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ClareR (6230 KP) rated We Germans in Books

Aug 17, 2023  
We Germans
We Germans
Alexander Starritt | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
We Germans is told from the point of view of a German soldier on the Eastern Front. A young British man asks his German grandfather about his role in the war, and whilst his grandfather doesn’t want to talk about it with him, he does leave him a letter to read about what happened to him after his death.

That letter is the book we read, with asides and clarifications from the grandson.

We don’t have a story that covers from the beginning to the end of the war. This is told from when things have started to go wrong for the Germans. The army is fragmented. The soldiers don’t really know where they’re going, but they know that they want to try and make it back to Germany - on foot. These men are scared, confused and the acts they see committed by both sides are horrific.

The grandson helps us to see the effects of the war on his grandfather, and his subsequent imprisonment in Russia. How 70 years post-war have changed him, how the war changed him as well. He acknowledges that he was to blame for what had happened as much as anyone else, but that he was expected to toe the line as a soldier.

This is historical fiction, but its well researched and has the hint of reality about it. It really gives the reader something to think about, and I know that personally, I haven’t found many books out there that cover this period of history in this way. I can’t say as it’s something I want to avidly read lots of books about, but having read this from a more human perspective (rather than a factual history book that lists dates and places), it feels very personal.

This is a short, powerful novel, and I think it’s worth the time spent reading it if you have an interest in either the time in history, or human nature.
  
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Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Lost History of Stars in Books

Jun 16, 2018  
The Lost History of Stars
The Lost History of Stars
Dave Boling | 2017 | History & Politics
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Lost History of Stars by Dave Boling is a powerful and shocking story about a family during The Second Anglo-Boer War during the early part of the 20th century in Africa. It's a historical fiction story that is inspired by true events. The Lost History of Stars is a story of desperation and hope.

The main character, Lettie, who is a thirteen year old Dutch-Africkaner girl comes from a poor farming family. She endures the loss of her home with her mother and two younger siblings when the scorched earth policy employed by the British during the Boer War burns their farm and forces them to leave in a wagon. Their African maid, Bina, tries to stay with the family, but is given no choice by the soldiers but to return to her people.

Lettie and her family are sent to a concentration camp where the conditions are awful. Her father, older brother, uncles, and grandfather are sent to fight the British with guerrilla tactics. Lettie worries and wonders about Bina and her family. Often Lettie remembers the songs and wisdom Bina shared during her childhood and the history of stars that Grandpa shared with her at night under the sparkling sky.

The story is told from Lettie's point of view. The reader learns of her experience in the concentration camp. Lettie attempt to find the good in small moments. Her more treasured possession is her English dictionary, which she reads for comfort to pass time.

The story switches between the present and past. This allows the reader to understand life before the war and during the war. It give the reader background information to understand the family dynamics.