Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Harper Perennial (2013), Edition: Reprint, 372 pages
Description
When Hitler comes to power in 1933, a tight-knit group of friends and lovers become hunted outlaws overnight. United in their resistance to the madness and tyranny of Nazism, they flee the country. Dora, passionate and fearless; her lover, the greate playwright Ernst Toller; her younger cousin Ruth and Ruth's husband Hans find refuge in London. Here they take awe-inspiring risks in order to continue their work in secret. But England is not the safe-haven they think it is, and a single, chilling act of betrayal will tear them apart. Some seventy years later, Ruth is living out her days is Sydney, making an uneasy peace with the ghosts of her past, and a part of history that has all but been forgotten.
User reviews
LibraryThing member RobinDawson
I liked Stasiland very much, but All That I Am seems confused as to its nature. It has qualities of memoir, biography, history and fiction, and the result is a muddle, and quite unsatisfying as a novel. I think she should have stuck to the historical story rather than translate it into the genre of
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fiction. Funder is keen to expose what was going on in Germany in the pre-war years but the tone is earnest rather than engaging. While the lead characters might be true to history, perhaps the facts were weighing them down; I felt they lacked colour and appeal. In addition, the wide range of secondary characters, only sketched in, made it hard to keep track of who they were. Finally, I didn’t like the mix of present tense and reminiscence used by the two main narrators – it was bit disorienting. Show Less
LibraryThing member hollysing
All That I Am displays great respect for people acting in heroic ways during wartime. Set in the 1920s and 1930s, we follow Ruth, Dora, Hans and Toller living in Germany. They work as part of the underground against the Third Reich. They are expelled outside of the Reich’s borders and wind up in
Ms. Funder helps us understand the premise of her book through the voice of two minor characters. “All that we are not stares back at all that we are.” P. 96“ We must believe in God…because if we don’t we will have to believe in man, and then we will only be disappointed.” P. 237 We learn, however that some of the main characters exceed expectations and act courageously and with little fear for their own fates in order to inform England of Hitler’s threat.
The premise is extraordinary, and is based on true events. I found the book disjointed. The point of view and time periods switch often. This complicates the reading, despite the fact that chapter headings reveal the character speaking. The outcome grabs you by the collar, but the “getting there” is a bit of a maze.
Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont
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London as refugees.Ms. Funder helps us understand the premise of her book through the voice of two minor characters. “All that we are not stares back at all that we are.” P. 96“ We must believe in God…because if we don’t we will have to believe in man, and then we will only be disappointed.” P. 237 We learn, however that some of the main characters exceed expectations and act courageously and with little fear for their own fates in order to inform England of Hitler’s threat.
The premise is extraordinary, and is based on true events. I found the book disjointed. The point of view and time periods switch often. This complicates the reading, despite the fact that chapter headings reveal the character speaking. The outcome grabs you by the collar, but the “getting there” is a bit of a maze.
Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont
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LibraryThing member jody
I struggled with this one. Although the story was based on fact and compelling in its content, I found my mind wandering and not really taken to task with the character portrayals. I continued to read, hoping for some connection, but to the very end I remained nonplus over Ruth and her cousins
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plight. My lack of empathy is uncommon, as I usually feel deeply for those who suffered so in the hands of Hitler's Nazi Germany. I can only conclude that Funder's style does not grab at my heart with the serverity that other writers such as Nemirovsky and Schlink do. Show Less
LibraryThing member Melanielgarrett
I felt bereft for several days after finishing this book. It's a novel woven from real-life events, which always makes me a bit anxious the thing will simply fall flat, but in this case quite the opposite happened. It's sparky, effervescent, clever, nuanced, gripping...I could go on, but I'd rather
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not take up any more of the time you could spend reading All That I Am instead. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
This is a very well-written story of betrayal, bravery and its shameful opposite, cowardice. In an imagined novel about true events, acclaimed author, Anna Funder, has presented a visual of Hitler’s brutality, the political games played during his regime, and the accompanying blind eye of the
The author’s use of the English language is superb. The reader is treated as an educated observer, drawn carefully into the mystery with excellent character studies and scene set-ups. Sexual images were not reduced to the erotic descriptions of some books today, but rather were beautifully drawn, tasteful, and sensitive, not meant to titillate but to educate the reader about the interaction of the characters.
