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The Plum Tree
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B009AY433M
A deeply moving and masterfully written story of human resilience and enduring love, The Plum Tree follows a young German woman through the chaos of World War II and its aftermath."Bloom where you're planted," is the advice Christine Bölz receives from her beloved Oma. But seventeen-year-old domestic Christine knows there is a whole world waiting beyond her small German village. It's a world she's begun to glimpse through music, books--and through Isaac Bauerman, the cultured son of the wealthy Jewish family she works for.
Yet the future she and Isaac dream of sharing faces greater challenges than their difference in stations. In the fall of 1938, Germany is changing rapidly under Hitler's regime. Anti-Jewish posters are everywhere, dissenting talk is silenced, and a new law forbids Christine from returning to her job--and from having any relationship with Isaac. In the months and years that follow, Christine will confront the Gestapo's wrath and the horrors of Dachau, desperate to be with the man she loves, to survive--and finally, to speak out.
Set against the backdrop of the German homefront, this is an unforgettable novel of courage and resolve, of the inhumanity of war, and the heartbreak and hope left in its wake.
A deeply moving and masterfully written story of human resilience and enduring love, The Plum Tree follows a young German woman through the chaos of World War II and its aftermath."Bloom where you're planted," is the advice Christine Bölz receives from her beloved Oma. But seventeen-year-old domestic Christine knows there is a whole world waiting beyond her small German village. It's a world she's begun to glimpse through music, books--and through Isaac Bauerman, the cultured son of the wealthy Jewish family she works for.
Yet the future she and Isaac dream of sharing faces greater challenges than their difference in stations. In the fall of 1938, Germany is changing rapidly under Hitler's regime. Anti-Jewish posters are everywhere, dissenting talk is silenced, and a new law forbids Christine from returning to her job--and from having any relationship with Isaac. In the months and years that follow, Christine will confront the Gestapo's wrath and the horrors of Dachau, desperate to be with the man she loves, to survive--and finally, to speak out.
Set against the backdrop of the German homefront, this is an unforgettable novel of courage and resolve, of the inhumanity of war, and the heartbreak and hope left in its wake.
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 25, 2012
About the author
Ellen Marie Wiseman
11 books4,587 followersA first-generation German American, Ellen Marie Wiseman discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in NYS. She is a New York Times Bestselling author whose novels have been translated into twenty languages. Her debut novel, THE PLUM TREE, is loosely based on her mother’s stories about growing up in Germany during the chaos of WWII. THE PLUM TREE received much praise for its depiction of WWII and was named by Bookbub as One of Thirteen Books To Read if You Loved ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Ellen’s second novel, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND, was named a Huffington Post Best Books of Summer 2015. Her third novel, COAL RIVER, was called "one of the most "unputdownable" books of 2015" by The Historical Novel Review. Her fourth novel, THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN, was named A GREAT GROUP READS Selection of the Women’s National Book Association and National Reading Group Month, and a Goodreads Best of the Month for July. Her newest novel, THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR, comes out on August 4th, 2020. Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and two spoiled Shih-tzus, Izzy and Bella. When she’s not busy writing, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren. Find Ellen on Facebook at: www.Facebook.com/EllenMarieWisemanAuthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,073 reviews
December 4, 2013
I had the honor to read the original version of The Plum Tree before my dear friend Ellen even had an agent!!!! When I started reading it, I could not put it down. Although it takes place in war torn Germany during the reign of Hitler, the story is more about the German people, their diversity, their strength , their conviction and their perseverance. I believe that this book will appeal to readers of so many genres including historical and romance. It is an absolutely fabulous read and especially poignant as many of the details in the story are from Ellen's family's experiences.
January 21, 2013
I had a hard time sticking with Ellen Marie Wiseman's tale of a WW II romance between a Jewish Boy and an German girl in the beginning. There was almost too much description of place - meeting every flower and chicken in the town, so to speak, and Wiseman kept flinging German phrases into the story then immediately translating them in an annoying way. The central character, Christine, is part of a German family that was almost too morally disengaged from National Socialism to be realistic - very goody-two-shoes - although I am well aware not all Germans were Nazis. Since I had committed to read the book ( it was a Bookbrowse ARC) I stuck with it and ended up immersed in the story, which included lots of family trauma for both Christine and her boyfriend and provides a very realistic depiction of life in the war zone and in the German concentration camps. I'd also note the undying love between those two seems to develop initially for no discernible reason - I felt like more time could have been spent on what drew them together since their relationship seems to start as a crush, and is suddenly such a deep love they will do anything for each other even after months apart. Where did that come from, especially since he is Jewish in a Nazi-managed society and she is not? the twist at the end seems a bit contrived, and her relationship with an American soldier seems a bit underdeveloped - why is he so willing to help? It's fine if he's just a nice guy, but we don't really understand his motivation. For all the things Wiseman has left out, the book feels too long, mostly because she is so determined to describe the physical landscape in which the characters find themselves in so much detail. I think she needs a lot of editing.
May 29, 2023
Christine and her family work as servants in pre-WW2 Germany in Isaac’s house. Christine is a poor, working class Christian. Isaac’s family are wealthy Jews. They are unable to be together because of their difference in station. When they fall in love, it’s in secret. Then when WW2 comes, Issac is sent away.
This was a difficult novel to read in places, but very well written. The descriptions are vivid and the writing doesn’t shirk away from describing in detail every painful and gory event of war and mass slaughter. When Isaac turns up later in their village as a prisoner of the Nazis, Christine helps him escape. And then they are both in grave danger. Some twists and turns in this I wasn’t expecting!
This was a difficult novel to read in places, but very well written. The descriptions are vivid and the writing doesn’t shirk away from describing in detail every painful and gory event of war and mass slaughter. When Isaac turns up later in their village as a prisoner of the Nazis, Christine helps him escape. And then they are both in grave danger. Some twists and turns in this I wasn’t expecting!
May 2, 2015
This book has been for too long on my TBR, and it was one that really intrigued me. Admittedly it was mostly due to the beautiful cover design. The eerie, yet colorful image grabbed me and stayed plastered to my subconscious for a very long time.
It is not the best novel about the Holocaust and WWII, that I have read , but it was a gripping fictional memoir, based on a true story. As a memoir it was very well done. The author has a good narrative style. Nothing in the book is new, but what made it outstanding was the counter-perspective it provided in the collective German experience. Since it is based on a true story, the events was not over dramatized, although the experiences of Christine Bolz and her family had hair-raising moments. It was just so well described. In the end the book made me cry. Literally.
The fictional character and protagonist, Christine, was a headstrong seventeen-year-old girl who refused to give up on her family, dreams, love and friends. This would lead to unimaginable hardships which they barely survived. Rations were in place when the official war broke out: houses were stripped of all metal, including cutlery and personal items; even the heavy church bells were confiscated to serve the German war effort. Hunger was common; stale bread was a life saver. Christine planted the seed of a plum tree to confirm her believe in hope and survival. To demonstrate that this devastating experience will end and new growth can happen, if they all just believe it can.
