The women in the castle

by Jessica Shattuck

Large Print, 2017

Publication

Harper Luxe

Collection

Eiland Center

Call number

Large Print Fiction S

Physical description

523 p.; 23 cm

Status

Available

Call number

Large Print Fiction S

Description

Three women, haunted by the past and the secrets they hold Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined--an affecting, shocking, and ultimately redemptive novel from the author of the New York Times Notable Book The Hazards of Good Breeding. Amid the ashes of Nazi Germany's defeat, Marianne von Lingenfels returns to the once-grand castle of her husband's ancestors, an imposing stone fortress now fallen into ruin following years of war. The widow of a resister murdered in the failed July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Marianne plans to uphold the promise she made to her husband's brave conspirators: to find and protect their wives, her fellow resistance widows. First Marianne rescues six-year-old Martin, the son of her dearest childhood friend, from a Nazi reeducation home. Together, they make their way across the smoldering wreckage of their homeland to Berlin, where Martin's mother, the beautiful and naive Benita, has fallen into the hands of occupying Red Army soldiers. Then she locates Ania, another resister's wife, and her two boys, now refugees languishing in one of the many camps that house the millions displaced by the war. As Marianne assembles this makeshift family from the ruins of her husband's resistance movement, she is certain their shared pain and circumstances will hold them together. But she quickly discovers that the black-and-white, highly principled world of her privileged past has become infinitely more complicated, filled with secrets and dark passions that threaten to tear them apart. Eventually, all three women must come to terms with the choices that have defined their lives before, during, and after the war--each with their own unique share of challenges.… (more)

Subjects

Castles Germany Bavaria Fiction

FICTION / Historical

Fiction / Literary

Germany History 1945-1955 Fiction

Interpersonal relations FIction

1 more

Widows Fiction

Fewer

Genres

User reviews

LibraryThing member Beamis12

Three women, Marianne, Benita and Ania, from different walks of life, but all have one thing in common. They have survived the holocaust, the plot to kill Hitler which took two of their husbands and for Ania, the evil in which she found herself involved. It is the immediate aftermath in Bavaria, of

this terrible and horrific time, a promise made by Marianne will bring these women and their children together where they now must depend on each other for all their survival.

Although this is a novel in which the holocaust and Hitler play a prominent role, it is a novel of friendships forged during a time of great peril and stress. It features two strong women, and one just trying to come to terms with what has happened to her, and a way to future happiness. Life of course never turns out exactly as planned, and eventually secrets exposed, and the ending of something important will divide these women, one will pay a terrible price. It does show, as has happened many times, exactly what woman left alone while men plotted or went off to fight, were exposed to, faced, the danger, food shortages and the many things they had to do to survive. These are German women so it was very interesting to read their stories, haven't read many books showing how they lived, what they believed, how they felt about what was happening in their country.

A solidly written and well told story, of course not very uplifting though this author does leave us with hope. The next generation and their quest to understand the difficult decisions that were made, to not judge but to forgive what these women went through. To show love even though they may not have agreed with some of their choices.

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24 more

LibraryThing member pammycats

The Women of the Castle
By: Jessica Shattuck

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I cannot stop thinking about this book. I finished reading it several nights ago and have been trying to organize my thoughts. I'm just having problems coming up with the right words. All

I can say is that this book has consumed my mind and thoughts.

Basic Plot:
The story is about the widows of three members of a plot to assassinate Hitler. What led them to this time? What happened to the women directly after the war? How do these decisions affect the people around them and their future lives? I know there are many books about WWII because this time period is so intense. In other war stories people are either their best or worse selves. We see heroes and villains. This book is different in that, under the guise of telling a story about brave Resistance heroes, it explores the realm of the average German and their culpability.

Setting and Structure:
This book starts out in Germany post-WWII. The story is divided into four sections which each focuses on a period of time (with occasional chapters meandering back and forth). The chapters alternate between the three main protagonists (Marianne von Lingenfels, Benita Fledermann, and Ania Grabarek). We see the three women immediately post WWII, in the 1950's, pre-WWII, and 1991.

