who listen and have time for him, unlike his parents.

Isaac works all day long fixing watches in the cold shed down in the garden. He finds some old letters under the floor which could spell trouble for him and Anna who he shares his discovery with.

It’s a book that will absorb into you, will bring emotions and tears. You will wonder where the time went! There are a couple of parts of the book that shocked me so please be warned it’s not for the faint-hearted. It’s such a fantastic read, that I’ve found it hard to get the words right for this review. Highly recommended and a well deserved 5 stars for the author.

This was heartbreaking, a real tear jerker. It wasn't just another concentration camp story. We see love, loss and self preservation. Even when life has caused Anna and Issac to be constantly guarded, constantly on their toes, they learn that they are never truly safe. I devoured this book. I didn't expect each twist and I really didn't want it to end.

This book surpassed my expectation of the book description. I have read quite a few books on the “death camps “ so I was thinking it would be centered more around the Dachau camp. However, that is not quite the case.
The book is multiple narrative and you have Anna’s voice,( she is a maid in the home of a Senior Officer Becher), Isaac ( a watchmaker and tinkerer in the shed of the home of Senior Officer Becher, and Friedrich young son of Senior Officer Becher.
These three lives become interwoven around the death Camp Dachau in a relationship that one would not truly comprehend unless they had to endure such atrocities. The human indignities that were thrust upon this one select group is unfathomable.

The author has written with such inflection that I felt as though I felt the human spirit disappearing at times, but then one word would boost the emotions to another level. The author has such confidence in her writing style that her characters leap from the book into your thoughts and I could not put down this book till I read it from cover to cover!

I definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Although I regularly read historical fiction novels set during the era of World War 2, I have always avoided the stories set in the death camps. However, because I enjoyed Carly’s previous book, I decided to read this one.

As you would expect there is a lot of heartbreak and tragedy in this book. The camp leader, Becher, is using Anna and Isaac as ‘slave labour’ to help run his home more efficiently, which leads to his young son, Friedrich meeting both of them and questioning the Nazi propaganda against the Jewish people.

We discover how Anna and Isaac ended up in Dachau camp, and the stories of their family and friends too. The story is mostly set towards the end of the war, as the Allied troops are heading across mainland Europe, to try to rescue the people who have been imprisoned by the Nazi regime. Isaac and Anna try to help each other, and their roommates to survive the hunger and the punishments.

Carly’s storytelling swept me into the past, on a very emotional journey. Quickly the characters became important and I didn’t want to put my Kindle down. I stayed up late reading this, a sign of a good book. The ending was a mixture of happy and sad.

This is a non spoiler review, so I’m not going to give any of the twists in the tale away. It was sadly all too believable, that something like this could have happened. Isaac and Anna’s story will stay with me for a long time. I’m happy to recommend this book.

How is it that authors find a new and heartbreaking way to write about a time period you think has been written about time and again? Everytime I think I've read my last WWII book another gem comes along (recently The Children's Train and The Paris Library). I loved this one and am glad to be introduced to this author and will be looking for other books 📚 thank you for the opportunity to read this story.

I have always "enjoyed" (although not sure if that is the correct word to use) books based in concentration camps and have found myself fully immersed in the lives of people who lived through those horrific years. This book was no different, but the main location this time, being Dachau and not Auschwitz.

Like others, this is a heartbreaking story. It's full of suffering, death, but also full of warm friendships that have formed through these times of adversity.

Isaac is the "Watchmaker" and is sent to work at the house of Sturmbannfuhrer Becher. This wasn't just to fix watches but to do all sorts of tasks that was demanded of him. Also introduce into the mix, warm characters like Greta, the cook from the local village; Anna, also from the camp, who works in the house alongside Greta and Friedrich, the son of the Sturmbannfuhrer.

The author has built some great relationships amongst the characters of both the camp and the household. I have to admit to tears in parts. I liked how the author had split chapters into the different characters, allowing you to get to know the character better.

The only part that I didn't always feel connected to, was the characters written about J.A.L. You find out more about who this relates to at the end of the book. Because I didn't see how it fitted in, I got a bit bored with it.

All in all I thought this was a well written book, full of great people; full of historical intrigue and an insight into the lives of those that made it, or didn't make it, through those horrific times.

The Watchmaker of Dachau is the second novel from Carly Schabowski and it takes us to the heart of the concentration camp Dachau, just outside Munich, where unspeakable atrocities occurred during World War Two. The story opens with the briefest of prologues which normally give us the merest of information to get our interest piqued. Not much at all was given away here except that in 1996 in Cornwall, a woman is waiting for someone or something and is finally facing up to something. To be honest, by the time I reached the very end I had completely forgotten that the prologue had ever taken place.