She refused to step back in the face of adversity and stood tall when her family and friends were captured by the Nazis. As a non-Jewish citizen, in love with a Jewish young man, her fate was as destined as his.
This tale gripped me, touched me deeply. I know it is a story that will forever linger in my subconscious. The hardship of the family was bad, the reading experience very good. The Plum Tree is a perfect tribute to the hell and damnation of WWII and why it should never, ever happen again. It is a superb addition to the historical fiction experience.
It is not the best novel about the Holocaust and WWII, that I have read , but it was a gripping fictional memoir, based on a true story. As a memoir it was very well done. The author has a good narrative style. Nothing in the book is new, but what made it outstanding was the counter-perspective it provided in the collective German experience. Since it is based on a true story, the events was not over dramatized, although the experiences of Christine Bolz and her family had hair-raising moments. It was just so well described. In the end the book made me cry. Literally.
The fictional character and protagonist, Christine, was a headstrong seventeen-year-old girl who refused to give up on her family, dreams, love and friends. This would lead to unimaginable hardships which they barely survived. Rations were in place when the official war broke out: houses were stripped of all metal, including cutlery and personal items; even the heavy church bells were confiscated to serve the German war effort. Hunger was common; stale bread was a life saver. Christine planted the seed of a plum tree to confirm her believe in hope and survival. To demonstrate that this devastating experience will end and new growth can happen, if they all just believe it can.
She refused to step back in the face of adversity and stood tall when her family and friends were captured by the Nazis. As a non-Jewish citizen, in love with a Jewish young man, her fate was as destined as his.
This tale gripped me, touched me deeply. I know it is a story that will forever linger in my subconscious. The hardship of the family was bad, the reading experience very good. The Plum Tree is a perfect tribute to the hell and damnation of WWII and why it should never, ever happen again. It is a superb addition to the historical fiction experience.
July 23, 2015
While the blurb say masterfully written, that is not my overall assessment. The Plum Tree is about life from the other side of the coin in WW2; the life of a German girl and her family. This is a point of view I have not really considered until now.
Christine is 17 in 1938 and in love for the first time with Isaac, who has Jewish grandparents. She is heartbroken when Hitler passes one of his many decrees and Isaac and his family are ferried in the dead of night to places unknown. Christine and her family are appalled at the Fuhrer's new ruling; they are opposed to his ideas. As the war begins and then progresses, Christine's family feel the repercussions; all able men are taken away to the army, rationing begins and only Nazi radio can be accessed. 1939 becomes 1940, 1941, 1942... The family's hardship worsens; meagre/starvation rations, no word from their father and they are forced to attend rallies for Hitler. When a prisoners work detail is one day marched through the town, Christine sees Isaac and remarkably Isaac escapes. She happily shelters him in the attic but her life turns into a nightmare when the SS find Isaac and they are both thrown into Dachau.
Ellen Marie Wiseman says that her first manuscript of 280,000 words was rejected so she cut and revised the story. But to me, this is where the novel fails; it feels abridged, I could not feel thoroughly invested because some details felt like they were skimmed over. More detail on the Dachau aspect; conditions of prisoners, their food, their work, treatment from the guards etc would have help me feel more connected to the story. I do think the author shows promise but the subject matter needed more application. There are some problems with modern sayings such as in the moment and snuck and the like and also a few English comprehension flaws which better editing could have remedied. She also constantly refers to the place that Christine lives as a village but then says "Christine ran six blocks to Isaac's house"; six blocks? in a village? The idea I have of a village does not have six blocks in it. At the Nazi rally, she say 'thousands of Nazi soldiers filed into the sqaure"; thousands? I don't know but that doesn't seem likely to me; the Germans using thousands of their soldiers at a rally in a village. Maybe? Overall, an average read and hoping that her next novel What She Left Behind shows Wiseman coming into her own. 3★
August 18, 2012
"Christine, I want you to understand something. War makes perpetrators of some, criminals of others, and victims of everyone. Not all of the soldiers on the front are fighting for Hitler and his ideals. Just because a soldier is in the battle, doesn't mean that he believes in the war."
The Plum Tree is a story of a young girl (Christine) and her family during WWII and the Nazi occupation of Germany. Beyond that, it is a tale of love and survival, of loss and strength, and a tale of hope. It is historical fiction, woven with a tale of romance between a young German girl and a young German Jew at the height of the terror in Nazi-occupied Germany.
We have all learned about WWII, Nazi Germany, the concentration camps, and the horrors that befell Jews in Eastern Europe during Hitler's reign; however, this book brought this rich and terrifying history to life through the eyes of a young German girl and her family in ways that I had not experienced before. This is the first book that I have read from a German viewpoint rather than that of a concentration-camp or German Jew's perspective. And the story was chilling.
Christine is a sympathetic protagonist who was easy to identify with. When the book opens, she is only 17 and is in love with a young Jewish boy from a well-to-do family. Predictably (although I don't mean this as a slight), their world changes when the war begins and Jewish families are targeted by Hitler and his men.
We follow Christine through the changes in her hometown (including air raids, bombings, rationing of food, destruction, Jewish families being whisked away in the night to work campus, street shootings, and unspeakable violence). We often are not sure what has come of Christine's father (who was sent off to fight in the army) or Isaac, Christine's love who is likely sent away for being Jewish.
Ellen Marie Wiseman writes this novel from personal experience- as a first generation German-American, Ellen Marie spent much of her life between Germany and America, and heard many tales from family members who lived during this time and experienced these unspeakable horrors. This gives the novel a freshness and a truthfulness that is easy to see.
To say you loved this book feels wrong- it is haunting and heartbreaking and horrific- but it is also a lovely tale of young love and the heroism and spirit of a young German girl living in an unspeakably cruel world in a horrible period in Germany's history. That being said, this book is certainly a new favorite of mine and will be cherished forever. Although I thought I knew a great deal about this time period, WWII and Nazi-Occupied Germany, I was wrong. The perspective and the details from this story will undoubtedly stay with me forever.
The copy I read was an ARC which I was fortunate to be able to borrow, and I look forward to getting my hands on my own personal copy when The Plum Tree hits the shelves on December 24!
The Plum Tree is a story of a young girl (Christine) and her family during WWII and the Nazi occupation of Germany. Beyond that, it is a tale of love and survival, of loss and strength, and a tale of hope. It is historical fiction, woven with a tale of romance between a young German girl and a young German Jew at the height of the terror in Nazi-occupied Germany.
We have all learned about WWII, Nazi Germany, the concentration camps, and the horrors that befell Jews in Eastern Europe during Hitler's reign; however, this book brought this rich and terrifying history to life through the eyes of a young German girl and her family in ways that I had not experienced before. This is the first book that I have read from a German viewpoint rather than that of a concentration-camp or German Jew's perspective. And the story was chilling.
Christine is a sympathetic protagonist who was easy to identify with. When the book opens, she is only 17 and is in love with a young Jewish boy from a well-to-do family. Predictably (although I don't mean this as a slight), their world changes when the war begins and Jewish families are targeted by Hitler and his men.