The book starts simply enough, with a statement that was the harbinger of things to come,
“when Hitler came to power, I was in the bath…” No one could have imagined the horror to come more than a decade later. The book is told in two voices, one is Dr.Ernst Toller, a famous playwright of that time who opposed Hitler. The other is Dr. Ruth Weseman, based on the real life Dr. Ruth Blatt. It is through these two characters that the story of Dr. Dora Fabian is told. She was truly a brave, young woman, single-minded in her opposition to Hitler, who risked her life to get the truth out into the open, but the world was not listening to her or any of those like her. The world was busy playing politics. Disbelief about the unimaginable crimes against humanity, along with personal bigotry and a need for self preservation, and the fear that this unthinkable cruelty would be visited upon themselves, their families or friends, kept the public from accepting or acting upon, the magnitude of the injustices perpetrated by Hitler during his slow, but steady, rise to power.
In the 20’s and 30’s, a group of Jews, members of the Independent Social Democratic Party, intent on creating a more just world after World War I, opposed to Hitler and his rising regime, left Germany, in fear for their lives, and settled in London. They were allowed to remain for three months at a time, with renewable visas, forbidden from doing anything political. They, however, were unable, without shame, not to fight back against the growing army of Hitler’s supporters, and so they disobeyed the law. In some cases, although Britain was aware of the atrocities being committed, they remanded some of them back to German custody.
Ruth is quite elderly, retreating into her memories. She is a resolute woman who seems a bit cynical and also unsure or confused about why she is still living and others are not. She was once married to Hans Weseman. Ernst and Dora were acutely well suited to each other. Although they were not married, Dora loved her freedom, still, their love was constant, even if troubled, and it chronicled Hitler’s rise to power. Ernst, Dora, Ruth and Hans were all friends, members of a Socialist Party that opposed Hitler’s National Socialists. Hans, among them, is the only non-Jew.
Because the book is narrated by two characters separated in the telling by several decades, the timeline of the speakers was sometimes confusing. Toller relates his experiences with Dora, beginning in the early 1920’s, to the woman working for him in the late 1930’s. At times, I wasn’t sure if he was speaking to Clara or Dora. Ruth relates her story to her caregiver, Bev, in the 1990’s and when she slips back into the 30’s, it is sometimes difficult to discern immediately. Once the rhythm is established, however, it all falls into place and we witness the author deftly moving us from a memory in the past to one in the future. For instance, Toller sets out to deliver a note to his wife, Christiane, in the 30’s, and suddenly, the narrative switches to Ruth, in the 90’s, who is also setting out to go for a walk to get some air and escape the confines of her living quarters. Both walks are followed by disastrous incidents. As Toller remembers Dora and her minimal drug use in the 20's, we are suddenly witnessing Dora in the bathroom with a hypodermic in the 30's. Then we see Ruth in a hospital, in the 90's, on drugs for pain, after she has fallen. We witness the performance of a woman, sometime in the 1930’s, as Ruth and Hans watch; she is pulling handkerchiefs out from under her rubber dress, and then, we are witnessing Bev, Ruth’s caretaker, in the 90's, asking her for the location of her rubber gloves. These scenes and so many others, truly segue seamlessly together to move the dialogue along, throughout the story.
