Book Discussion - May 2008

"In addition to her excellent story-telling ability, I must praise Blum's writing. She isn't too fussy or presumptuous, but also hasn't simplified her diction to make this an "easy read," which I appreciate. I also delighted in her occasional literary allusions, which weren't terribly obvious and fit with the story, but also weren't so obscure that it would take an English teacher to recognize them."
As reviewed by Ithilwyn

Plot Summary
For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmführer of Buchenwald.

Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the heartbreaking truth of her mother's life.

Combining a passionate, doomed love story, a vivid evocation of life during the war, and a poignant mother-daughter drama, Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.

Back to Annie's home page