We follow Christine through the changes in her hometown (including air raids, bombings, rationing of food, destruction, Jewish families being whisked away in the night to work campus, street shootings, and unspeakable violence). We often are not sure what has come of Christine's father (who was sent off to fight in the army) or Isaac, Christine's love who is likely sent away for being Jewish.
Ellen Marie Wiseman writes this novel from personal experience- as a first generation German-American, Ellen Marie spent much of her life between Germany and America, and heard many tales from family members who lived during this time and experienced these unspeakable horrors. This gives the novel a freshness and a truthfulness that is easy to see.
To say you loved this book feels wrong- it is haunting and heartbreaking and horrific- but it is also a lovely tale of young love and the heroism and spirit of a young German girl living in an unspeakably cruel world in a horrible period in Germany's history. That being said, this book is certainly a new favorite of mine and will be cherished forever. Although I thought I knew a great deal about this time period, WWII and Nazi-Occupied Germany, I was wrong. The perspective and the details from this story will undoubtedly stay with me forever.
The copy I read was an ARC which I was fortunate to be able to borrow, and I look forward to getting my hands on my own personal copy when The Plum Tree hits the shelves on December 24!
March 12, 2015
This is a story of the war , of the grave injustices , the horrors of the concentration camps. It is a story of unmitigated hate , but it is also a love story , a story of death and survival. It's a story that reminds us of the holocaust but also reminds us of the resilience of some of the survivors and that not all Germans were Nazis . We've seen real examples of how Jews were helped by notable people such as Oskar Schindler but this novel reminds us that there were others , ordinary German citizens who were brave and bold enough to leave bread and cheese along the way as prisoners marched or tried to hide Jews from the Nazis .
The author tells us in notes and in a Q & A at the end of the book that her inspiration was the experience of her German grandparents during WWII. "Oma had tried to help, risking her life to set out food for passing Jewish prisoners , even though she could barely feed her own children." In order to portray her family's story , the perspective here is that of a German girl who is not Jewish and not a Nazi . The impact of the war on the lives of ordinary German people - men drafted into the army even if they didn't believe in what Hitler wanted to do, women and children left hungry , their villages bombed . Wiseman does not ignore the horrors experienced by the Jews because she tells us Isaac's story , the Jewish man who Christine loves.
Early on in the novel , I had the same criticism as some others about the writing. There were lengthy descriptions and what seemed like contrived metaphors . This changed somewhere along the line and it became much more gripping read. Actually, I read every chance I had for the last two days wanting to know the fate of Christine and Isaac and their families .
December 26, 2013
This is the first book I've read by Ellen Marie Wiseman. I'll read this author 'again'. Its clear Ellen Marie Wiseman has excellent STORYTELLING 'talent. Her writing 'flows'!
Its an Historical novel, (historically accurate), about the Holocaust (a topic I know much about --from family members -friends -being Jewish -other books on the Holocaust --ongoing education with the intention to "remember").
It 'might' seem (at first anyway) ---that what makes this book unique is that the narrator is a young 'GERMAN' girl....and the 'camp' is not staged in Auschwitz.
Yet --I actually don't find the book 'all' that unique --(not today in 2013) --
I suppose if I had read this book 40 years ago ---I might have found the German perspective more of an 'awakening'??? But I'm 61 --I've read many books--from BOTH sides of the Holocaust --(we've know that many GOOD German people were victims and heros in the war --just as Jews were).
I think "The Plum Tree's" GREATEST GIFT is keeping the HOLOCAUST story *ALIVE*.....PERIOD!!!! ....with engaging -master-storytelling-abilities! (forming clear visuals page after page).
Its an Historical novel, (historically accurate), about the Holocaust (a topic I know much about --from family members -friends -being Jewish -other books on the Holocaust --ongoing education with the intention to "remember").
It 'might' seem (at first anyway) ---that what makes this book unique is that the narrator is a young 'GERMAN' girl....and the 'camp' is not staged in Auschwitz.
Yet --I actually don't find the book 'all' that unique --(not today in 2013) --
I suppose if I had read this book 40 years ago ---I might have found the German perspective more of an 'awakening'??? But I'm 61 --I've read many books--from BOTH sides of the Holocaust --(we've know that many GOOD German people were victims and heros in the war --just as Jews were).
I think "The Plum Tree's" GREATEST GIFT is keeping the HOLOCAUST story *ALIVE*.....PERIOD!!!! ....with engaging -master-storytelling-abilities! (forming clear visuals page after page).
October 9, 2022
The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman was another book about WWII but on the German side. It was interesting to read the book from the perspective of German civilians
Christine is in love with a Jewish boy. This weaves through their lives during the war.
The book was good. Much like many other WW2 books. I use audio. Through most of the book the narrator was awful! Obvious fake voices. If an amazing author such as Ellen Marie Wiseman is going to use audio why not use multiple narrators. Instead of fake male voices? I have not a clue what it takes to produce an audible book. But surely using multiple narrators is a must.
Christine is in love with a Jewish boy. This weaves through their lives during the war.
The book was good. Much like many other WW2 books. I use audio. Through most of the book the narrator was awful! Obvious fake voices. If an amazing author such as Ellen Marie Wiseman is going to use audio why not use multiple narrators. Instead of fake male voices? I have not a clue what it takes to produce an audible book. But surely using multiple narrators is a must.
April 28, 2015
Once in a while, I fall prey to Amazon recommendations. It's usually when I'm impatient and stressed and I'm looking for the literary equivalent of an After School Special, something that hits the right empathic buttons without much mental strain. The last time I did this I ended up with Orphan Train, which was bad but mostly hit those marks. This book was so painful that I quit reading about ten pages from the end, after forcing myself to keep going long past when I should have abandoned it.
The writing is competent, but the characters are shallow and overwrought. The plot is idiotic, coincidences pile on coincidences and people behave against human nature in order to force the next development. Basic scene-setting details are inaccurate. People die, and live, and return from the dead only as it serves the very predictable storyline.
I picked this book without doing the proper research, which now shows me that despite the high ratings, no one reputable has reviewed this book. I'm sorry I ever touched it, I was angry at the poor quality most of the time I was reading it; but I'm happy to reaffirm that real reviews matter so much more than algorithms when it comes to the complexity of literature and human taste.
The writing is competent, but the characters are shallow and overwrought. The plot is idiotic, coincidences pile on coincidences and people behave against human nature in order to force the next development. Basic scene-setting details are inaccurate. People die, and live, and return from the dead only as it serves the very predictable storyline.
I picked this book without doing the proper research, which now shows me that despite the high ratings, no one reputable has reviewed this book. I'm sorry I ever touched it, I was angry at the poor quality most of the time I was reading it; but I'm happy to reaffirm that real reviews matter so much more than algorithms when it comes to the complexity of literature and human taste.
April 22, 2014
(Started off as a 4-star and gradually became a 2.5)Oh, I so, so wanted to like this - I'd heard so much about it and recognized the home village (really, a town) in the first chapter as the very one in which I spent a lovely, meaningful summer. The story had such promise, but too often, I wanted to throw the book across the room. Reasons therefore:
1) The heavy-fisted Defense of the Good German. I'm actually quite sympathetic, but sometimes this felt like a defense in the guise of a novel. Our heroine's concerns about the Nazis were often cloaked in a perspectives that didn't at all seem to line up with her station in life and education.