Characters:
Marianne is the moral core of the story and our first narrator. She is a high-born German countess and was tasked with looking after the other Resistance wives and families. She takes her role seriously. We learn immediately that Marianne can always be relied upon to do the right thing. To be honest, I found her character self-righteous. If you make each woman a type, Marianne is the one who does everything right (through the scope of history). She hates everything about the Nazi party and is rigid in her determination. Interestingly, most Germans (even after the Allied victory) view her and her family as traitors. At the conclusion of the war, she is one of the few people who does not need to feel any guilt about her personal behavior during the war. However, her strict moral code has several painful consequences. She alienates friends and in the end causes a very grave and irredeemable reaction from a friend which results in real guilt for Marianne. Is this life changing for her? No, she is still her same maddening self. It does, however, make her more self aware. In the 1991 section, we see that Marianne's moral rectitude has actually morphed into an entire institute. At the end of the book, the old castle (yes, the one from the title) has become an institute dedicated to studying morality.

Benita is perhaps the weakest character and the one which shows the least development. We often hear Germans from that generation explain that they didn't know what was really happening during the war. Benita is that character. She is so self involved that she has empathy only for herself. Post war, she only wants to move forward and be happy again. Is this possible without first addressing the past?

I loved the moral complexity of Ania. When I read The NY Times article about Ms. Shattuck's grandmother (after completing the book) I realized many of Anita's thoughts and actions were taken from this real life person. She had run a youth camp and had assimilated Hiterl's grand ideals for Germany while not seeing (or choosing to not see) the ugliness of his plans. The author does not make excuses for Ania. In fact, she is harsh. Is this sort of behavior forgivable or even understandable in someone we truly love? There is no easy forgiveness for the characters in this book only a stark retelling of their experiences and a chance for them to move forward.

Grumps and Conclusion:
My only complaint is that the ending (1991 section) is too clean. All past sins/ poor behavior/ lies/ misunderstandings are, if not completely forgiven, at least out in the open and being discussed like adults. What I did appreciate at the end was the palpable love between all the characters. I myself felt such a bond with these strong but human ladies that I can't remove them from my head. I also wish there was more character development amidst the next generation. I was especially drawn to Ania's daughter. Their relationship, the bit we see, is so strong and the dynamics seemed real. Together they were heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. I guess that actually sums up the book for me - heartbreaking and beautiful.

My References:
NY Times (Online edition)
I Loved My Grandmother. But She Was a Nazi.
By JESSICA SHATTUCKMARCH 24, 2017
--------------------
The Plot to Kill Hitler
By: Patricia McCormick
This is a true story of the Hitler plot and is gripping. The author perhaps errs on the side of "heroes and villains" style of writing but as Ms. Shattuck's says at the end of her novel, "the world needs heroes".

--------------------
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards))
By: Phillip Hoose
My daughter and I just read this story together. She and I were both intrigued by this true story of young people and how they could fight against evil.

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LibraryThing member flourgirl49

This book tells the stories of three women and their children living in Hitler's Germany. Their husbands were part of the resistance and were executed after being caught plotting to kill Hitler. The hard choices they made, some of which were purely for the sake of survival, still haunt them years

later. The writing is intimate, compassionate and thought-provoking. I would recommend this book.

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LibraryThing member konastories

Joy's Review: Widow whose husband was a part of the plot to kill Hitler finds widows of co-conspirators and shelters them in the family castle at the end of WWII. Only one of the widows stories was interesting to me and that was of the imposter whose husband had worked training Nazi youth. I found

Shattuck's writing shallow, doing little to highlight and explore the moral, ethical, and survival dilemmas presented to Germans during and immediately after the war. In the hands of a better and more nuanced author, this story could have been worth telling. As is, it was a bit of a waste of time.

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LibraryThing member bookchickdi

Two of the biggest publishing sensations of the past few years are Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and the Pulitzer Prize-winning All The Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Both dealt with people trapped by the horrors of WWII in France and Germany.

Jessica Shattuck's new novel, The Women In

The Castle, tackles that same era and will definitely appeal to readers who were so moved by those two books.

The story opens in November of 1938 at Burg Lingenfels, a castle in Bavaria, where the Countess' annual harvest party is about to begin. We meet Marianne von Lingelfels, the Countess' niece-in-law, who will act as hostess to the party. She is married to Albrecht von Lingelfels who fears that the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler have become too powerful.

Albrecht is disgusted by the actions of Hitler, and actively participates in the resistance movement along with others, including Connie Fledermann, a man who is always the charming life-of-the-party and Marianne's dear friend. Connie is married to the beautiful, young Benita, and if Marianne admits it, she is a little jealous.

The action moves back and forth in time, and a few years later we find Marianne and her young children living in the castle, a shadow of its former grand self. Marianne has promised Connie that she take care of Benita and their young son, and along the way also picks up Ania, a refugee with her three children.

