Download PDF Wunderland A Novel edition by Jennifer Cody Epstein Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Wunderland A Novel edition by Jennifer Cody Epstein Literature Fiction eBooks
“Searing . . . a heartbreaking page-turner.”—People (Book of the Week)
An intimate portrait of a friendship severed by history, and a sweeping saga of wartime, motherhood, and legacy by an award-winning novelist
East Village, 1989
Things had never been easy between Ava Fisher and her estranged mother Ilse. Too many questions hovered between them Who was Ava's father? Where had Ilse been during the war? Why had she left her only child in a German orphanage during the war’s final months? But now Ilse’s ashes have arrived from Germany, and with them, a trove of unsent letters addressed to someone else unknown to Ava Renate Bauer, a childhood friend. As her mother’s letters unfurl a dark past, Ava spirals deep into the shocking history of a woman she never truly knew.
Berlin, 1933
As the Nazi party tightens its grip on the city, Ilse and Renate find their friendship under siege—and Ilse’s increasing involvement in the Hitler Youth movement leaves them on opposing sides of the gathering storm. Then the Nuremburg Laws force Renate to confront a long-buried past, and a catastrophic betrayal is set in motion. . . .
An unflinching exploration of Nazi Germany and its legacy, Wunderland is at once a powerful portrait of an unspeakable crime history and a page-turning contemplation of womanhood, wartime, and just how far we might go in order to belong.
Praise for Wunderland
“The title of this searing account of life in Nazi Germany alludes to Alice’s Adventures—and the surreal feeling of watching what you thought was true exposed as false. . . . Inspired by the memoir of a Hitler Youth member, it’s a heartbreaking page-turner.”—People (Book of the Week)
“[An] intimate, unflinching saga of friendship, womanhood, and the awful legacy of Nazi Germany.”—USA Today
“Engrossing . . . Epstein reveals the devastating choices these women make.”—Real Simple
“Wunderland is both an engrossing family drama and a foray into a dark period of history . . . a wholly original angle to the WWII novel. You’ll read it in one shivered sitting.”—Refinery29
“[A] heartbreaking historical tour de force . . . Man’s inhumanity to man—and the redemptive power of forgiveness—is on stark and effective display in Epstein’s gripping novel, a devastating tale bound for bestseller lists.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Download PDF Wunderland A Novel edition by Jennifer Cody Epstein Literature Fiction eBooks
"I’ve been on a WWII book kick recently. This is my 6th fiction read in recent months based on that time period. This story moves back & forth from 1930s Germany and 1980s New York, but in a way that doesn’t leave the reader confused. I won’t go into the plot, but the story is raw, emotional, and very interesting. It delves into friendship, betrayal, family bonds (or lack thereof). The author is descriptive, thorough, and when the book was done, it left me wishing for a sequel to know what relationships develop afterward. Very well written, very intriguing tale from multiple viewpoints. I will seek out other work from this author!"
Product details
|
Tags : Wunderland A Novel - edition by Jennifer Cody Epstein. Download it once and read it on your device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Wunderland A Novel.,ebook,Jennifer Cody Epstein,Wunderland A Novel,Crown,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,FICTION / Family Life / General,FICTION / Historical / World War II,FICTION / Women,Female friendship;Fiction.,Fiction,Fiction-Historical,Fiction/Family Life - General,Fiction/Women,GENERAL,General Adult,Germany - History - 1933-1945,Germany;History;1933-1945;Fiction.,Mothers and daughters;Fiction.,United States,best friends;mothers and daughters;family saga;hitler youth;nuremberg laws;epistolary;daughter;mother;fascism;nazi germany;nazi;new york city;berlin;historical novel;novel;women's fiction;historical fiction,family saga; hitler youth; nuremberg laws; epistolary; daughter; mother; fascism; nazi germany; nazi; new york city; berlin; historical novel; novel; women's fiction; historical fiction; best friends; mothers and daughters,FICTION / Family Life / General,FICTION / Historical / World War II,FICTION / Women,Fiction/Family Life - General,Fiction/Women
Wunderland A Novel edition by Jennifer Cody Epstein Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews :
Wunderland A Novel edition by Jennifer Cody Epstein Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
- I absolutely loved this book. I love a good World War II book. And this didn’t disappoint. It is terrible how the Jewish people were treated under Nazi rule. Even the Jewish children in schools were abused mentally by the teachers and could not participate in school activities and made fun of and hated by kids they had known all their life. I can’t imagine how hard that would be to face each day. This book is about the two best friends, both German and what happens when “the Jewish problem†starts and one of them is half Jewish. A well written and very good book.