I found myself jolted back to the modern day having been completely immersed in the story that unfolded behind the walls of the camp much of what took place there having been kept secret from the world at large at the time. The ending did tie in nicely with the prologue but I found it to be rushed and would have liked even just a few more pages of exploration allowing me the time to soak in the consequences and developments I was reading of. But aside from that I found this book to be much better than the author’s debut. The chapters were short and intense which made me fly through the story and I read it more or less in two sittings. There is a story within a story taking place here, not dual timeline, more so they run alongside each other as the main characters endure suffering, brutality, loss and devastation.

The focus is on two people who come to be interred in the camp because of the simple fact of their religion. Isaac and Anna are very different in age, he being in his 60’s and Anna is in her late 20’s.Yet a friendship is forged through circumstance and it is one full of hope, love and strength as they try to sustain each other through harrowing times, danger and terror. Loyalty, sacrifice, kindness, hope and human connection are the main traits they find in each other and as they navigate the last year or so of the war in the camp they come to rely on each other for support, courage and stability. Theirs is not a love story and in a way I was glad of this, it’s been done before in books of this genre. Instead the focus is on simple human interaction and connection and through the supporting cast of characters they aim to make it to the bitter end to see freedom no matter what horrors, deprivation, starvation and traumas that are endlessly thrown in their direction. When all else is lost, hope and love stay strong.

Initially I did find the story jumped around a bit too much from character to character until it found its rhythm and pace and then settled down. The chapters go between Anna, Isaac and young Friedrich, the son of the camp commandant. Isaac had escaped capture for the majority of the war, he remained hidden away in his tiny village. His shop no longer open, yet he ventured there to look at the watches and all the things he has fixed in the past. His profession will see him through the tough times as he captured and sent to Dachau. We’ve all read the details of the various camps that existed at the time and here no detail was spared. To Isaac, it’s a minefield and he can’t comprehend that this has happened to him. He thanks God that his wife Hannah had long passed away and did not have to endure this torture and humiliation.

As a reader over time you can become hardened to the different descriptions of what the prisoners went through. They do not lose their shock or their impact but just when you think you have read it all, having read so many books in this genre, there was one scene which was just utterly horrific and barbaric. I cried out in shock as it was just so difficult to read and then with a turn of the page when I thought I couldn’t be shocked even more there was a description which just made my stomach churn. I had to stop for a moment or two before I could read on as it was so just so brutal and made me feel such sadness and anger for what went on.

Isaac’s story takes us to a different area of the camp few prisoners would have known about. The camp commandant Beecher confiscated the tools he uses for watch repairs. Beecher was an abusive, cruel, sadistic man who even his son lived in fear of. He had an ultimate plan for Issac and he finds himself working at the house on site where the Beecher family live. Confined to a shed doing any repairs Beecher asks of Isaac, he soon meets Anna. She too is a prisoner but has been tasked to work as a maid in the house. She brings food and water to Isaac and they strike up a friendship because they know that their life hangs by a thread. That at any moment on the whim of a guard or Beecher they could be gone and their light extinguished forever. They recollect their life stories to each other, the freedom they once took for granted, the love and support of their families and how they imagine freedom once more will be theirs. They are constantly on edge and who wouldn’t be given their situation. They try to do everything right but they never know if a certain day will be their last.

In the shed, underneath the floorboards, Issac discovers a hidden bundle of letters, drawings and diary entries. He decides to read these and soon learns they were written only the year before in that very shed. Every so often we have chapters in the form of letters and we have a new story emerging. One of true love as the author writes to the person he or she loves the most. It’s a beautifully written love story that gives Anna and Isaac comfort yet they are keen to know what happened to the author. I was hoping for a bit more of a search to uncover the answers behind the letters from Isaac and Anna but this couldn’t have happened as they hadn’t a lot to go on and really through weakness from lack of food and the panic and fear that existed daily for them this searching and uncovering a mystery couldn’t really happen.

I did think the aspect of the story with the letters when all was ultimately revealed was so bittersweet and heartbreaking and I had to re-read a page or two several times to make sure I was understanding the connections. This is where I thought things were rushed a hit and bit more fleshing out of the explanation was needed. Near the very end, I did think hold on had I read this before in that something happens and I could have sworn I read more or less the exact same thing in another book. I pushed this idea aside as I knew it was a new book but I thought it was strange that I had this real feeling of déjà vu from another book. The name of which I can’t recall at the moment.