The three women and their children band together to survive the horrors and deprevations of war. We learn where Benita and Ania were before they came to Burg Lingenfels, and what they had to do to survive.

We see the horrors of war through their eyes, and some of the scenes are so jarring, such as the one of Ania and her friend seeing what they believe to be sacks of food piled high on open air wagons. As it gets closer they realize that the sacks are actually people. There are more than a few heartbreaking scenes in this searing novel.

The story moves along, following the war's end and what happens to those who survive. Some do their best to move on, forget the past, while others are haunted too much. Marianne does her best to live up to her high principles, even if that hurts those she loves, while others do whatever it takes to survive. Which way is right? That is the big question to be answered.

The women face many moral dilemmas, and the reader is left to wonder what she may have done in their situations. Shattuck does an admirable job of putting the reader in their shoes, making us identify with these women, creating empathy.

The Women In The Castle is a haunting story, one that you cannot rush through, but must read and contemplate. These characters' stories will stay with you for a very long time. Fans of Chris Bohjalian's The Sandcastle Girls and David Gillam's City of Women should put this one on your TBR list as well.

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LibraryThing member edundatscheck

A light read this was not, but oh what a read. When I first started reading this book I thought I wasn't going to like it, but by the third chapter I was hooked. I at first thought this was going to be a romance, but while there were small elements of such, this was not by any means a romance.

Three women are the focus of the book. Marianne who is privileged, takes the other two, Benita and Ania, along with their children in after the war as part of a promise she made to her husband and a friend who sacrificed their lives in an attempt to kill Hitler.

I found that each character made me feel compassion toward them as flawed as they were.

Few books give you the understanding of what it was like for the Germans who lived through WWII as this book did. The author, Jessica Shattuck, gives readers a more humanistic view of the Germans.

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LibraryThing member BooksCooksLooks

This is a very powerful book. It covers a difficult time in history even though it doesn’t delve too deeply into WWII the impacts of Hitler and his policies are felt throughout. The book opens in the time just as Hitler is coming to power and some people see his danger and others don’t. A group

of friends come together for what will be one of the last parties together before their worlds implode. As the men fight to defeat Hitler the women do what needs doing to survive.

After the war Marianne comes back to the castle that had been in her husband’s family for generations to regroup and to try and find some of the other widows of the men who tried to kill Hitler. She finds her best friend’s widow Benita and their young son Martin. They join Marianne and her sons in creating the best life they can although Benita is not as introspective as Marianne and she just wants to move forward and forget. Marianne never wants to forget so it doesn’t happen again. She keeps searching and searching and soon a third woman joins the family. They don’t all agree or even get along but they do survive – sometimes through the shear force of Marianne’s will.

The characters in this book are all very well defined and very well drawn. When your story depends so much on personalities and how they interact it’s important for the fictional characters to come across as real to the reader and they all do in this book – from the most significant to the face in the crowd. There are a number of different subplots that help to define each character and a couple of them truly surprised me. The only story that disappointed was that of Benita but I always do have problems with people who live a clueless life. I found myself thinking about this book for days after I finished it.

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LibraryThing member SherylHendrix

A fascinating look at the psychology of perception through the experiences of three women of unequal social standing and disparate political views brought together by the realities of their experiences as German widows in the Second World War. This book made me rethink the current political

situation in the US and how I had been judging those whom I believed to be "stupid" in light of what was going on, not looking at how their own experiences colored their views of right and wrong, just as mine have impacted my own views. The book gave me pause as to how otherwise enlightened individuals can be drawn into believing that a person or political party has the power to somehow "save" them from destruction. A book well worth reading during the current divisive political landscape that is America in the 21st century, providing both a cautionary look at how people can be deceived, and an understanding of the gray areas that our society must operate in.

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LibraryThing member jmchshannon

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of novels that occur before or during World War II and cover Hitler’s rise to power and his “Final Solution.” Some are excellent, others are decent. All arouse disgust and horror at the atrocities man is able to commit against his fellow man. Yet, very

few explore the war’s aftermath in war-torn Germany, let alone the idea of countrywide guilt, even though it is the natural segue for such stories. After all, the Allies decimated the German countryside as they advanced towards Berlin and the images of bombed-out towns and women picking through the rubble are indelible images from that era. They also fail to cover denazification process and the sticky ideological issues this raises. This lack of insight into this post-war period, as told from a German perspective, makes Jessica Shattuck’s truly excellent The Women in the Castle an excellent source to fill the void.