- This was a well written and well researched book about the relationships in WW11 Germany. The book does go back and forth between the past in Germany and the late 80's in NY. It is also about mother-daughter relationships. Most interesting was the change in people as Hitler comes into power. I have often wondered how anyone could be fooled by Hitler and his ideology. This book does does deal with the young women and how they want to be part of the "group". Is it easy to turn on a friend?
- This story chronicled events during WWII mainly focusing on two young girls who were fast friends until Hitler forever changed how Jews were to be treated by Germans. Eventually, there are ironies that occur between the two girls one is Jewish and one is German. These ironic situations affect their offspring for generations. A very realistic portrayal of events during that era.
- I've always thought that one of the most difficult ways to construct a novel is to write about different characters in different times and different locations. And then mixing them all up. Well, Jennifer Cody Epstein has used that style in her new novel, "Wunderland", and she's written a winner of a novel. I'd read and loved Epstein's previous novel, "The Gods of Heavenly Punishment", where she also used different times and places and people. Her writing was so good in "Heavenly Punishment" that I wondered if she could continue to write excellent novels. She can.
Epstein's novel takes place in Berlin in the 1930's and then again in the post WW2 years. She also writes about New York City in the mid-1970's and 1989. Her main characters, Ilse von Fischer and her daughter, Ava, and granddaughter, Sophie, are of a line of fatherless-daughters and strong mothers. Ilse, in particular, is a slick little (insert bad word of your choice) who is caught up in the Nazisification of Germany in the 1930's. Coming from prime Aryan stock, Ilse becomes enchanted with the Hitler Youth and the Bund of German Maidens. She had been best friends most of her life with Renate Bauer, from another Berlin family. However, as Hitler tightened his grip on Germany, the Bauers, who were not from the fine Aryan ancestry of the von Fischers, were subjected to the on-going crackdown on German Jews. Epstein's writing is particularly strong as she describes the harrowing shrinking world of Jews and the violence they were often subjected to.
The other parts of the book concern the grown up Ava, who had been born during the war to Ilse and a father unknown. Unknown to Ava until she figures out who he was and his identity gives a hint at what Ilse was up to during the war.
Jennifer Epstein's book is about secrets within a family. Those secrets, if exposed, can often explain occurances in a person's life. Epstein exposes the secrets in Ilse and Ava's lives and the reader catches the fallout. "Wunderland" is not a literary novel but rather one that tells a story and tells it superbly. - I’ve been on a WWII book kick recently. This is my 6th fiction read in recent months based on that time period. This story moves back & forth from 1930s Germany and 1980s New York, but in a way that doesn’t leave the reader confused. I won’t go into the plot, but the story is raw, emotional, and very interesting. It delves into friendship, betrayal, family bonds (or lack thereof). The author is descriptive, thorough, and when the book was done, it left me wishing for a sequel to know what relationships develop afterward. Very well written, very intriguing tale from multiple viewpoints. I will seek out other work from this author!
- The story of a mother and daughter, both emotionally damaged, moves between times and places in a compelling way.
In 1989 Ava, German daughter of a remote and difficult German mother, Ilse, receives a package that changes everything she thought she knew about her mother. Not that she knew much - she has demanded to know about her mother's past many times, only to be denied information, even who her father is. And why her mother didn't return to retrieve her from an orphanage for a year and half after WWII ended.
Ilse, the mother, was a teen in mid 1930s Berlin, and nearly inseparable from her friend Renate. Ilse became increasingly dedicated to the Nazi party, rising to power, which separates her from her friend. Saying this simplifies what is actually a poignant and complicated set of emotions for both women, and for Renate's family.
The book moves beautifully between past problems and current ones, weaving stories together, and pulling them apart.
It's hard to put down. - “Wunderland†by Jennifer Cody Epstein, provides a unique perspective on Germany during Hitler’s rise and the lead-up to WWII by providing a main character who is a “card-carrying†Nazi. Ilse and Renate are BFFs in pre-war Berlin, until Ilse embraces Hitler’s world-view, and Renate learns she is part Jewish. Ava is Ilse’s daughter in 1989 New York, seeking answers to questions about her past – particularly who her father is.
Epstein does an effective job going back and forth through several time-frames to tell the story, which is compelling and tragic. I read most of it on an airplane and it was wonderfully immersive.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, and there were questions left unanswered in Ava’s life; a sequel opportunity, perhaps?