In the two narrations, one speaker is old, with memories that fade in and out, while the other, younger, in his middle 40’s, is also a bit unstable, with memories that grieve him to distraction. As Ruth dreams, Toller has visions. Their memories tell the story of this indomitable, free- spirited precursor to the woman’s libber, Dora Fabian, a forward thinker, a woman with the purest hunger to rescue Jews and those willing to fight the good cause, against the growing threat of National Socialism. It is through their combined reminiscences that we learn of their lives during the time of Hitler, of their heroism; we learn about their friends and their enemies, some that will be very surprising to the reader. Treachery came from surprising quarters. Ruth attempted to fight Hitler in any way she could, helping her cousin Dora who was really the central figure in the resistance effort. Dora and Toller attempted to spread the word about Hitler’s hateful behavior to the world. The world continued to be deaf, dumb and blind. Hitler was taking over quietly, subtly assuming more and more power, placing himself above the law, without opposition from any quarter. His grasp of politics and his skill at taking control was huge. The changes in the laws were insidious. Before anyone was aware of the changes, freedom was truly lost for enormous segments of the German population, and this was, surprisingly, even before he brought war to the world.
As the book moves back and forth from the US in 1939, with Toller’s effort to immortalize Dora, by writing about her, to Australia in the 1990’s, where Ruth’s memories bring her into the present and past at will, we learn of the bravery of this small group of people and their courageous efforts, often thwarted by the highest authorities, because of their refusal to recognize what was in front of their eyes, because of politics, because of blatant anti-Semitism, and other prejudices coupled with enormous greed and envy.
On p. 187 of the book, there is a statement about the fact that they underestimated that the liberation from selfhood offered by the Nazis, would have such a lure of mindless belonging and purpose, and in its essence, that statement is the crux of the explanation of the times and the rationalization of the people. Hitler offered the Germans a way out, a way to feel good again, and they simply took it and never looked back or thought about the cost.
The heroism of those few who stood up to the madness of “the madman”, is simply and credibly expressed between these pages. They had no idea what motivated the people to follow Hitler and believed, if only they knew about his heinous activities, they would soon wake up to prevent his further rise to power. They were woefully naïve, although well intentioned.
I was not surprised to learn of the widespread anti-Semitism, which is now common knowledge, but I was surprised to learn that England, which offered them safe haven, after a fashion, also betrayed them by sending them back for the sake of political expedience, even knowing that the Nazis had often entered illegally into countries and assassinated those speaking against their regime, and knowing that those they returned would be imprisoned or worse. The Jews were not truly welcomed anywhere but Shanghai, China. All other shores forbade their entrance without a passport and Hitler confiscated their passports to make them stateless. All of the countries were complicit in the mass slaughter, one way or another. This stain upon history will not easily be erased.
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world, from shortly after World War I, leading up to World War II. This book shines a bright light on the lives of those unsung heroes who bravely fought injustice but were often betrayed by those close to them who were spineless or misguided by their own fear or bigotry.The author’s use of the English language is superb. The reader is treated as an educated observer, drawn carefully into the mystery with excellent character studies and scene set-ups. Sexual images were not reduced to the erotic descriptions of some books today, but rather were beautifully drawn, tasteful, and sensitive, not meant to titillate but to educate the reader about the interaction of the characters.
The book starts simply enough, with a statement that was the harbinger of things to come,
“when Hitler came to power, I was in the bath…” No one could have imagined the horror to come more than a decade later. The book is told in two voices, one is Dr.Ernst Toller, a famous playwright of that time who opposed Hitler. The other is Dr. Ruth Weseman, based on the real life Dr. Ruth Blatt. It is through these two characters that the story of Dr. Dora Fabian is told. She was truly a brave, young woman, single-minded in her opposition to Hitler, who risked her life to get the truth out into the open, but the world was not listening to her or any of those like her. The world was busy playing politics. Disbelief about the unimaginable crimes against humanity, along with personal bigotry and a need for self preservation, and the fear that this unthinkable cruelty would be visited upon themselves, their families or friends, kept the public from accepting or acting upon, the magnitude of the injustices perpetrated by Hitler during his slow, but steady, rise to power.