2) A lot of telling instead of showing. We hear a lot about the hard work of Mutti, but we despite the long descriptions, we don't see it. The central love affair begins in the first chapter, but the couple have fallen in love before the book begins. We don't see that attraction that cements the book together. Why on earth is she friends with Kate?
3) The last third of the book reads completely as a Plot Device So That Our Heroine Must Return. I think I may have said out loud "Really? Must we?"
4) The character of Stefan. Twiddle your handlebar mustache!
But I did read it all and I do think the author has quite a bit of potential. I agree with previous reviews, but was willing to overlook the über description and gratuitous use of German phrases (with inconsistent definitions). And, in reading the Author's Note, I gather she was trying to include as many anecdotes as possible, in homage to her mother and grandmother, but it made for scenes that didn't further the narrative (especially in the final third of the book), which tried my patience. Perhaps a memoir would have been more fitting. In the meantime, I'm puzzled with the strong reviews, wish there had been a much stronger hand as editor and rewriting the book in my head.
1) The heavy-fisted Defense of the Good German. I'm actually quite sympathetic, but sometimes this felt like a defense in the guise of a novel. Our heroine's concerns about the Nazis were often cloaked in a perspectives that didn't at all seem to line up with her station in life and education.
2) A lot of telling instead of showing. We hear a lot about the hard work of Mutti, but we despite the long descriptions, we don't see it. The central love affair begins in the first chapter, but the couple have fallen in love before the book begins. We don't see that attraction that cements the book together. Why on earth is she friends with Kate?
3) The last third of the book reads completely as a Plot Device So That Our Heroine Must Return. I think I may have said out loud "Really? Must we?"
4) The character of Stefan. Twiddle your handlebar mustache!
But I did read it all and I do think the author has quite a bit of potential. I agree with previous reviews, but was willing to overlook the über description and gratuitous use of German phrases (with inconsistent definitions). And, in reading the Author's Note, I gather she was trying to include as many anecdotes as possible, in homage to her mother and grandmother, but it made for scenes that didn't further the narrative (especially in the final third of the book), which tried my patience. Perhaps a memoir would have been more fitting. In the meantime, I'm puzzled with the strong reviews, wish there had been a much stronger hand as editor and rewriting the book in my head.
April 24, 2016
Yes, I broke my rule and read this "historical fiction" about a "normal and good" German family during WW2.
All I can say is it reminds me of a trip I took through German cities in 2002. I took many tours and was shocked to listen, over and over again, to German Guides telling an American audience with Naval Academy alumni present about how wretchedly the Allies had destroyed civilians and cities with bombing. Several of us continued to walk out when this happened.
So I read this "story" where historical facts and dates are changed to suit the author"s fictional plot of cliche events and cliche characters. The good Germans populace didn't know anything about what was happening, the main family was comprised of all good people who loved their Jewish employers, the mean girl in the village is the one who loved and married the mean SS officer, and on and on and on ad nauseum. Just when you think it's finally over, a silly plot twist happens which make the lovers, one Jewish and one good German, heroes.
Once again I will say, " There are thousands of books out there which are non fiction accounts both personal and historical of the people who lived through the war. Fiction could never compete with these.
All I can say is it reminds me of a trip I took through German cities in 2002. I took many tours and was shocked to listen, over and over again, to German Guides telling an American audience with Naval Academy alumni present about how wretchedly the Allies had destroyed civilians and cities with bombing. Several of us continued to walk out when this happened.
So I read this "story" where historical facts and dates are changed to suit the author"s fictional plot of cliche events and cliche characters. The good Germans populace didn't know anything about what was happening, the main family was comprised of all good people who loved their Jewish employers, the mean girl in the village is the one who loved and married the mean SS officer, and on and on and on ad nauseum. Just when you think it's finally over, a silly plot twist happens which make the lovers, one Jewish and one good German, heroes.
Once again I will say, " There are thousands of books out there which are non fiction accounts both personal and historical of the people who lived through the war. Fiction could never compete with these.
August 24, 2020
This is a story of a seventeen year old girl who works with her mother at a house of a Jewish family. There she meets an ambitious Jewish boy, who studies at university. Through his cultured world she gets a taste of music and books, which brings them together. Their love is short lived. It happens right before the fall of 1938. Hitler’s regime changes everything and the young lovers get separated.
The author paints well a picture of lives restricted by Hitler’s regime, depiction of Dachau camp and lives after war. Her story also evokes human emotions. However, the plot in the first half of the book is weak. It is better developed in the second half. The prose is easy and fluent. The characters are well-developed. The family of the main character is very likable.
Overall, I it is an interesting story. However, the plot could be a bit stronger.
The author paints well a picture of lives restricted by Hitler’s regime, depiction of Dachau camp and lives after war. Her story also evokes human emotions. However, the plot in the first half of the book is weak. It is better developed in the second half. The prose is easy and fluent. The characters are well-developed. The family of the main character is very likable.
Overall, I it is an interesting story. However, the plot could be a bit stronger.
March 7, 2016
I did enjoy this novel although it is a haunting account of the holocaust. It's a story told from the German perspective of an 18 year old girl who finds love with a Jew just before the war starts. It's haunting as she loses her love only to find him later and hides him in the family attic to save him. He is caught however, and both are sent to the concentration camp. I find all reads that take place during Hitler's regime to be disturbing but like many survivors, it's a story about survival, family and love. I like Wiseman's style of writing and look forward to her latest novel What She Left Behind.
April 22, 2013
I wish I could say I liked this more, as the idea of telling a tale of a rural German family in WWII, equally as terrified of Nazis as of allied bombs, sounds an interesting one. The first problem I had with it was the voice of the narrator, which seemed terribly young, mentally 12 years old, though engaged in an unlikely clandestine love affair we're supposed to care about, although we don't get to see it develop or have any reason to think there's much more than mild lust going on. A pebble does not true love make. If we're old and cynical the story of a rich person's son messing about with the maid doesn't suggest real love or a likely future together, either. So we're deep into romance total-fantasy land with the love affair. Later, the book places her at 23 years old in 1944, so she had to have been an older teen at the opening; therefore the opening voice seemed all wrong. The re-connection with the beloved mid-way through the novel requires an unbelievable coincidence. The end feels badly paced and the surprise happy ending felt forced, too.
January 22, 2015
So, I had lots of trouble getting into this one. It. Just. Drags.
Around page 100 I decided to give up, but then that is very difficult for me and I was j u s t b a r e l y interested enough to give it a few more chapters.
I can't say that it picked up at that point. It really doesn't much get going until maybe 200 pages in, but I am stubborn.
The problems are, sadly, many. There is almost no showing and all telling. That doesn't work. The beginning almost feels like "here are Isaac and Christine and they are in love" and with that we can get back to the endlessly mind-numbing descriptions of the buildings, roads, rooftops, trees, barns, sidewalks, gardens, endless walking, cleaning, cooking, etc.