Yes Anna and Isaac are strong and inspiring, and I don’t think I will look at lemons in the same way again, but for me who really was a stand out character was Friedrich. He returns home from school having been called back by his father. He has no clue why and has never been to this house occupied by his parents. No doubt about it there are very strong echoes of Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas when it comes to Friedrich. That’s what instantly sprang to mind when I first encountered him, the innocence of him as he has no clue what exists beyond the boundaries of his garden wall. He is not allowed to enter certain rooms or venture to certain places on the grounds. He knows Anna and Isaac are Jews and that he is meant to intensely dislike them but yet he hasn’t that within him to do. He sees them as normal people which they are and he has no idea of the camp or what goes on there.

Friedrich is lonely and longs for friendship and love because he gets none of this from his parents. I loved Friedrich as a character, he was the total anthesis of his parents and what he does for Anna and Isaac was just so beautiful and heartwrenching. The author did a brilliant job of showing how clueless Friedrich was to what was going on around him and how he saw the good in everything because he knew no different.

The Watchmaker of Dachau was a very good read and one I enjoyed immensely although enjoyed is the wrong word given the subject matter. It’s an important, memorable story that will linger with one long after the turn of the last page.

This story is a historical fiction about world war II.

This is a first time read of this author and im glad I gave her a try.

It has dual POV which I like because there's different point of views from different characters.

This book was emotional in some places and full of hope in others.

Highly recommend

This book caught my attention because I love stories set in this time period. This was an endearing story of love, courage, and friendship. Although it is heartbreaking to read about what these people had to endure, the authors ability to draw attention to the small things in life that matter was very meaningful. I enjoyed watching the characters grow because of what each person had to offer so selflessly. The alternating perspectives of the characters did not take away but add to the story line. It really helped to see how each persons actions and words affected the others. So many good lessons can be learned from this book. I am glad I read this book. If we can learn just a few things from these characters, our enjoyment level of life will increase. Thank you Carly Schabowski for sharing this story.

A powerful Historical World War Two novel.
An unforgettable novel of human kindness,
What a emotional read inspired by a true story. The Watchmaker of Dachau is truly a haunting,heart wrenching story. There is hope, friendships, despair, tears, sadness and suspense as well as inspirational moments.
In this terrible, atrocious time friendships were made along with the perseverance to survive.
Well written, well researched....highly recommend you pick up this book.
Thank you to NetGallery, Bookouture and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Watchmaker of Dachau takes place during World War I

The story will drum up memories of The Boy in Striped Pajamas for those who have read it. Two of the main characters, Anna and Isaac, are prisoners of a concentration camp. The both are given the task of serving a nearby German military family, Anna as a maid and Isaac has the mechanical handyman. Through their eyes they watch a high-ranking German officer and his family start to become panicked over the news that the Americans will be arriving to liberate the Dachau camp. The family also has a young son, who is neglected by his mother and father, but bonds with Anna and Isaac secretly. The story then follows these people through their hardships and glimmers of light.

The story offers a different perspective on how the prisoners of the camps may view other prisoners who may have “easier” jobs. I thought that this was an interesting perspective. I appreciated how the author told the stories of these people.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, for me though it did not stand out. WWII and the Holocaust are subjects that written about a lot in fiction, so I found myself thinking of those stories while reading this one.

A woman gets ready to leave her house and realizes she has forgotten her watch. This leads her down memory lane.
While walking home from his watch repair shop Isaac Schiller blacks out and then awakens on a train platform. He knows the Jews have been disappearing but not sure what is happening.
Anna Reznich is in the Jewish concentration camp and has been loaned out to Officer Beecher family as a housemaid. She serves Officer Becher, his wife Lisle and Frederick, the eight year old son..
Upon arrival to the camp, Isaac’s watchmaking tools fall out of his suit and Officer Beecher recognizes his skill and gets Isaac assigned work detail to his household. This leads to finding secrets that put his and Anna’s life in great danger.
This is a page turning read that is definitely worth reading. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC and great read.
#Netgalley #Bookouture #TheWatchmakerofDachau

I haven't read anything as touching or heartfelt as The Watchmaker of Dachau in years. This poignant tale emphasized the physical and emotional struggles that the prisoners of concentration camps experienced, yet at the same time, focused on the joy and comfort they found within each other during the darkest of times. Schabowski's storytelling was absolutely effortless---as I read through the characters' thoughts and daily routines, I felt myself growing so close to them and was moved by their bravery and optimism.