Marianne, Benita, and Ania are three very different women, so much so that you would think that living together in a decrepit old castle would cause friction. The only things these women have in common are the fact that they are all war widows and mothers, wives of the men who attempted to assassinate Hitler in an effort to end the war and save their country. Marianne is the natural leader of the group, a woman who does not take no for an answer and with a strong belief system that sees no shades of grey in any situation. Benita is the follower to Marianne’s leadership, the peasant to Marianne’s royal bloodline, and the beauty to Marianne’s brains. Ania is the quiet tie that binds the women together, neither peasant nor royal, and educated in the ways of making something out of nothing. Together, the three women raise their children and deal with the ravages of the country and to their identity as German citizens.

Told in four major sections – pre-war, post-war 1945, post-war 1950, and 1991 – we see the women’s journeys from the beginning to the end. We see what brings them to the castle, what they experienced before they arrived, and how they handled the burgeoning German economic improvements. The character development is strong, and all three women are vibrant and damaged and worthy of attention.

This is not just a story of survival though. It is also an exploration of guilt, individual and collective. Through the women’s experiences, we see a country trying to make sense of the atrocities done in their name and by their own. The three women are a microcosm of the German citizens, and their own individual levels of guilt mirror that of their countrymen. As they wrestle with their own sense of purpose in light of such senseless violence and loss, one gets a greater understanding of just how complicated post-war Germany was. Ms. Shattuck handles such difficult scenes with care, allowing readers to follow along on the women’s psychological journeys and form their own opinions about guilt and innocence during a time period when it would be so easy to proclaim all German citizens guilty for the war and the Holocaust.

For every person who has ever wondered just how someone like Hitler could rise to power or how German citizens could let the Holocaust happen, The Women in the Castle is for you. Granted, the story occurs AFTER the end of the war, but the three women provide insight into the typical German mindset during Hitler’s rise to power as well as during the war. Where the story shines though is the war’s aftermath as seen through three widows. Their collective story shines a light on one country’s collective guilt and the lasting psychological damage the wartime atrocities wrought on an entire generation.

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LibraryThing member John_Warner

On July 20, 1944, Operation Valkyrie was activated…and failed. Operation Valkyrie Operation Valkyrie’s involved a number of Germany’s military leaders and aristocracy who sought to assassinate Adolf Hitler, to seize political control of Germany and to negotiate peace with the Allies. The

conspirators were arrested and the majority executed. Many of those left behinds, mothers and children, were separated, children removed for re-indoctrination. This historical novel tells the account of three women who lives interact after the surrender of Germany:

Marianne, the protagonist of this novel, who seeks out women separated from their children, reintegrates the families, and provides sanctuary within her executed husband’s family home.
Benita, who married Marianne’s childhood friend, separated from her son when the conspiracy was discovered, and abused by the Russians in Russia-occupied Berlin.
Ania, married to a German soldier who was arrested near the end of the war and sent to a camp. Marianne rescues her from a displaced persons camp.

Although I have read many books regarding the effects of this war on Jews, the French, Hungarians, Chinese, Americans, etc., I have never read a historical fiction until now on the German citizenry. This novel was well-researched; I was amazed to read the number of books used by this author in writing this book. The characters were well developed through the use of back stories. The loose ends tied up at the novel's conclusion was particularly poignant. If you read and enjoyed other historical fiction novels of this time period such as The Nightingale, All the Light I Cannot See, and The Invisible Bridge, I would recommend that you read this book. Since I had the privilege to review an advance reading copy, you won't be able to read it until April 4, 2017. However, if you want to read a good book about the impact that war has on the citizenry, this is the one.

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LibraryThing member muddyboy

Three women share their lives and living quarters in a castle in Germany during World War 2 and the period following it. One of them has a husband involved in a failed plot to kill Hitler. After the war another seriously considers marrying an ex Nazi. These are examples of the personal complexities

these women face. All of the have children who further enhance the story. Toward the end of the book the major character Marianne moves to the United State to refashion her life.The novel is well written and panoramic in scope. I feel people who enjoy historical fiction will embrace this novel.

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LibraryThing member ang709

This novel is about three very different women, the choices they make during and immediately following Hitler's rule, and how they try to come to terms with their actions. I found it captivating.

I thought the characters were well written. Principled Marianne was my favorite, but I didn't always

agree with her. I didn't like self-centered Benita, but the author still managed to make me feel sorry for her.

