Those Who Save Us by Jenna BlumBack-of-the-book blurb: For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy’s sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmfuhrer of Buchenwald.
Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the dramatic and heartbreaking truth of her mother’s life.
Combining a passionate, doomed love story, a vivid evocation of life during the war, and a poignant mother/daughter drama, Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.
I whipped through Those Who Save Us, but I didn’t whip out a review quickly enough. The library has been sending me (very nice) emails reminding me that the book is now overdue, can’t be renewed because someone else has requested it, and I’m accumulating fees on my account. This is why I tend to buy books – it’s like ripping off that economic bandaid all at once, instead of in 25-cent daily fines. Apologies for not doing the novel its full justice as I offer this brief review:
As I wrote above, I whipped through Those Who Save Us - the historic story, that of Anna and her life in Germany, was especially gripping. Blum writes WWII scenes set in Weimar, Germany that are detailed and plausible. We see the war years through the eyes of children and adults; mothers and lovers; supporters and shelterers.
A few of the passages I marked:
[speaker 1]: The death of a parent … is a profoundly life-altering experience, isn’t it. … Nothing is ever quite right, is it, after a parent dies? No matter how well things go, something always feels slightly off …
…
[speaker 2]: … It’s like being in a sort of club, isn’t it? A bereavement club. You don’t choose to join it; it’s thrust upon you. And the members whose lives have been changed have more knowledge than those who aren’t in it, but the price of belonging is so terribly high.
and a character in the contemporary storyline, who questions Trudy’s mission of archiving the stories of Christian Germans who lived through the war:
Why should they be permitted the cleansing of conscience that accompanies confession? It is analogous to adultery; the guilty party, far from spilling out his misdeeds and easing his mind while injuring the innocent other, should have to live with the knowledge of what he has done. A very particular kind of torture, subtle but ongoing.
It’s interesting, isn’t it — to consider that holding to oneself an admission of guilt is a greater punishment than anything that could be doled by the public or a court.
There were a lot of thought-provoking images in the novel, images that I could take out of the context of the atrocity of war times and place in our contemporary world:
- The past is dead. The past is dead, and better it remain so.
- Who among us is not stained by the past?
- a mother to a child: Anything I ever did, it was all for you.
The title, Those Who Save Us, gave me pause as I read and later when I contemplated the book. Who saves us? Strangers? Family? Ourselves? Can we ‘save’ those who don’t wish to be saved?
These questions and other make the novel a great choice for a discussion group; there is a book group guide online.
postscript: Instead of attending Jenna Blum’s event for The Stormchasers, I had to stay home and calm my daughter after a tough geometry exam. @GirlsSentAway picked up a copy of the book for me, which I’ll get from her on a coffee date next week (barring any surprise geometry exams).
Sounds like an emotional read. I sometimes find these books hard to read but so important to keep alive the idea that people can do horrible things to other people.
Oh – I loved this book!!!! I kept asking myself: what would I do? Could I do what Anna did? I’ll look forward to Blum’s new novel!!
-beth
This does sound very emotional, but I love books that tug at me like that and make me think.
I had been thinking of reading this book, but I am a little burnt out on WWII literature and haven’t been able to pick up any in months. That being said, this does sound like a great book and when I get back to reading about this subject, this is definitely going on my list. Thanks for the great review, and I am very sorry that you weren’t able to meet the author.
Would love to read this, thanks for the review.
I listened to an audio late last year called Let Me Go, about a grown woman who confronts her mother and her involvement with the Nazis. I thought it would rip my heart out…it was just raw emotion that was difficult to stare straight in the face. It sounds like this one could be similar. The issues books like these dredge up are so difficult to sort through.
This is a terrific book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it; and as I did I had to keep slowing myself down because it made me think, and wonder, and question.
Beth F. – yes, it also looks at WHY a character makes the choices she does, and left me wondering what I would have done.
Beth N. C. – the self-preservation instinct is strong, but the instinct to protect a child trumps everything!
Kathy – I think you’d really appreciate the novel, Kathy. It’s a great book group choice.
Zibilee – I took a lot of ponderin away from THOSE WHO SAVE US, but, yet, it is a WWII-based book. Take a break before reading it, so you won’t feel overwhelmed with the topic.
Mary Ann – I hope you do read it. As it came out several years ago, it’s available in paperback now.
Sandy – well, if you do read it and want to ‘chat,’ I’d love to! My neighborhood book group read a few WWII books over the past two years, and chose not to read it as a group (so I’m all alone with my head spinning!)
Beth H. – thanks for your comments. I’m directing people here to read your “thumbs up”!
Thanks for this review! Seems like a very interesting book. I love these kind of historical fictions, that also have a little bit of mystery as well in them. Thanks again for the great review! Definitely got to check this out!
Wow, this made me want to know more about this book. I know exactly who’s holiday shopping list I’m putting this one.
I really liked this passage you highlighted:
It’s interesting, isn’t it — to consider that holding to oneself an admission of guilt is a greater punishment than anything that could be doled by the public or a court.
I’d love to have a book discussion on that alone!
I’ve had this book for awhile, found the little gem at the library sale for 50 cents! Can’t wait to read it, and I will link to your review on War Through the Generations.
RBO – glad it piqued your interest!
Serena – there is a lot in the book that can be applied to contemporary life … a great choice for a book group.
Anna – you did find a treasure! I paid more than 50 cents in late fees to the library
Thanks for linking this sparse review.
This does sound like a great book club novel. I have Stormchasers to review, I’ll have to pick up this one as well!
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