Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

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 Obersturmführer 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

This is a very compelling story about a mother and daughter during WWII, with a parallel story set in 1997. Or, it should have been compelling. In reality it was poorly executed and tiresome.

The story had so much potential. It tells of Anna's life as a young, single mother, in Nazi Germany and the lengths she goes to keep her and her daughter alive. It's appalling to think women had to subject themselves to such degradation just to get by. I liked Anna in the beginning, too. Although, that went away after a while. I still liked Anna's story much more than Trudy's. It was much more interesting. I really disliked Trudy. I had a hard time believing she was a middle aged professor because she behaved like a child. I didn't understand most of her actions. Her story could have been tied in a much better way.

The problem with Trudy's story, and Anna's once you are halfway through, is the writing. Blum's writing was repetitive, unnecessarily vulgar and often times awkward. It was like she focused more on the details of the sexual encounters than the great story line she had thought out. It wasn't just the sex, though, it had so many side stories that led to nothing. There was so much in the story that could, and should, have been left out. It would have gotten a much higher rating if they were.

So to sum it up, it was a great premise ruined by bad writing.

2.5 out of 5 stars