I wouldn't have minded if the book had been longer, especially if I could have read more about Marianne's work or more about Ania's time right before Marianne found her.

Early on, Ania and Marianne had a scene standing together, united in purpose, and though the book soon skipped ahead in time, I could picture a friendship growing between them from that moment. I wish there had been some sort of bonding moment like that between Marianne and Benita. As it was, I never saw a closeness between those two. Marianne kept her promise and became protective, even motherly toward Benita. Benita, meanwhile, went behind Marianne's back and said things just to be hurtful, very much like a child. They thought of each other as friends, but I never saw or felt it. I wish I had as I believe certain events would have affected me even more.

I would read this book again and, in fact, have already reread several parts. I look forward to the author's next work.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.

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LibraryThing member Suzanne.Marble

I received this book free in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

This book was a great read from the start. The character jump right off the page with there realism and actions as well as their descriptions. Marianne is the sweet leader of everyone and she is married to her exact

opposite. A man who is a perfectionist and contemplates everything while missing the daily activities. The countess is a women after my own heart with her bossiness and risky parties. throughout the story you will meet many other women, children and men who again follow this realistic pattern. The sentence structure was easy to read aloud as well as kept you from stumbling over words. It varied from long complex sentences to short simple ones. I love the imagery of the castle during the rain storm and how it described each feature such as desks and chairs. I will be lending this book to my grandmother to read. I think anyone could easily fall in love with this book. The Rough cut edges are by far my favorite part about this book, had it been hard cover, I would easily mistake it for an older book and one of maybe a time before this one. I can add this to my list of well written, highly thought out and simply amazing to my list of books I could not put down.

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LibraryThing member debkrenzer

Oh what a touching story. I felt so much for these women. This was such a touching story. One woman had an idea of what her of what her husband was doing but she she kept it in the back of her mind. She said "no way, this was not happening in my world". Another wife was so innocent and young, that

she had no idea that she had no idea that this was even going on. The final wife was aware, shocked, and appalled and for that reason she took her two boys and left.

Such was the life that these three women were together after their husbands were gone, either through death or because they left them. Their stories are sorted and the lady of the castle (Marianne) took them in. Either through the knowing of their husband such as the case of Benita, the wife of her childhood friend, Martin. And Ania, the wife of another resistor who Marianne does not recall the name but still admits her to the castle.

These three ladies bond and become friends while the war goes on around them. Together they raise their children and become a family as such. The bond that they form lasts a lifetime for all of them and the book is the story of these three women. While they are together and their lives before they come together.

It is a very touching and moving story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was entertaining, moving, mesmerizing, haunting, chilling and I really grew to like these characters immensely.

Huge thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

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LibraryThing member SilversReviews

Before, during, and after the war Marianne was there to support everyone even though she had lost everything except her castle and her children.

Marianne previously lived in a castle with her husband, Albrecht and her children before the Germans took it over. Her husband was a member

of the resistance but was killed by the Germans along with other members. His request was for Marianne to take care of the families of other members if he and his fellow members were killed.

Marianne complied with her husband's wishes and found two women including Benita who had married a man Marianne actually had loved at one time and who was a family friend.

These women and their children lived together and endured the hardships after the war as well as sharing their lives before and during the war.

Marianne was an organizer, Benita was a follower, and Ania was a great help to Marianne. All three women had endured a lot and were there for each other in their own way as they recovered after the war.

THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE gives us insight into how families lived in Europe before, during, and after Hitler's regime. The book ends with the year 1991.

THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE is well written, well researched, and with authentic characters and descriptions that draw you in...descriptions that allow you to share the experiences every character is dealing with whether good or bad. Some of the experiences are quite grizzly.

It took me a few chapters to get connected and to warm up to the characters, but once I did, I became fully involved with their lives as well as becoming familiar with yet another piece of WWII's history.

Historical fiction fans and women's fiction fans will love THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE. Be prepared for a heart wrenching, but very thought-provoking read.

The historical aspect and the friendships between the three women draw the reader in and keep the pages turning while you also don't want the book to end. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

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LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35

*I received a copy of this book through the publisher.*

I love the first third of this book, the portion which takes place directly after the conclusion of WWII, and I liked the rest of the novel somewhat less so. The atmosphere and desperate energy of the first portion so vividly captures the

spirit of that time following the war that it is almost disappoint to see it fade as the novel moves forward in plot and time. Overall, this book is well worth the read and offers a fascinating and nuanced look at the impact of Nazi Germany on its female citizens.