Watchmaker, Isaac; maid, Anna; and Freidrich, son to Sturmbannfuhrer Becher, all find themselves trapped in the confines of a house where they know they are unwelcome and unwanted. Anna struggles to compose herself in front of Frau Becher, who makes her a nervous wreck, but she knows delivering her dinner plate without dropping anything could be the deciding factor in whether she lives or dies. Isaac, a watchmaker by trade, has been requested by Herr Becher to fix everything from his grandfather clock, to pocket watches, to cars. He knows his fellow prisoners are slaving away at the camp every day, so he finds solace in being able to use his mind and keep his thoughts occupied with repairing the watches. Freidrich Becher, their young son, struggles to understand his family's present circumstances; his father is unnecessarily harsh with him, his mother would prefer if he didn't exist, and he can't understand why he can't see his best friend from school or play too far away from the house. Their three varying perspectives and experiences bring them together to form an amazingly powerful friendship that brought me to tears more than once.

I have personally visited Dachau and seen the abominations that occurred there firsthand, which made this book all the more special to me. Visiting a concentration camp is an unforgettable experience and made me ponder the evil and hatred that lives within humans; most of us want to push it away, but some embrace it, and when they choose to act upon it, we see the horrors people are capable of. I'm so inspired by the strength of each and every prisoner of the concentration camps. This book did an incredible job of accurately portraying the terrible conditions the Nazis created and their detestable treatment of Jews; while focusing on the empowerment Jews felt in sharing life memories with one another, attempting to keep their good humor, and not letting their captors rob them of the dreams they still carry for their lives. I will hold onto this story---the mistreatment that made me angry, the longing for better that made me hopeful, and the simple joy of empathizing with another human that made me smile & shed happy tears.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Carly Schabowski, and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC of The Watchmaker of Dachau in exchange for my honest review!

"The Watchmaker of Dachau" follows three storylines, Isaac, a watchmaker, Anna, a maid, and Friedrich, a Nazi commander's son. The setting of the story naturally prepares us for a tragic tale. Dachau is one of the many concentration camps controlled by the Nazi's in World War II. Isaac is a watchmaker, and due to his skill, he does not succumb to the horrors of working at Dachau. Isaac finds himself tasked to fix odds and ends at the camp's commander's house. There he meets Anna and Friedrich.

Isaac is introduced right away and captured right away. The story is highlighting the characters' struggles while in the camp and how each person copes individually. I appreciate the focus on the characters and how they can survive through such atrocities. The novel is based on the latter portion of the camps' existence because there is a constant fear of the Americans arriving. This offers a new perspective on a tragic event in history because the characters have a glimmer of hope in the distance.

Thank you to Net Galley, Bookouture, and Carly Schabowski for the ARC. I will be highlighting my summary on Instagram (@lyatslibrary)

This book focuses on three main characters and how their stories intertwine. First there is Isaac Schueller, the titular watchmaker. In the beginning of the novel, he is picked up off the streets and transported to Dachau. There, his watchmaking skills come in handy. The overseer of the camp who lives on the property with his family happens to be in need of clock repairs. He has a grandfather clock that was given to him by Hitler himself. After Isaac is able to fix the clock, the camp overseer decides to keep him around the home to perform other mechanical repairs for him, such as fixing cars and his sons train set.

This brings us to the second character, Anna. She is also imprisoned at Dachau, but she is brought to the overseer’s home daily to serve as an assistant to their housemaid. Anna is a kind 29 year-old woman who the family’s son takes a liking to.

Finally, there is Friedrich, the 12 year-old son of the overseer. He does not know anything of Dachau or most of the politics of the time. He comes to form a friendship of sorts with Isaac and Anna.

These characters meet because they are all brought to the camp and house against their will. Isaac and Anna are both Jewish camp prisoners, but Friedrich too is taken out of his boarding school against his will to live at the family’s home. It is Friedrich’s curiosity that binds the three main characters together.

Woven alongside their narrative, there are letters from an unknown source interspersed in the novel. These letters Isaac finds hidden in the garden shed where he is made to work. He shares these letters with Anna and they bond over the story as a form of escapism. The letters are from the previous gardener, but his identity is a mystery until the epilogue.

Overall, I thought the writing was very good and the relationships between the characters were pretty compelling. I found myself wanting to know how each of their individual stories would unfold.

Here I must disclose my own personal bias. I’ve studied the German History and the Holocaust at length in university. I will say, I read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas some years ago now and truly found myself hating the book.