There is also the actual wordage, over-wordage. The author seems to have an aversion to pronouns, particularly plural ones. How many times did she have to list every family member with their exact location and current task? When they go down the stairs, she doesn't say, they all went downstairs, no. It is Mutti and Oma and Maria and Heinrich and Karl went down the stairs while Christine watched their five pale forearms slide down the bannister. They aren't ever the family sitting at the table, but Mutti seated at the end of the table with Maria on her right side across from Oma who was on her left and Karl who was seated next to Oma across from Heinrich who was seated next to Maria. I believe she must have been paid per word. And every single sentence must be descriptive or compared to something else. The writing isn't good.
For this to work, the relationship which is supposed to be the heart of the story, that needs to hook me, needs to draw me in, needs to be actually revealed and built upon, not just here it is. That doesn't work and reading the author's notes in the back I can see why it doesn't work. Most of the book was already thought out or possibly written when she thinks oh, snap, that's it, like Titanic, I'll make it center around a star-crossed romance. And that is exactly how it feels, that she didn't put thought into the romance, only everything else.
I could get no idea of these two being in love, mostly just physical attraction and we are told at some point they pledge their love. Wait! What? I might have liked to actually read that instead of being told. As I've said before, show, not tell. And then most of the book is just waiting to see what will happen to Isaac, missing Isaac, picking apples, gardening, cleaning and rushing off to the air-raid shelter.
Further, the love story, the parts of it, are simply beyond belief. And that's why I say it doesn't work. But that doesn't much matter I guess, because the love story really is only to support the author's real intent which is to show that the German people were innocent and didn't understand why they were being bombed, etc. Of course, the French were bad and the Russians were awful, the Americans were opportunists and mean for bombing them. I guess the British likely weren't nice either, but they are left out. But, wait you might say, didn't France, Russia and Britain also suffer the same things by people who were, in fact, innocent, both their countries and individually? Well, that is mostly ignored.
And the German people, the ones who let their Jewish neighbors and others be taken, or helped them be taken or found, who near the end of the war, helped hunt down or kill escaping Jews, is that innocent?
Around page 100 I decided to give up, but then that is very difficult for me and I was j u s t b a r e l y interested enough to give it a few more chapters.
I can't say that it picked up at that point. It really doesn't much get going until maybe 200 pages in, but I am stubborn.
The problems are, sadly, many. There is almost no showing and all telling. That doesn't work. The beginning almost feels like "here are Isaac and Christine and they are in love" and with that we can get back to the endlessly mind-numbing descriptions of the buildings, roads, rooftops, trees, barns, sidewalks, gardens, endless walking, cleaning, cooking, etc.
There is also the actual wordage, over-wordage. The author seems to have an aversion to pronouns, particularly plural ones. How many times did she have to list every family member with their exact location and current task? When they go down the stairs, she doesn't say, they all went downstairs, no. It is Mutti and Oma and Maria and Heinrich and Karl went down the stairs while Christine watched their five pale forearms slide down the bannister. They aren't ever the family sitting at the table, but Mutti seated at the end of the table with Maria on her right side across from Oma who was on her left and Karl who was seated next to Oma across from Heinrich who was seated next to Maria. I believe she must have been paid per word. And every single sentence must be descriptive or compared to something else. The writing isn't good.
For this to work, the relationship which is supposed to be the heart of the story, that needs to hook me, needs to draw me in, needs to be actually revealed and built upon, not just here it is. That doesn't work and reading the author's notes in the back I can see why it doesn't work. Most of the book was already thought out or possibly written when she thinks oh, snap, that's it, like Titanic, I'll make it center around a star-crossed romance. And that is exactly how it feels, that she didn't put thought into the romance, only everything else.
I could get no idea of these two being in love, mostly just physical attraction and we are told at some point they pledge their love. Wait! What? I might have liked to actually read that instead of being told. As I've said before, show, not tell. And then most of the book is just waiting to see what will happen to Isaac, missing Isaac, picking apples, gardening, cleaning and rushing off to the air-raid shelter.
Further, the love story, the parts of it, are simply beyond belief. And that's why I say it doesn't work. But that doesn't much matter I guess, because the love story really is only to support the author's real intent which is to show that the German people were innocent and didn't understand why they were being bombed, etc. Of course, the French were bad and the Russians were awful, the Americans were opportunists and mean for bombing them. I guess the British likely weren't nice either, but they are left out. But, wait you might say, didn't France, Russia and Britain also suffer the same things by people who were, in fact, innocent, both their countries and individually? Well, that is mostly ignored.
And the German people, the ones who let their Jewish neighbors and others be taken, or helped them be taken or found, who near the end of the war, helped hunt down or kill escaping Jews, is that innocent?
January 8, 2021
3.5 stars rounded up.
I have read a couple of Ellen Marie Wiseman’s books and have enjoyed them. This apparently was her first book and it shows. That’s not to say it isn’t a good book, but it is nowhere as good as her later books.
This is an historical fiction book about Germany during WWII and it mostly centers on how the German people suffered during this time, especially one family. Christine and Isaac are teenagers who fall in love just before Hitler comes into power in Germany. Isaac and his family are Jews, and eventually they fall victim to the new anti-Semitic laws in Germany. Christine and Isaac do everything they can to stay together, but they are no match for the Nazis and their inhumanity.
The characters in the book are a bit one dimensional. I found Christine to be exasperating at times. She was so focused on her love of Isaac that she lost her sense of self preservation and would make really poor choices. Over and over again.
You do get a good sense of what it was like for the German people during the war. Often times they had no idea what was going on, at least in some of the villages. But let me just say this: I get that the German people suffered under the Nazis. It was horrible. BUT, their suffering was nothing compared to the horrors of the Holocaust. I once had a friend talk about how much her German relatives suffered during the war. I refrained from pointing out that they didn’t end up in the gas chambers and the crematoriums, and she should be aware to whom she was speaking. Needless to say, I don’t seek out her company anymore, for this and other reasons.
I thank G-d that both sides of my family were already in America when WWII broke out. Several of my uncles served, some in Europe. But I digress.
The American liberators don’t come off well in this book. They are portrayed as angry at all the German people and extremely vindictive towards them. This may be so. I’m sure I would feel the same way if I had been one of the people who liberated the camps and saw the horror there.
But all that said, the book engaged me and I felt swept up in it. It’s a good read, though at times I felt like it was a YA book, given the over emphasis on the Christine and Isaac story. I do appreciate the fact that the author wrote an historical fiction account of WWII from a different perspective. In the author’s notes, Ms. Wiseman said that she wrote the book because of her mother’s and grandmother’s stories about the war and life in Germany at that time.
So I liked but didn’t love this book. You can read it and make up your own mind.
On to something much lighter!
I have read a couple of Ellen Marie Wiseman’s books and have enjoyed them. This apparently was her first book and it shows. That’s not to say it isn’t a good book, but it is nowhere as good as her later books.
This is an historical fiction book about Germany during WWII and it mostly centers on how the German people suffered during this time, especially one family. Christine and Isaac are teenagers who fall in love just before Hitler comes into power in Germany. Isaac and his family are Jews, and eventually they fall victim to the new anti-Semitic laws in Germany. Christine and Isaac do everything they can to stay together, but they are no match for the Nazis and their inhumanity.
