Book Review: The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
Hello everybody. Today, if you can't tell by the title already, I am doing another book review. This time on The German Girl. So enjoy me rambling about this book and yeah...
The German Girl has 2 plots. One of a girl named Hannah, and one of a girl named Ana. Hannah is a girl who comes from a rich German family. Her story begins in 1939 when Hitler and the Nazis were starting to gain control of Germany. Now Hannah is actually Jewish and her family, the Rosenthals, are in a complicated situation where they don't want to leave their home, but they aren't exactly welcomed in Berlin. To the Germans, they were considered impure and dirty, and to the Jews, they were Nazis and traitors. Now Ana is a young girl living in New York City with her mother. The year, 2014. Her father passed away before she was even born in the catastrophic event of 9/11. Growing up, she knew very little of her father. When her mother and father had married, her father never really talked about his past or where he came from. One thing he insisted on was that if he were to ever have a daughter, her name would be Ana.
This book is divided into 4 parts. In the first part, each chapter is dedicated to either Ana or Hannah and tells how their story starts. The first chapter is of Hannah, the 2nd is of Ana, and so forth. In the second part, all the chapters are of Hannah and her experience on the St. Louis. The St. Louis was a ship that promised Jews a safe trip to Cuba. It carried 900 passengers and set sail from Hamburg, Germany in May of 1939. Unfortunately, less than 30 of the refugees where let into the country and the ship was forced to leave. After the U.S and Canada refused to take in the passengers, Great Britan, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands agreed to take in the passengers. However, the Nazis soon invaded most of Eastern Europe and only the passengers who landed in England were saved. In the third part of the book, Ana goes to Cuba to learn more about her father's past after she receives a package from Cuba. Just like the first part, the chapters alternate from the point of view of both characters. While Ana learns about how her father was raised, the next chapter would be like a flashback to that specific scene Ana learned about and it's told in Hannah's point of view. In the last part, both Hannah and Ana's stories are intertwined. The first chapter in part 4 is from Ana's perspective. This chapter is the closure to Ana's story and about how Ana's life would be like after this trip. The next chapter is on Hannah's perspective and her ending. I personally enjoyed reading this story. The fiction and non-fiction were mixed together nicely and the characters were very well written. My personal favourite characters would be Alma and Leo. Alma is Hannah's mother and throughout the book, we see her go through some very tough times and her development throughout the story was incredible. Leo is Hannah's friend and I'll just say that...I absolutely hated what happened to him. I enjoyed reading about him and his wild-childlike personality and his friendship with Hannah.
This book is divided into 4 parts. In the first part, each chapter is dedicated to either Ana or Hannah and tells how their story starts. The first chapter is of Hannah, the 2nd is of Ana, and so forth. In the second part, all the chapters are of Hannah and her experience on the St. Louis. The St. Louis was a ship that promised Jews a safe trip to Cuba. It carried 900 passengers and set sail from Hamburg, Germany in May of 1939. Unfortunately, less than 30 of the refugees where let into the country and the ship was forced to leave. After the U.S and Canada refused to take in the passengers, Great Britan, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands agreed to take in the passengers. However, the Nazis soon invaded most of Eastern Europe and only the passengers who landed in England were saved. In the third part of the book, Ana goes to Cuba to learn more about her father's past after she receives a package from Cuba. Just like the first part, the chapters alternate from the point of view of both characters. While Ana learns about how her father was raised, the next chapter would be like a flashback to that specific scene Ana learned about and it's told in Hannah's point of view. In the last part, both Hannah and Ana's stories are intertwined. The first chapter in part 4 is from Ana's perspective. This chapter is the closure to Ana's story and about how Ana's life would be like after this trip. The next chapter is on Hannah's perspective and her ending. I personally enjoyed reading this story. The fiction and non-fiction were mixed together nicely and the characters were very well written. My personal favourite characters would be Alma and Leo. Alma is Hannah's mother and throughout the book, we see her go through some very tough times and her development throughout the story was incredible. Leo is Hannah's friend and I'll just say that...I absolutely hated what happened to him. I enjoyed reading about him and his wild-childlike personality and his friendship with Hannah.
Comments
Post a Comment