In the 20’s and 30’s, a group of Jews, members of the Independent Social Democratic Party, intent on creating a more just world after World War I, opposed to Hitler and his rising regime, left Germany, in fear for their lives, and settled in London. They were allowed to remain for three months at a time, with renewable visas, forbidden from doing anything political. They, however, were unable, without shame, not to fight back against the growing army of Hitler’s supporters, and so they disobeyed the law. In some cases, although Britain was aware of the atrocities being committed, they remanded some of them back to German custody.
Ruth is quite elderly, retreating into her memories. She is a resolute woman who seems a bit cynical and also unsure or confused about why she is still living and others are not. She was once married to Hans Weseman. Ernst and Dora were acutely well suited to each other. Although they were not married, Dora loved her freedom, still, their love was constant, even if troubled, and it chronicled Hitler’s rise to power. Ernst, Dora, Ruth and Hans were all friends, members of a Socialist Party that opposed Hitler’s National Socialists. Hans, among them, is the only non-Jew.
Because the book is narrated by two characters separated in the telling by several decades, the timeline of the speakers was sometimes confusing. Toller relates his experiences with Dora, beginning in the early 1920’s, to the woman working for him in the late 1930’s. At times, I wasn’t sure if he was speaking to Clara or Dora. Ruth relates her story to her caregiver, Bev, in the 1990’s and when she slips back into the 30’s, it is sometimes difficult to discern immediately. Once the rhythm is established, however, it all falls into place and we witness the author deftly moving us from a memory in the past to one in the future. For instance, Toller sets out to deliver a note to his wife, Christiane, in the 30’s, and suddenly, the narrative switches to Ruth, in the 90’s, who is also setting out to go for a walk to get some air and escape the confines of her living quarters. Both walks are followed by disastrous incidents. As Toller remembers Dora and her minimal drug use in the 20's, we are suddenly witnessing Dora in the bathroom with a hypodermic in the 30's. Then we see Ruth in a hospital, in the 90's, on drugs for pain, after she has fallen. We witness the performance of a woman, sometime in the 1930’s, as Ruth and Hans watch; she is pulling handkerchiefs out from under her rubber dress, and then, we are witnessing Bev, Ruth’s caretaker, in the 90's, asking her for the location of her rubber gloves. These scenes and so many others, truly segue seamlessly together to move the dialogue along, throughout the story.
In the two narrations, one speaker is old, with memories that fade in and out, while the other, younger, in his middle 40’s, is also a bit unstable, with memories that grieve him to distraction. As Ruth dreams, Toller has visions. Their memories tell the story of this indomitable, free- spirited precursor to the woman’s libber, Dora Fabian, a forward thinker, a woman with the purest hunger to rescue Jews and those willing to fight the good cause, against the growing threat of National Socialism. It is through their combined reminiscences that we learn of their lives during the time of Hitler, of their heroism; we learn about their friends and their enemies, some that will be very surprising to the reader. Treachery came from surprising quarters. Ruth attempted to fight Hitler in any way she could, helping her cousin Dora who was really the central figure in the resistance effort. Dora and Toller attempted to spread the word about Hitler’s hateful behavior to the world. The world continued to be deaf, dumb and blind. Hitler was taking over quietly, subtly assuming more and more power, placing himself above the law, without opposition from any quarter. His grasp of politics and his skill at taking control was huge. The changes in the laws were insidious. Before anyone was aware of the changes, freedom was truly lost for enormous segments of the German population, and this was, surprisingly, even before he brought war to the world.
As the book moves back and forth from the US in 1939, with Toller’s effort to immortalize Dora, by writing about her, to Australia in the 1990’s, where Ruth’s memories bring her into the present and past at will, we learn of the bravery of this small group of people and their courageous efforts, often thwarted by the highest authorities, because of their refusal to recognize what was in front of their eyes, because of politics, because of blatant anti-Semitism, and other prejudices coupled with enormous greed and envy.
On p. 187 of the book, there is a statement about the fact that they underestimated that the liberation from selfhood offered by the Nazis, would have such a lure of mindless belonging and purpose, and in its essence, that statement is the crux of the explanation of the times and the rationalization of the people. Hitler offered the Germans a way out, a way to feel good again, and they simply took it and never looked back or thought about the cost.