The characters in the book are a bit one dimensional. I found Christine to be exasperating at times. She was so focused on her love of Isaac that she lost her sense of self preservation and would make really poor choices. Over and over again.
You do get a good sense of what it was like for the German people during the war. Often times they had no idea what was going on, at least in some of the villages. But let me just say this: I get that the German people suffered under the Nazis. It was horrible. BUT, their suffering was nothing compared to the horrors of the Holocaust. I once had a friend talk about how much her German relatives suffered during the war. I refrained from pointing out that they didn’t end up in the gas chambers and the crematoriums, and she should be aware to whom she was speaking. Needless to say, I don’t seek out her company anymore, for this and other reasons.
I thank G-d that both sides of my family were already in America when WWII broke out. Several of my uncles served, some in Europe. But I digress.
The American liberators don’t come off well in this book. They are portrayed as angry at all the German people and extremely vindictive towards them. This may be so. I’m sure I would feel the same way if I had been one of the people who liberated the camps and saw the horror there.
But all that said, the book engaged me and I felt swept up in it. It’s a good read, though at times I felt like it was a YA book, given the over emphasis on the Christine and Isaac story. I do appreciate the fact that the author wrote an historical fiction account of WWII from a different perspective. In the author’s notes, Ms. Wiseman said that she wrote the book because of her mother’s and grandmother’s stories about the war and life in Germany at that time.
So I liked but didn’t love this book. You can read it and make up your own mind.
On to something much lighter!
December 3, 2012
I absolutely loved THE PLUM TREE, which I read as an ARC. It's a story of nearly impossible love in an unjust situation, but leaves you feeling both bittersweet and hopeful. Wiseman knows her setting like the back of her hand, and it shows, and the historical details are so well-researched--many I didn't know. How the average German citizen managed during the war is rarely visited in fiction, and Wiseman's family history and personal research really enrich the story. Readers of THE BOOK THIEF and THOSE WHO SAVE US will enjoy THE PLUM TREE.
I know the author, and I expected to like the book, but I was truly blown away by the level of writing craft for a first novel, and by the emotional impact it had on me. Ellen Marie Wiseman has set a high standard for first books, indeed. I will be lining up early for whatever comes next.
I know the author, and I expected to like the book, but I was truly blown away by the level of writing craft for a first novel, and by the emotional impact it had on me. Ellen Marie Wiseman has set a high standard for first books, indeed. I will be lining up early for whatever comes next.
December 13, 2014
"It's not their fault,"Christine said to Hanna. "What could they have done to stop it? Any of them? What could they have done without getting themselves killed?"
3.5 stars. A very difficult book to rate. I struggled with the first part of the story, as the relationship between the two main characters felt a bit like instalove - we only see them together three times but have to believe in Christine and Isaac's undying love. The main part of the book was phenomenal - shocking, heartbreaking with a lot of detail on Hitler's propaganda previously unknown to me. The ending felt like there was too much happening with too few characters, but I've never lived in the aftermath of a war, so maybe this is the way it would be.
If WWII books are your thing, I still highly recommend this. I think I may just have gone in with very high expectations.
September 26, 2012
Ellen Marie Wiseman has a striking ability to describe in telling details, using all the senses. She doesn't just show us German villages burning after Allied bombings, she tells us the taste of the smoke and ashes. The Plum Tree is also very strong on describing emotions, which is vital in a book on the emotional trauma of war. There was a lot of history here that I didn't know, and I doubt many other American readers would be familiar with. We have indeed been taught the history of the victor, as far as World War II goes.
All in all, this reads like the book Wiseman was born to write!
All in all, this reads like the book Wiseman was born to write!
July 4, 2019
This book is a book about WWII. It is described as "A deeply moving and masterfully written story of human resilience and enduring love". I can probably summarize by "yet another romance in WWII". The story was flat, and completely non-realistic, trying to be generic WWII. Most of the story not much is happening and I was very happy that it ended.
There are other great books on WWII, like All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak that are doing an outstanding story telling and character portraying. They are also telling about German citizen lives during the war, and they probably did more research to sound real, and made also a great work on the emotional side.
Christine is in love with Isaac, a wealthy German Jewish lad. She comes from a poor family herself. On the same day that they kiss jews are not allowed to go with Germans anymore and everything changes in a heart-bit (exactly like it really happened, right?).
The literary way that the author describes things threw me off. Tons of unnecessary details, that do not help with the plot nor with the character. Here is one example: Now, she turned right, through a squat, arched door just past the inner recess of the main entrance, and climbed a wooden staircase. Halfway up, the stairway narrowed as it circled around the bells and gears of the massive carillon. Staying close to the stone walls because there was no railing, she climbed faster and faster, hoping the bells wouldn’t ring before she reached the top. On the last step, she went out a narrow door onto the enclosed octagon catwalk, the highest point in the village. She hadn’t climbed up there in years, but it used to be one of her favorite places to sit on hot summer days, to catch the cool breezes that blew above the crowded buildings and narrow streets of the stifling village.
What bothered me more than anything though was the plot line. After that kiss, one kiss, she keeps seeing him every night, even though it is extremely dangerous. They stay hours together, they both walk through the night, and of course not a single incident. Later after he is being taken by the Nazis she saves him when they walk the jews on the street, hides him in her house, when they find them they do nothing to any of them (or her family, which I do not believe Nazis will easily overlook). And she also ends up feeling bad for everybody and protecting some of the Nazi officers, because they actually didn't do anything. At the camp they still see each other, and also Lagerkommandant is super nice man, that feels bad about killing the jews, and just waits for everything to be over to tell the world what happened. And these things keep happening until the last word.
Both Christine and Issac are too good to be true. She defends everyone and saves everyone. Issac is really an empty shell of a person in the book, but he also is the pure goodness. “Good,” Isaac said, scowling. “I’ll sneak down in the middle of the night and slit their throats while they sleep.”
“You’re not making sense. You wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone another human being.”
And it is sticky: “I want you to know something. It was thoughts of you that kept me from going insane. I never stopped loving you. Not for an instant.”
“Or I you,” she said, grasping his hand. “Or I you.”
I read somewhere that Ellen Marie Wiseman says that her first manuscript of 280,000 words was rejected so she cut and revised the story. I don't think that more words would solve the problems here. I think that too much fluff and not enough depth and research is the problem. 2 stars.
There are other great books on WWII, like All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak that are doing an outstanding story telling and character portraying. They are also telling about German citizen lives during the war, and they probably did more research to sound real, and made also a great work on the emotional side.
Christine is in love with Isaac, a wealthy German Jewish lad. She comes from a poor family herself. On the same day that they kiss jews are not allowed to go with Germans anymore and everything changes in a heart-bit (exactly like it really happened, right?).
