The Novelist from Berlin by V.S. Alexander (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Title: The Novelist from Berlin

Author:  V.S. Alexander

Narrated by:  Deborah Balm

Publisher: HighBridge Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 1 minute

Source: Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @kensingtonbooks @netgalley for the review copy of The Novelist from Berlin.

Who is your favorite author?  Do you ever read about their life?

Marie (Niki) Rittenhaus is a young woman in 1920’s Germany.  She considers herself a “new German woman” who lives a free lifestyle moving from man to man as she tries to break into a career in film.  She meets the head of a film studio, stars in his films, and falls in love.  But as the Nazis take over Germany, her husband falls into step with them in order to continue with business as usual. She lives through tumultuous times and must decide what is the most important thing to her?  Can she save her own life?  What about the people she loves?

I really liked the time period that this book covered – from the 1920’s through the 1960’s.  The book not only covered the Nazi rule, but also the takeover of East Berlin and East Germany by communist rule.  The book had great moments of suspense and great characters.  I really liked Niki.  She was an independent and strong woman.  She had great love and loss in her life.  I wanted to keep reading to see where life would take her, her family and friends. 

I also liked how this book followed Niki’s life as an author.  Her books were daring when they were first published, but also the books that ended up on the Nazi’s fires.  Nikki tried to write again later, but she lost her zest for writing a happy story.  The topic of censorship was fascinating and relevant with the book banning that has been occurring in modern times.

I thought it fascinating that Niki’s story was loosely based on the life of Irmgard Keun, a writer who “was forced into exile because her novels defied the accepted norms of the National Socialists as they rose to power.” The Author’s note details what is known about Keun’s fascinating real-life story.  There are also great discussion questions for a book club to use at the end of the book.

I listened to The Novelist from Berlin on audiobook.  Deborah Balm was a great narrator, and it was a great book to listen to keep me awake and riveted on long drives for work in October.  I loved the way she pronounced “Laura.”  Laura was Niki’s daughter.

This book was published on September 26, 2023.  

See my Instagram Post for a great giveaway of one copy of this book!  (Instagram link on top left of this blog).