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The Women in the Castle A Novel Jessica Shattuck Books

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The Women in the Castle A Novel Jessica Shattuck Books

"The Women in the Castle" by Jessica Shattuck, is ​an engrossing novel ​about three German women after WWII​ and it includes ​all the usual Big Themes of right/wrong, guilt/innocence, revenge/forgiveness.​ ​

Marianne, Benita, and Ania, are the surviving wives of men who participated in the July 20, 1944, failed assassination attempt on Hitler (aka as Operation Valkyrie). Marianne, the strongest and the leader, promised to take care of the wives and children of the would-be assassins (all executed). In a rustic "castle" in northern Germany, the three very different women, with very different backgrounds and war-time experiences, band together to protect their children and each other in the chaotic days following the defeat of the Nazis.

I won't outline to plot except to say that the story is immediately interesting, and provides suspense and mystery as it unfolds over the course of several years. As a piece of historical fiction I learned some things I hadn't known. For example, just after the war and before the Cold War got into full-swing, there was a "Sprunkammer" or a "denazification council" that assigned Germans (including ex-Nazis) to groups based on their "guilt" and they were officially sanctioned accordingly. Shattuck's novel is well-researched and it spun me off on several illuminating Wikipedia trails.

One big question the novel asks is, can you love someone without knowing or caring what atrocities they may have committed in the past? Can one truly have a fresh start? Can it be deserved? Walking down the street in Germany after the war, what kinds of suspicions would one harbor? Did that man execute Jewish children? Did that woman rat out her neighbor? It's a fascinating time and place in history. I also HIGHLY recommend: "City of Women" by David Gillham, and "Skeletons at the Feast" by Chris Bohjalian.


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The Women in the Castle A Novel Jessica Shattuck Books Reviews

This was a good read. I tried to put myself in these women shoes, it is not a walk I would want to walk. Even though it is labeled fiction it was very informative on what happen in Germany and continues to happen around the world. Man's inhumanity towards man. I would hardly put the book down.
The Women in the Castle focuses on three women in post WWII Germany. These women are brought together by Marianne, the wife of one of the men executed for attempting to assassinate Hitler. She had promised that if the plot failed that she would find her fellow resister widows and protect them.

I liked the unique perspective of this WWII fiction occurring primarily during post-war Germany. It highlights the choices and actions of German citizens during WWII. Some chose the path of resistance and some chose to support the Nazi party. Post-war, they must come to terms with their secrets and actions and try to move on. If they can they move on.

It's a really unique book, so I wish I would have enjoyed it more. The first half of the story was slow and tedious and it took a long time to really connect with the characters. I nearly bailed on the story. Overall, it was just an okay read for me.
I bought this as a possibility for our book club - and heard the usual groans when I pulled it out and explained the premise. I'm known as being obsessed with WWII stories. This novel takes a very different look at that time period - from the experiences of those who were left behind in a divided Germany. Not only left behind, but in shame and guilt, as they were the wives of the men who tried to assassinate Hitler. Three very different women, with different backgrounds and experiences, all drawn together only because they were the wives of assassins who were executed.
I couldn't put the book down - read it in two days. Four stars because it is just a darn good read - a story well told from beginning to end. Comparing it to the Nightengale, there is less suspense and intrigue - and much more about the emotions of these women - the way they are treated, and how they look at themselves in the aftermath.
It was chosen by the book club as the September read, as there is much to discuss after reading it. So little attention has been given to the Germans who were left behind to scratch out a life - perhaps they had no sympathy or support for Hitler - but they are treated, nonetheless, as the enemy by the Russian invaders - and more sympathetically by the Americans.
It is interesting to find out how life turned out for them. The author obviously spent time on her research, as there is a ring of truth and realism in her writing. I'm looking forward to the discussion of the book in September - and highly recommend the novel - reading it is time well spent.
I read a lot of this period, generally from the Jewish point a view, when Hitler forged the world war ll for world dominance. I rarely have read from the Germans prospective, those who were against Hitler's insane view. The effect the invasion had on these three women and how they dealt with it was pretty amazing. I liked this book and would recommend it.
"The Women in the Castle" by Jessica Shattuck, is ​an engrossing novel ​about three German women after WWII​ and it includes ​all the usual Big Themes of right/wrong, guilt/innocence, revenge/forgiveness.​ ​

Marianne, Benita, and Ania, are the surviving wives of men who participated in the July 20, 1944, failed assassination attempt on Hitler (aka as Operation Valkyrie). Marianne, the strongest and the leader, promised to take care of the wives and children of the would-be assassins (all executed). In a rustic "castle" in northern Germany, the three very different women, with very different backgrounds and war-time experiences, band together to protect their children and each other in the chaotic days following the defeat of the Nazis.

I won't outline to plot except to say that the story is immediately interesting, and provides suspense and mystery as it unfolds over the course of several years. As a piece of historical fiction I learned some things I hadn't known. For example, just after the war and before the Cold War got into full-swing, there was a "Sprunkammer" or a "denazification council" that assigned Germans (including ex-Nazis) to groups based on their "guilt" and they were officially sanctioned accordingly. Shattuck's novel is well-researched and it spun me off on several illuminating Wikipedia trails.

One big question the novel asks is, can you love someone without knowing or caring what atrocities they may have committed in the past? Can one truly have a fresh start? Can it be deserved? Walking down the street in Germany after the war, what kinds of suspicions would one harbor? Did that man execute Jewish children? Did that woman rat out her neighbor? It's a fascinating time and place in history. I also HIGHLY recommend "City of Women" by David Gillham, and "Skeletons at the Feast" by Chris Bohjalian.