The literary way that the author describes things threw me off. Tons of unnecessary details, that do not help with the plot nor with the character. Here is one example: Now, she turned right, through a squat, arched door just past the inner recess of the main entrance, and climbed a wooden staircase. Halfway up, the stairway narrowed as it circled around the bells and gears of the massive carillon. Staying close to the stone walls because there was no railing, she climbed faster and faster, hoping the bells wouldn’t ring before she reached the top. On the last step, she went out a narrow door onto the enclosed octagon catwalk, the highest point in the village. She hadn’t climbed up there in years, but it used to be one of her favorite places to sit on hot summer days, to catch the cool breezes that blew above the crowded buildings and narrow streets of the stifling village.
What bothered me more than anything though was the plot line. After that kiss, one kiss, she keeps seeing him every night, even though it is extremely dangerous. They stay hours together, they both walk through the night, and of course not a single incident. Later after he is being taken by the Nazis she saves him when they walk the jews on the street, hides him in her house, when they find them they do nothing to any of them (or her family, which I do not believe Nazis will easily overlook). And she also ends up feeling bad for everybody and protecting some of the Nazi officers, because they actually didn't do anything. At the camp they still see each other, and also Lagerkommandant is super nice man, that feels bad about killing the jews, and just waits for everything to be over to tell the world what happened. And these things keep happening until the last word.
Both Christine and Issac are too good to be true. She defends everyone and saves everyone. Issac is really an empty shell of a person in the book, but he also is the pure goodness. “Good,” Isaac said, scowling. “I’ll sneak down in the middle of the night and slit their throats while they sleep.”
“You’re not making sense. You wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone another human being.”
And it is sticky: “I want you to know something. It was thoughts of you that kept me from going insane. I never stopped loving you. Not for an instant.”
“Or I you,” she said, grasping his hand. “Or I you.”
I read somewhere that Ellen Marie Wiseman says that her first manuscript of 280,000 words was rejected so she cut and revised the story. I don't think that more words would solve the problems here. I think that too much fluff and not enough depth and research is the problem. 2 stars.
January 4, 2017
A moving story of Christine, a young German woman, who falls in love with a Jewish boy on the eve of the Second World War. What follows is a unique and memorable tale of loyalty and the strength of the human spirit.
January 28, 2015
Has anyone else noticed that all the 5 star reviews were written by those who are friends with the author, or at least hint at it? If my friend wrote a book I, too, would write a 5 star review.
But this is not a 5 star book. The plot is unoriginal, but does have potential. I just wish that we could have seen Isaac and Christine fall in love instead of the author taking pages upon pages of describing a pasture or a village. I've seen both. Don't need to described to me ad nauseum.
The excessive and unneeded use of German words was highly distracting. I don't think this author has yet mastered the level of appropriate use of terms in the characters' native tongue.
Disappointing book despite what seemed a, though belabored, interesting plot. It was the execution that fell short.
But this is not a 5 star book. The plot is unoriginal, but does have potential. I just wish that we could have seen Isaac and Christine fall in love instead of the author taking pages upon pages of describing a pasture or a village. I've seen both. Don't need to described to me ad nauseum.
The excessive and unneeded use of German words was highly distracting. I don't think this author has yet mastered the level of appropriate use of terms in the characters' native tongue.
Disappointing book despite what seemed a, though belabored, interesting plot. It was the execution that fell short.
May 7, 2016
Not sure if it was the book or narrator but I didn't enjoy the 1st half as much as the 2nd. The 2nd half was unputdownable. Interesting note: the author's German mother and grandparents inspired some events in this novel. Recommended to history and historical fiction fans.
August 10, 2021
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This is the story of a young woman in her late teens and her family at the start of WWII. They live in a small town in Germany and are barely scratching out a living. She is in love with a young Jewish man. I remain interested in the daily lives and thoughts of non-military Germans living through WWII. The author combined extensive research and personal experience. The paper backed volume I received was attractive and contained a reading group guide suitable for tough-minded reading groups.
Some criticize the plot for containing too many coincidences and some incidents may seem far-fetched but the story serves well a primer for those learning about Germany in WWII.
December 8, 2017
The other side of the story
Ellen Marie Wiseman has pulled back the curtain on what it was like to live in Germany during WWII . Her characters are as vivid as they are diverse. Her story punctuated with horrors and fears and defiant courage. I'm amazed that this is Ellen's debut novel and interested to read her next. Worthwhile read.
Ellen Marie Wiseman has pulled back the curtain on what it was like to live in Germany during WWII . Her characters are as vivid as they are diverse. Her story punctuated with horrors and fears and defiant courage. I'm amazed that this is Ellen's debut novel and interested to read her next. Worthwhile read.
June 3, 2017
Найперше я спокусилась на обкладинку, а потім анатоцію. Хотіла побачити війну очима німців, зрозуміти як жилось їм, що вони думали, відчували, чого прагнули і з чим не погоджувались. Я хотіла книги про війну, про вижив��ння і, хай буде, про любов, куди ж без неї. Натомість отримала пустопорожню балаканину ні про що.
Та з перших сторінок помітила примітивний і дуже бідний текст, без будь-якого емоційного забарвлення. Емоцій там взагалі мало, вони є, можливо, чи мали б бути, але крім штучності слів, сухості діалогів нічого не помітно.
Так роман не є історичним, але або авторці забракло знань, або ж вона не вважала, що історія, хронологія подій важливі. Усе описано без деталей, поверхнево, неправдоподібно.
Чи можна повірити, що комендант настільки довіряв Крістін, щоб з перших днів розказував їй про свої переконання, плани чи просто ділився думками, за які б його могли розстріляти? Чи можна повірити, що Стефан сприйняв би за чисту монету лист від Грунштайна, отой тупо написаний текст? Надто наївно.... Важко повірити, що Крістін бачила барак чи табір взагалі.
До біса ідеалізовані та круті американці, гвалтівники червоноармійці - стереотипи?
Авторка говорила про те, щоб роман читали вн має бути захоплюючим, але де те чим можна захоплюватись? На 500 сторінках тексту я не знайшла нічого, щоб захопило. На мить, у мене з'явилася надія, що авторка не воскресить Ісаака, та я знала, що вона марна. Надто передбачливо було. Жодної інтриги.
Де вона та майстерна оповідь і багаті, живі характери? Шукала і не знайшла.
Не можу зрозуміти чому в США книга розійшлась таким величезним накладом? Лише, що там люди мають ще менше уявлень про те, що відбувалось, чим пані Вайсман, Але для чого засмічуівти український ринок? Книгу читали, на кого вона розрахована? В неї мають повірити ті, хто читав "Список Шиндлера", "Хлопчик у смугастій піжамі", "Ключ Сари" "Крадійка книг", "Читець", "Щоденник Анни Франк".... не говорячи про тих, хто читав спогади. А якщо це перша книга про Голокост, війну? Яке спотворене уявлення матиме той нещасний! Майте совість! Український читач заслуговує кращого. До слова, як твору , так і перекладу.
І вражає 4 зірочки на goodreads.
Та з перших сторінок помітила примітивний і дуже бідний текст, без будь-якого емоційного забарвлення. Емоцій там взагалі мало, вони є, можливо, чи мали б бути, але крім штучності слів, сухості діалогів нічого не помітно.
Так роман не є історичним, але або авторці забракло знань, або ж вона не вважала, що історія, хронологія подій важливі. Усе описано без деталей, поверхнево, неправдоподібно.