This book is nothing like that. This book is definitely grounded in realism and doesn’t contain any scenes that really rely on a suspension of disbelief. While some scenes are set in the camp, the majority of the book takes place in the home. This book is really about the relationships between the characters at its core, as opposed to being a story about the Holocaust. Much more emphasis is placed on the characters’ interactions than the brutality around them. There are a few notable scenes in this that are the exception, and I would say those are the weak point of the book. For example, there is a scene where the letters discuss boiling bodies and Joseph Mengele (though they don’t name him). As a side note: I also didn’t particularly care for the reveal that the letter writer was gay. Gay men (both Jewish and gentile) faced specific and targeted persecution during the Holocaust that I feel should have been explored in more depth if it was to be included in the book.

While I would not go so far as to say that fiction should not be written about certain events, in the particular case of the Holocaust, I feel that fiction purporting to show the reality and brutality of events will never live up to real survivor accounts. As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. For this reason, I find the book’s strength to be the characters and the weakness to the the occasional focus on external events.

For anyone curious about the use of the Holocaust in works of fiction, I recommend this read from the Jewish Book Council: https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/on-the-future-of-holocaust-fiction

This is such an emotional story. Carly Schabowski has such a beautiful writing style, descriptive and emotive, and the multiple points of view really brought the story to life. It's a story focusing on the good in people even in horrific circumstances, and Isaac and Anna reinforce the acts of kindness necessary to remain human. Just beautiful.

I love historical fiction and, despite it being one of the darkest times in history, and I am always drawn to wartime stories surrounding the Holocaust. It was such a sad and a particularly brutal time for, not only the Jews, but whoever was deemed different to the ideal of the perfect race...blonde haired blue eyed Aryans. It makes my blood boil and my heart break as I read some of what was inflicted on them. I mean, they were human beings just like everyone else and yet they were shunned according to the propaganda spouted by Hitler and his national socialist party. How anyone could be so cruel to another goes beyond all understanding.

And yet in saying that, THE WATCHMAKER OF DACHAU is a beautiful tale that is based on a true story and yet it is not bogged down by historical facts or events that make for heavy reading, often taking away the beauty behind the story. This is not the case with this book. Although we are given insight into some of the heinous acts committed by the Nazis in these camps, it simply provides background, as the story is itself is one of love and hope.

Cornwall, England, 1996: Beginning with a Prologue set in England as an elderly woman prepares for a funeral, silently reminiscing as she takes out a beautiful watch decorated with gemstones...serving as a reminder of darker times. Her identity is unknown, but it is assumed that she is the much older Anna.

Dachau, Germany, January 1945: On his way home one evening, Isaac Schüller is captured by Nazis and taken to a train bound for the Dachau Concentration Camp. There he meets Elijah who informs him he is one of the lucky ones to have a much shorter journey as he has been on the train for days whilst others have been for weeks. The beauty outside their windows of the snowy countryside hides the terrible scenes inside where men, women and children are packed together, cold and utterly terrified. When the train suddenly halts and everyone is herded out into the cold, the bodies of those who had not survived the journey are left behind...bound for the pyres.

The prisoners are marched to the camp where they are stripped, deloused and showered in a cold spray of water before being given thin blue striped garments that serve as their uniform, barely enough to shield them from the cold. But upon arrival, Isaac is unexpectedly pulled from the crowd of other prisoners and questioned as to why he had such intricate instruments on his person when he had claimed to have had nothing. He explained that he is a watchmaker and they are the tools of his trade. The senior officer appeared interested before pocketing the tools and leaving Isaac to be processed.

When the prisoners are being allocated their work detail, Isaac is left standing in the freezing cold when his number had not been called out. Unsure why he has been singled out, Isaac is even more surprised when a guard takes him out of the camp to a nearby house where he awaits further instructions. He is taken to the study of Senior Officer Becher, whom he recognises as the man who questioned him with regard to his tools which now lay on display on the officer's desk. It seems with his talent for watchmaking, Isaac can be of use to Becher and he is installed in the outdoor shed where his spoiled and rather hysterical wife cannot be upset by his presence. His first task is to fix the grandfather clock that had been a gift from the Führer but alas has never chimed.