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LibraryThing member Romonko

This book is quite remarkable in many ways. It is about post WWII Germany and depicts a number of fictional characters who were German citizens who hated the Nazis and Hitler. Most of this group were German aristocrats, and actually it was real German aritocrats who plotted an assination attempt on

HItler in July of 1944. The real historical plot was a failure, and it was also a failure in this book, and a lot of the members of the German Resistance who participated in it were either hung as traitors or sent to concentration camps. So Ms. Shattuck has explored what could have happened to the wives and children left behind after the arrests of these resistors. In this book, three women and their children make their way back from bomb damaged Berlin to a decrepit Bavarian castle owned by one of the women's families. They attempt to make a life for themselves and their children in a Germany that is trying to recover from all the physical damage inflicted on their country at the end of the war. It is a Germany that will never be the same. This book is breathtaking in scope. The timeline for the book is from 1944 to 1991. The majority of the book is centered in Germany at the von Lingenfels castle where Marianne has assembled her small group of refugees. Marianne von Lingenfels' husband was involved in the July 1944 assination plot and he was hung by the Nazis. She and her three children, along with the wife of her best friend and their son are the first to arrive. Not long afterwards, another woman finds her way there with her two sons. These strong, remarkable women endure hardship and privation, but still manage to make lives for themselves and their children in the old castle. This is an important book because Shattuck's beautiful prose and the clear direction of her plot illuminate this not very well known timeframe and setting. The story of these brave women is one that should be read. It makes us fully understand the strength and determination of the human race and what can be accomplished with hard work and conviction.

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LibraryThing member m.belljackson

Women in the Castle opens with finely defined contrasts between good and evil, Nazis and invasions, against the commonplace of serving harvest party guests in the countryside.
Humanity and cruelty, friendship and betrayal intersect constantly all the way to the ending.

Marianne von Lingenfels, widow

of one of the men executed for the attempted assassination of Hitler,
returns with her children to her husband's Bavarian castle at the end of the War. Honoring a pledge to be "commander of wives and children" that she had made to her best friend, Connie, another of the executed, she seeks other resistance widows and their children to give them a safe life in the castle.

She finds only two, Benita and Ania.

Though many enemies approached the castle, the women, somehow miraculously without weapons,
convinced them not to rape and murder everyone and steal all the food.

It is compelling literature which
inspires readers to get back out there to end new wars and to figure out
how to lessen the hatred, racism, and nationalism that fuel them.

Like FIRE BY NIGHT and ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE and too many others, after smooth beginning chapters, the plot sequence jumps back and forth in time, making it hard to track and care about individual characters.

A few mysteries remain: why did Franz Muller not tell both Benita and Marianne what role he
actually played in the east as a Nazi? This makes no sense. Simply telling the truth would have changed Marianne's feelings somewhat about the proposed marriage and Benita would not have murdered herself. It also would not have harmed anyone.

Also, Marianne treats her interference in their marriage very lightly despite ruining lives.
Nowhere does she offer that Benita deserved to make her own choice about marrying an ex-Nazi
simply because she was so royally deceived by Connie who should have informed her that
her life was in danger by marrying him.

And, how does Marianne manage to stay rich when so many others had everything confiscated?

What will forever burn in the hearts of many of us are the German Catholics returning to their churches to worship a Jewish Rabbi whose children they have tortured and murdered.

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LibraryThing member shazjhb

Brilliant book although it seemed to miss the point that the attempt on Hilter's life happened very late. He could easily have been killed early on but people wanted him. I sometimes think that people are attempting to re-write history. I think the German women had a terrible time after the war but

not as bad as a Jewish women after the war.

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LibraryThing member dawnlovesbooks