Чи можна повірити, що комендант настільки довіряв Крістін, щоб з перших днів розказував їй про свої переконання, плани чи просто ділився думками, за які б його могли розстріляти? Чи можна повірити, що Стефан сприйняв би за чисту монету лист від Грунштайна, отой тупо написаний текст? Надто наївно.... Важко повірити, що Крістін бачила барак чи табір взагалі.
До біса ідеалізовані та круті американці, гвалтівники червоноармійці - стереотипи?
Авторка говорила про те, щоб роман читали вн має бути захоплюючим, але де те чим можна захоплюватись? На 500 сторінках тексту я не знайшла нічого, щоб захопило. На мить, у мене з'явилася надія, що авторка не воскресить Ісаака, та я знала, що вона марна. Надто передбачливо було. Жодної інтриги.
Де вона та майстерна оповідь і багаті, живі характери? Шукала і не знайшла.
Не можу зрозуміти чому в США книга розійшлась таким величезним накладом? Лише, що там люди мають ще менше уявлень про те, що відбувалось, чим пані Вайсман, Але для чого засмічуівти український ринок? Книгу читали, на кого вона розрахована? В неї мають повірити ті, хто читав "Список Шиндлера", "Хлопчик у смугастій піжамі", "Ключ Сари" "Крадійка книг", "Читець", "Щоденник Анни Франк".... не говорячи про тих, хто читав спогади. А якщо це перша книга про Голокост, війну? Яке спотворене уявлення матиме той нещасний! Майте совість! Український читач заслуговує кращого. До слова, як твору , так і перекладу.
І вражає 4 зірочки на goodreads.
October 13, 2012
Germany is not aware that it is trembling on the edge of madness when Adolf Hitler takes control in 1938. The country has been crushed by poverty for two decades, but the Nazis promise to end poverty and starvation, and to restore national pride. These welcome changes have not yet appeared, but ominous tales are spreading out from the cities and Jewish families are fleeing the country. Signs banning Jews from citizenship in the new Third Reich have just appeared in the small village of Hessental, and the SS is replacing privately-owned radios with new ones – radios which only receive Nazi programs.
These early changes don’t concern seventeen-year old Christine Bolz. What matters is her new-found love for Isaac Bauerman. However, Christine’s mother says that the girl can no longer work as a maid at the Bauerman’s home. Why? Because the Bauermans are Jews.
The Plum Tree, by Ellen Marie Wiseman, sweeps Christina, Isaac, and its readers into the horror of Nazi Germany. The Bauermans are stripped of their belongings, and then the family vanishes. When Nazis build an airfield at Hessental, the village is repeatedly bombed and strafed. Dachau, the now-notorious concentration camp, is also built nearby, and Christina rescues an escaped worker – Isaac. Then he is discovered hiding in her attic. The young couple is sent to Dachau, where Christina finds that her German blood will not rescue her from the horrors behind those barbed wire walls.
Rich family history lies behind The Plum Tree, for the author’s mother grew up in Nazi Germany, and Ms. Wiseman took many childhood trips to visit her grandparents. That depth of experience really shows in Ms. Wiseman’s lush descriptions of Hessental, and of Christina’s struggles to survive World War II. The Jews suffered unspeakably during the Holocaust, but The Plum Tree starkly reminds us that war is hell for everyone. You won’t be able to put this vivid tale of love and survival down.
Jo Ann Butler, author of Rebel Puritan
These early changes don’t concern seventeen-year old Christine Bolz. What matters is her new-found love for Isaac Bauerman. However, Christine’s mother says that the girl can no longer work as a maid at the Bauerman’s home. Why? Because the Bauermans are Jews.
The Plum Tree, by Ellen Marie Wiseman, sweeps Christina, Isaac, and its readers into the horror of Nazi Germany. The Bauermans are stripped of their belongings, and then the family vanishes. When Nazis build an airfield at Hessental, the village is repeatedly bombed and strafed. Dachau, the now-notorious concentration camp, is also built nearby, and Christina rescues an escaped worker – Isaac. Then he is discovered hiding in her attic. The young couple is sent to Dachau, where Christina finds that her German blood will not rescue her from the horrors behind those barbed wire walls.
Rich family history lies behind The Plum Tree, for the author’s mother grew up in Nazi Germany, and Ms. Wiseman took many childhood trips to visit her grandparents. That depth of experience really shows in Ms. Wiseman’s lush descriptions of Hessental, and of Christina’s struggles to survive World War II. The Jews suffered unspeakably during the Holocaust, but The Plum Tree starkly reminds us that war is hell for everyone. You won’t be able to put this vivid tale of love and survival down.
Jo Ann Butler, author of Rebel Puritan
July 5, 2014
I loved this book although I cried my eyes out in a few places - I really liked the way the author combined true stories from her family and from history and then wrote a book of fiction with a wonderful love story, horrific events, loss, sorrow, true love, enduring hope and the will to survive.
The main character Christine is modeled after the author's Mother; a young girl growing up in Germany during WW2. Her father gets drafted and has to go to the Russian front, Christine and her family can barely keep from starving to death, and they spend days in an air raid shelter while their village is being bombed over and over again and all the while Christine worries about her Jewish boyfriend and his family and what is going to happen to them.
I think this is a good book for many reasons - I think it is a reminder to Jewish people that all Germans were not Nazis and did not hate the Jews and that they were as powerless as anyone to do anything about what was happening. I think this is a part of history that is not often discussed and I applaud the author for reminding us that it is dangerous to stereotype - no matter which "side" you are on.
The main character Christine is modeled after the author's Mother; a young girl growing up in Germany during WW2. Her father gets drafted and has to go to the Russian front, Christine and her family can barely keep from starving to death, and they spend days in an air raid shelter while their village is being bombed over and over again and all the while Christine worries about her Jewish boyfriend and his family and what is going to happen to them.
I think this is a good book for many reasons - I think it is a reminder to Jewish people that all Germans were not Nazis and did not hate the Jews and that they were as powerless as anyone to do anything about what was happening. I think this is a part of history that is not often discussed and I applaud the author for reminding us that it is dangerous to stereotype - no matter which "side" you are on.
October 10, 2018
The Plum Tree had all my favorite aspects of WWII thrown into one book – Christian/Jewish love story, hiding in the attic, concentration camp, liberation, and finally happiness. It is the story of Christine Bolz and Isaac Bauerman. Christine is a domestic who works for Isaac’s family. When World War II starts, Christine is no longer allowed to work for the Bauerman’s because she is not Jewish. But the love that Christine and Isaac have for each other cannot keep them apart. From secret meetings, to deportation, to finding and hiding in secret rooms, to enduring concentration camps, and lost love only to be found again. This is a story of love, hope, and in the end redemption. When the pit of a plum from the family plum tree brings forth hope, fruit, and new life.
This was a great read, at times I could not put it down. This is one of my favorite time periods to read about and enjoyed it very much. I would highly recommend this book.
This was a great read, at times I could not put it down. This is one of my favorite time periods to read about and enjoyed it very much. I would highly recommend this book.
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