The Novelist from Berlin, by V.S. Alexander
Niki Rittenhaus is a young woman trying to make it as an actress and model in pre-WWII Berlin. But life is tough, and she has rent to pay, so she uses men to get what she needs. Soon she meets Rickard Langer at the bar she frequents, and discovers he is different. He is a producer for Passport Pictures, one of Berlin’s film studios.
Soon Niki has the life of her dreams. She is acting in a film, with Rickard on her arm, living in his plush, luxury apartment. They soon marry and have a child on the way. But her husband is doing more and more to appease the Nazis, making propaganda films to support the Reich. Niki will not go along with it, so she stops acting, and pursues her passion to write a novel. A novel that does not align with the Nazis ideal for women. Even though she writes under a pseudonym, she becomes more and more afraid that they will find her, so she runs away with their daughter. However, Rickard will do anything to have his child back, and soon teams up with the Nazi thugs to kidnap the child.
Niki is heartbroken, and vows to do anything to get her child back, but times are desperate and her life will be in danger if her identity as the writer is found out. The war takes her to Amsterdam, and eventually back to Berlin, where she struggles to survive and still maintain her morals. She will not collaborate with the Nazis, no matter how difficult things get.
This novel was interesting, and covered the realities for the German people before, during and after World War II. Yet the writing didn’t flow as well as it could, and at times the novel moved very slowly. There were traumatic experiences that seemed inserted to gain a reaction, but with no lead up to evoke that reaction, nor follow through after. There were characters that the reader becomes invested in, only to never hear from them again. Of course, this could be seem as realistic, as many people disappeared without a trace during the war, either victims of the fighting, or the concentration camps, or their efforts to flee war torn Europe. However, later mentions of these characters seem to be an afterthought.
It was a good book, but not a great one. I enjoyed the story, and the tension between the characters and their lives in a difficult time in history. It just felt a bit superficial to me, and the writing style was basic. The sentences didn’t flow poetically, or trigger the imagination for me. I just felt it could have done much more to capture the harsh realities of the war and her situation.
The book is loosely based on the life of Irmgard Keun, a novelist in Berlin. Like Niki’s, her books were banned by the Nazis. A fascinating woman; I wish I knew more about her real life.
3 stars.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from Kensington Books. My thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
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