This book has been getting lots of good reviews so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! The Women in the Castle is the story of three women who come to live together in a rundown castle at the end of World War II. It reminded me very much of “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah.
The prologue

starts out pre-war, where Marianne von Lingenfel promises to be “the commander/protector of the wives and children” at a secret meeting her husband, her lifetime friend, and other men are having to plan actions against Hitler.
In order to honor her promise to her husband, best friend and the other husbands (who all were caught and killed for their actions) she sets out in search of the wives and children left behind after the war.
First she locates Martin, son of her beloved, deceased friend Connie. Next she tracks down Benita (mother of Martin/wife of Connie). It is obvious they have both been deeply affected by the war. Benita is broken, frail and withdrawn. Martin is quiet and subdued. Their love for each other keeps them going.
Marianne then discovers another resister’s wife (Ania) and her children and brings them to live with her at the castle. Marianne, Benita and Ania develop a friendship and live together many years. Throughout all of their stories you learn about each of their struggles for survival, their damaged souls, and the horrible ordeals they have all survived.
The book exposes all the horrors of the Hitler era and the effects of war. Secrets are revealed that affect the friendships the women have forged. Each woman has to come to terms with horrors from their past to move forward with their lives. I can’t say much more without revealing too much about the book. It was a very good novel about war, friendship, love, the power of the past and the will to survive. Highly recommended!!!

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LibraryThing member librarygeek33

I believe this was the first novel I have read that gives the German point of view and, to its credit, three very different points of view with much angst over past actions. The three women from very different backgrounds go through difficult trials which are made a little easier when they come

together in an uneasy friendship. some of the male/female relationships were a little fuzzy and difficult to understand and the female/female relationships were forged through necessity and broken through misunderstanding.The US has been trying to preserve WWII memories in recent years. I wonder if Germany has been doing the same.

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LibraryThing member busyreadin

The thing I took away from this book was a comparison between the main character Marianne and Hitler. Both assured theirs was the correct and only way, those who don't measure up are removed from our lives, and in the end no regret. Not sure that was the authors point.

I found it to be a slow,

depressing read.

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LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy

This is a story about three German women in Germany after WWII. Marianne, Benita, and Ania are widows of the men executed after the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1944. Marianne promises her best friend to take care of the widows and orphans should the plot fail. She keeps her promise and

locates first Benita's son, Martin in an orphanage then Benita in a Russian brothel, and brings them to her husband's family's castle, Berg Lingenfels. Although it's in pretty bad shape, with no running water or power, it's surrounded by land to grow food. Soon Marianne, her three children, Benita and Martin are joined by Ania and her two boys. There are so many secrets in this little group and as they come out, it tears the group apart. I found this book very interesting since it focuses on the Germans who didn't believe in Hitler and his beliefs and how they had to live in a Germany where they were in the minority.

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LibraryThing member jmoncton

There is a lot of historic fiction that uses World War II as a backdrop and this book definitely belongs among the best. The perspective in this book is slightly different than other stories since it revolves around the lives of three German women who all had slightly different views and roles

during the war. Their lives are brought together as these three widows take over a crumbling castle trying to survive the end of the war. Their struggle for survival creates a tight bond, but it isn't until many years later that some of their deep secrets are revealed. This is such a heartfelt story -- definitely one of my favorites of the year. A must for fans of The Nightingale or All the Light We Cannot See.

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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew

The Women in the Castle, Jessica Shattuck, author; Cassandra Campbell, narrator
It is 1938. The place is Burg Lingenfels, in Germany. A traditional yearly party is being planned by Marianne von Lingenfels for her aunt, the countess, who is confined to a wheel chair and no longer able to supervise

