How
did Adolph Hitler rise to power? How
could the German people fall for his rhetoric and hate speech? Wolf tells the story of Hitler’s rise to
power through the eyes of his friend Friedrich Richard.
Friedrich
Richard awakens in a hospital at the end of WWI with no memory of what came before
this point in time. He had no ID on him
when he was wounded and he had plastic surgery after his massive head wound. No one knows what he originally looked
like. He is given a name and is sent to
a hospital to try to recover his memory.
While there he meets his bunkmate Adolph Hitler who was blinded by a gas
attack. While at the hospital, Hitler is
treated by a psychiatrist as his blindness does not have a physical cause. The two strike-up a friendship and Richard’s
physical strength allows him to be a “fixer” to Hitler as he begins his political
career.
Richard
likes Hitler’s message of German power and anger at the forced payments the
country has to make in reparations after WWI.
He does not like and overlooks Hitler’s racist messages. Richard has a Jewish friend. He himself is not racist, so what is the
problem if he supports someone who is?
Richard
is often away from Hitler and is only usually called back when there are
problems which mainly have to do with Hitler’s womanizing. Indeed, at various points in the book, I felt
like all I was reading about were Richard and Hitler’s conquests. Richard discovers that he is a virtuoso piano
player and learns to entertain crowds.
He also ends up composing music for movies. I was intrigued by this and the early film
industry.
The
beginning scene of the book is riveting and action packed and it is tied up at
the end. I enjoyed the story, although I
thought Hitler was a side character in a story about his rise to power. It was an interesting take on someone
realizing that even though they can be a personal friend with someone, power
and hate can turn them into someone they no longer understand.
Favorite
Quotes:
“I
came to learn that loyalty was the virtue Adolph Hitler prized most”
“Life
is not as simple as you’re making it to be Lillian. It is not always black or white. There is plenty of grey. It’s true that our party is far from perfect,
but they are our only chance to restore our greatness.”
Book
Source: Review Copy as part of the TLC
Book Tour. For more stops on this tour, check out this link.
About Wolf
• Hardcover: 552 pages• Publisher: Skyhorse (February 11, 2020)
In the Great Tradition of Herman Wouk, Author of Winds of War and War and Remembrance, Wolf is a Thoroughly Researched and Illustrated Historical Novel about a Man who is Not Yet a Monster . . . but Will Soon Become the Ultimate One: Adolf Hitler.
Perhaps no man on Earth is more controversial, more hated, or more studied than Adolf Hitler. His exploits and every move are well-documented, from the time he first became chancellor and then dictator of Germany to starting World War II to the systematic killing of millions of Jews. But how did he achieve power, and what was the makeup of the mind of a man who would deliberately inflict unimaginable horrors on millions of people?
Meet Friedrich Richard, an amnesiac soldier who, in 1918, encounters Hitler in the mental ward at Pasewalk Hospital. Hitler, then a corporal, diagnosed as a psychopath and helpless, suffering from hysterical blindness, introduces himself as Wolf to Friedrich and becomes dependent upon Friedrich for assistance, forming an unbreakable bond between the two men.
Follow Friedich—our protagonist—who interacts with real people, places, and events, through the fifteen-year friendship that witnesses Hitler turn from a quiet painter into a megalomaniacal dictator. Using brand-new historical research to construct a realistic portrait of the evolving Hitler, Wolf will satisfy, by turns, history buffs and fiction fans alike. And as this complex story is masterfully presented, it answers the question of how a nondescript man became the world’s greatest monster. .
Okay... scary... not sure I could read this.
ReplyDeleteFascinating!
ReplyDeleteThank you for being on this tour!
This sounds like interesting historical fiction. Excellent review, Laura.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty scary book - but I think a good one to read. It's disturbing to see people rationalize going along with things they know are wrong. I feel like we see that all of the time right now in the USA. I was just happy that the main character pulled through on the good side by the end.
ReplyDelete