Book Review: The Luck of the Weissensteiners by Christoph Fischer

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Book review, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, Historical fiction, history, holocaust, jewish history, Jews, review, slovakia, world war II

Book Review: The Luck of the Weissensteiners by Christoph Fischer Posted on April 15, 2016 by grandmapeachy

Source: Book Review: The Luck of the Weissensteiners by Christoph Fischer

Such a fantastic review – I had to re-blog this on my “Historical Saturdays”.

Thanks grandmapeachy.

Posted on April 15, 2016by grandmapeachy

After reading a blurb and some reviews of The Luck of the Weissensteiners by Christoph Fischer I decided to select it for the April book of the month for the Goodreads Trail Mix Readers group.

The story begins in the early 1930’s when people still remember WWI and referred to it as “the Great War.” The setting is in Bratislava Slovakia.  The story follows two families, one Jewish the other German Catholic through the rise of anti-semitism leading into WWII and the aftermath. There is a lot of political background in the book used to not only further the plot but to help the reader understand the mindset of the characters. The historical accuracy was enlightening and made for an enjoyable read.

The author used third person narrative which allowed the narrator to explain historical and current events taking place while advancing the plot and character development. I found the perspective of the ordinary man refreshing. The feelings and thoughts of the common people during the expansion of Hitler’s Reich helped me to understand the beliefs and fears of the people. Decisions made by the characters were based on what they believed would happen and often those beliefs were unfounded. It was unbelievable to them that Hitler would be allowed to continue unstopped; surely the rest of Europe would stop his advances. When he successfully invaded these countries they were shocked and began to fear for their own future. The suspicions people held of their neighbors and friends, the loss of personal freedoms and control over ones own life created characters with whom I could easily empathize. I could see in my mind’s eye the horrors that the characters saw, I could feel the sadness, fear, humiliation, suspicion, disappointment, anger and myriad other emotions of the people in the story. The characters were real people with real lives that were interrupted and irreversibly changed.

Over all this book has an excellent plot and I did not feel that it was just another WWII story. The characters came to life as I lived with them through the history of what happened in Europe at the time. An excellent read for any history buff especially those who have a keen interest in WWII.  The subject matter was handled expertly and is appropriate for teens as well as adults. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Happy Reading!

Grandma Peachy

Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Luck-Weissensteiners-Three-Nations-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00AFQC4QC

https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590171.Christoph_Fischer

 

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Three Reviews for “The Luck of The Weissensteiners”

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books, Czechoslovakia, displaced people, holocaust, jewish history, literature, slovakia, world war II

Here are three great reviews for my book “The Luck of The Weissensteiners”

Review 1:

Christoph Fischer’s THE LUCK OF THE WEISSENSTEINERS is a book that I approached with some trepidation. The theme of WW II Holocaust has been so well presented in many books so it is not an easy subject to compete in.
In my humble opinion it is a historically accurate story, I am not a historian, but I have explored that era in depth. This is a story where the reader gets to know the characters and walk with them through the horrors of WWII.
It is very balanced in showing that everyone suffered in a war, that in some cases it brought out the best and the worst in humanity. So it does not limit the story to The Holocaust, but rather brilliantly paints a picture of many aspects and in particular Czechoslovakia.
With brilliant stolen moments of joy and human kindness, agonizing moments of human suffering and enough survivors to insure that the tale felt very plausible and believable.
All prejudice, all wars should be remembered lest as a society we could be foolish enough to fall in the same steps. As cliché as it may seem to quote George Santanaya `Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’
Mr. Fischer entertains and informs in a manner that makes the past painful and easy to remember. I recommend this as a historically accurate, emotionally poignant a moving MOST worthwhile read.

*****

Review 2:

This was a hugely compelling read. The story mainly follows the progress of a Jewish family living in Bratislava at the beginning of WW II. The book is excellently written although it has a few idiosyncrasies of style that German speakers often bring to the English language. Actually, I found this lent it some authenticity as a biography since it gave the impression of a family member relating events that occurred to them and their kin during these terrible times.

Fischer uses the omniscient writing style well and handles the transitions between character viewpoints sympathetically in all but a couple of rare cases.

I bonded with several of the key characters to the extent that I had find out what happened to them and I was pleased to discover that the various outcomes were mixed rather than either of the two extremes that the situation and the title hinted at. My only two niggles with this book are that it could do with tightening up a little, perhaps 15% shorter, and that some of the dialogue felt awkward as the speakers were delegated the task of explaining a situation for the benefit of the reader.

I had no idea there were so many different ethnic groups in the Sudetenland and this book immersed me in their views and the troubles they had to confront. I feel like I learned something with is always a great thing to get from a book.

****

Review 3:

Great read! The details made me feel as if I was watching a movie!
Actually, this would be an amzing movie as it is an incredible book!
A 5 star
I loved it!

*****