the arrangements for this yearly festive celebration at the castle. It is also a terrible time of foreboding for certain segments of the German population. Hitler is in power and is being extolled and lionized, more and more, by his followers. The worst is yet to come as he puts his plans in motion. Some Germans sensed the approaching onslaught and wanted to do something to prevent it. Others faced the rumors of German brutality with disbelief, and there were some who were simply in denial because it served their purpose to pretend blindness and reap the benefits of German cruelty and injustice. Others outright supported his plans for a “Final Solution”. Who was guiltier? Who was free from guilt? The story seems to be an attempt to understand and humanize Nazi sympathizers. They had their reasons for doing what they did, and in the end, didn’t they suffer as well?
Three women are the main characters. Marianne, the niece of the countess, is married to Albrecht von Lingenfels. He is of the aristocracy, wealthy and well thought of, and he is very much involved in conversations about setting up a resistance movement against the policies of Hitler, but he needs some additional convincing.
Another is a beautiful young woman, Benita Fledermann, the wife of Connie Fledermann a man who actively pursues the effort to resist Hitler and hopes to create a resistance movement. She, however, is a Nazi sympathizer. She met Connie when she was 19 and was the leader of a group of young girls in the Bund Deutscher Madel, the BDM, Belief and Beauty, a branch of the Nazi Organizations Female Youth Group.
The third woman calls herself Ania Grabarek when she meets Benita and Marianne. She was once the wife of Rainer Brandt, a leader of a Landjahr Lager, a place where German youth were trained to become part of Hitler’s new agrarian society. When she met him, he persuaded her to join the Nazi Party. When she met Marianne, she was pretending to be a displaced person rather than someone who had once been a Nazi sympathizer married to a devout Nazi. She had become disillusioned with Hitler when she witnessed atrocious behavior by his followers and had taken her children and run away from her husband and the Party.
Circumstances evenutually placed all three women together, sharing a living space. Each had a different agenda and hidden secrets. Each had a different way of looking at life, of surviving during and after World War II. Marianne believed in doing the right thing, in honoring the memory of the resisters, in helping those who were hurt by Hitler’s minions. However, she was self righteous and cold hearted at times, unable to forgive the things she did not approve of or to accept the wrongdoing of others, for any reason. She did not want the black deeds of Germany to be relegated to the forgotten shelves of history. Was she self-serving? Belita wanted to go forward and to lose the burden of her memories and her pain. She wanted to begin again, to have a new life, forget the past, but would it be possible? Ania wanted to escape from her past. She had always disregarded her own deceptions and created a false history, distorting the things she had done in order to excuse her own complicity and guilt. When she could no longer do that, she reversed course and wanted only to remember and would not forgive herself for her sins. Was that the right path?
While the story is interesting as it presents the effect of Hitler on Germans of all backgrounds, rather than only his specific targeted victims, it attempts to make those complicit with his ideas sympathetic in some way. I could not do that, perhaps because I am Jewish. I know the impact of the monster named Hitler, and his followers, on real people. There was no one who was truly blind to his madness, as far as I am concerned. There were simply those who chose to turn a blind eye to it because they saw only benefits for themselves and saw no downside.
Perhaps the author wanted to figure out what it was that created the Nazi or how it was possible for Germans to go forward with such a stain on their country’s history. What was the motivation for their brutality, what was the reason for their acquiescence, their hate? In a simplified explanation, perhaps it was because Germany had suffered a devastating defeat after World War I and was totally strapped and shamed. It was a self-inflicted wound to a country that had sought once again to overpower weaker neighbors. So, perhaps Hitler was the result of a disastrous economy and humiliated citizenry. They were demoralized. However, couldn’t it also be blamed on jealousy and greed, on a lack of a moral compass, on religious bias, and pure prejudice, coupled with a disregard for the lives of humans they decided were worth less than themselves. More likely it was about a pervasive ignorance of common decency and the Germanic personality which was orderly and cold, rigid and mechanical. Emotional responses were not highly valued. Little compassion was felt for the victims because the end result was considered good for Germans and Germany.
I simply cannot feel sorry for their suffering, therefore, which I feel was truly deserved because of their own belligerent, reprehensible behavior. Their actions were the harbinger of their own disaster. Where did they think the empty apartments came from? Where did they think that the clothing that was dispersed came from? Where did they think the people were resettled to? How did they not notice the cattle cars, the smell of burning flesh, the people who suddenly disappeared? Where did they think the disabled and mentally deficient people disappeared to? Why did they even think the Jews needed to be removed? What did they think would happen to their possessions that were left behind? Did they not notice the slave laborers who looked like zombies, the emaciated people marching through town? Who did they think were filling the jobs at the factories?
This is a story about Germans before the war, and in its aftermath, and it is an attempt to explain the way they became the people they were, but it is also the story of all of us, as cruelty still abounds and a lack of personal responsibility flourishes even today. Far fewer fought Hitler than complied with his ultimate plan. Perhaps it was greed at first, and fear of Hitler, later on, that made so many go along with his diabolical ideas, but that only explains the motivation behind their behavior, it cannot and does not justify the things that the Nazi sympathizers did or ignored. They did everything they could in order to benefit and preserve their own families, even as they tolerated the injustices done to the families of “others”. They did not recognize their own complicity in the contemptible policies of Hitler. If we look around today, we will see evidence of the same kind of blindness, the same pattern of blaming others for one’s own failures, the same inability to judge one’s own behavior honestly.
I can out Germany’s tragic history behind me, and surely history will, but I wonder, should they be forgiven? Would forgiveness open the door to the idea of forgetting and perhaps to another Holocaust? Perhaps the answer is to accept the fact that it happened and to work to prevent it from ever happening again, to anyone, and to understand that we are all valuable. None are less or more than any other. Will the strong continue to prey upon the weak, the wicked to do evil if we don’t continue to remember?

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