Twenty nine year old Anna Reznick from the women's camp at Dachau waits on and keeps house for the Bechers, who dine and carry on as if death is not all around them just a few hundred yards away. Trying her best to please the Bechers, Anna is constantly nervous and often dropping things causing great distress, albeit rather dramatically, to Madam (Leisl) Becher. She is often yelled at and ridiculed for her in-capabilities and the fact that she is a "dirty Jew". Leisl does not like her in the house contaminating her lovely possessions so Anna tries to stay in the kitchen with Greta, the cook, who takes pity on the girl often giving her food that her employers would not miss. When Isaac began work in the shed for Becher, Greta would also have Anna sneak food and coffee to him to help keep his strength up. She may be a woman from the village but Greta sees the skeletal frames of Anna and Isaac and does not condone starving them, aware that they need food and drink to be able to continue their work for the Bechers.

When Anna meets the much older Isaac the two become friends, sharing their stories, their memories and their dreams. And when Isaac comes across some papers beneath a floorboard in the shed he soon discovers the words he is reading are the private thoughts of another prisoner installed at the house as a gardener...with the initials J.A.L. But Isaac has met the gardener, a cheerful young man named Levi who looks for sunshine and happiness in everything, despite their imprisonment. He begins reading the diary to Anna and the two share the hopes and dreams and memories of someone just like them.

Then in the midst of everything, the Becher's 11 year old son Freidrich returns home from school and is informed he will not be returning. Instead he is to be tutored at home and must occupy himself in the interim without disturbing his parents who clearly do not want him there. Freidrich is bereft at having left his best friend Otto and is clearly lonely as he wanders the house looking for something to do. His father tells him to play with his train set in his room but the engine has stopped working, so Becher has Isaac fix it. With his father often in Munich and his mother either in bed or shopping, Freidrich soon grows bored and attempts to amuse himself by striking up an unusual friendship with Isaac. Despite being told by his parents not to engage with the Jews, Freidrich has little left to occupy himself and sneakily does the opposite. He has no idea what takes place at Dachau nor what type of place it is. But his friendship with Isaac could prove dangerous should his parents discover his visits to the shed.

Both Isaac and Anna know that they are only of use to the Bechers for as long as they need them. Each morning they are taken to the house and each evening they are walked back to the camp where they are often ostracised by the other inmates who believe they have been singled out for special treatment whilst they all slave away with hard labour till they drop. Isaac has few friends apart from Elijah and Jan whilst Anna has Nina, with whom she shares the morsels of food Greta has secreted to her. Every night as they lay in their bunks, Nina ponders on the fate of her brother Kuba for whom she has been searching. Anna claims that she is sure he is still alive, if not just to placate her friend.

When the scent of lemons begins to envelop him, Isaac knows his time is running out. He writes a letter to Anna and to Fredrich enclosed with the diary of the unknown inmate J.A.L. and a watch he crafted especially for Anna. As much as he wanted to survive Dachau, he fears that he will not. Though at the same time he embraces the thought that he will see his beloved wife Hannah and young son Haim again. Grateful for the friendships he has forged in his short time at the house, Isaac pondered how Anna showed him how to love again whilst young Fredrich reminded him on his own long lost son.

As the tides begin to turn and whispers of the Americans coming to liberate them, there is unrest in the camp as the guards become lax in their duties or hurry to evacuate the remaining inmates before they can arrive. Those who are too sick to travel are left to die or thrown into the pyres that have been burning day and night. Can Anna and Isaac survive long enough to be liberated?

A story written of a time in history of which many would rather forget, THE WATCHMAKER OF DACHAU is both beautiful and heartbreaking. It pulls at the heartstrings and is as breathtaking in its beauty as it is in its horrors. Told through the various narratives primarily Issac, Anna and Freidrich, there is also the diary excerpts by J.A.L. that Isaac and Anna share...and whose identity is a mystery until the very end. And then everything falls into place.

THE WATCHMAKER OF DACHAU is not about the plight or the suffering of the Jews or the inferior as deemed by the Nazis. It is not about Hitler's cruel regime or his rise to power on the backs of those below him. It is not your typical tale of the Holocaust. It is about finding the strength to rise above their horrible circumstances. And of survival, of hope and of love.

Nothing I can say in my review can possibly do the justice this book deserves. I can only say to grab yourself a copy and experience it for yourself.

A definite 5 star read and recommended for fans of historical fiction with an interest in WW2 fiction surrounding the Holocaust.

I would like to thank #CarlySchabowski, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheWatchmakerOfDachau in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful story! One of the best books in this genre that I have read. The story of woven with hope in spite of all that is happening to the characters. The story of endurance; mental and physical, and yet, even through all of that, we are still able to love and be loved. I couldn't put it down., and did not expect it to end as it did. Highly recommend.