The heroism of those few who stood up to the madness of “the madman”, is simply and credibly expressed between these pages. They had no idea what motivated the people to follow Hitler and believed, if only they knew about his heinous activities, they would soon wake up to prevent his further rise to power. They were woefully naïve, although well intentioned.
I was not surprised to learn of the widespread anti-Semitism, which is now common knowledge, but I was surprised to learn that England, which offered them safe haven, after a fashion, also betrayed them by sending them back for the sake of political expedience, even knowing that the Nazis had often entered illegally into countries and assassinated those speaking against their regime, and knowing that those they returned would be imprisoned or worse. The Jews were not truly welcomed anywhere but Shanghai, China. All other shores forbade their entrance without a passport and Hitler confiscated their passports to make them stateless. All of the countries were complicit in the mass slaughter, one way or another. This stain upon history will not easily be erased.
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
Much has been made of the German people’s involvement in Hitler’s wartime activities, and many questions have been raised and answered about that involvement being voluntary or forced through coercion and fear. What sets All That I Am apart is not only the fact that Ms. Funder is writing about
All That I Am is a flashback within a flashback, which can lead to more than a little uncertainty as the reader struggles to keep track of the jumps in time and switching between characters. Ruth Becker flashes back to her own set of memories, while at the same time she is reading the memoirs of Ernst Toller, who is also remembering the same time period. The first fifty pages or so do require careful reading and close attention to the narrators.
While Ruth and Ernst move in largely separate circles, eventually their stories do interconnect, largely through their love for Dora – a force entirely all her own. While Ernst attempts to balance his fame with his civic duty and Ruth struggles with a husband who is not acclimating to life as an exile very well, Dora is the motivating force behind their mission to inform. Her commitment is unwavering, even at tremendous sacrifice to her health and happiness. While Ruth and Ernst are the main narrators, Dora is the true heart of the novel. Even though All That I Am is a fictionalized account of their pre-war actions, the fact remains that Ernst Toller, Ruth Becker, Hans Wesemann, and Dora Fabian did exist and did try to raise awareness of Hitler’s true aims behind his rise to power. Ms. Funder does a remarkable job balancing the fact from the fiction, staying as true as possible to the known details of this period in their lives.
All That I Am is a breathtaking tribute to those who risked everything, including their lives, for their country. The fate of the main four characters, as well as their entire group, is a profound example of everything that the West did wrong in the months and years before World War II. From a failure to ignore the reports from Germans forced to flee for their lives to an inability or unwillingness to protect these same exiles from harm, so much could have been avoided had the Western powers just listened and believed. One can do nothing but admire the courage and fortitude it took for this little band of left-wing exiles to fight to raise awareness of a pending war against insurmountable odds and appreciate Ms. Funder all the more for highlighting these courageous people and their efforts.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association for my review copy!
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people who actually existed, she shines the spotlight on those who protested and tried to fight Hitler’s increasing tyranny. They were the first ones forced to seek asylum as Hitler sought to silence their voices quickly and absolutely. They were the ones who so desperately tried to open the eyes of the West to what was truly occurring in Germany. Theirs is a story that is relatively unknown until now.All That I Am is a flashback within a flashback, which can lead to more than a little uncertainty as the reader struggles to keep track of the jumps in time and switching between characters. Ruth Becker flashes back to her own set of memories, while at the same time she is reading the memoirs of Ernst Toller, who is also remembering the same time period. The first fifty pages or so do require careful reading and close attention to the narrators.
While Ruth and Ernst move in largely separate circles, eventually their stories do interconnect, largely through their love for Dora – a force entirely all her own. While Ernst attempts to balance his fame with his civic duty and Ruth struggles with a husband who is not acclimating to life as an exile very well, Dora is the motivating force behind their mission to inform. Her commitment is unwavering, even at tremendous sacrifice to her health and happiness. While Ruth and Ernst are the main narrators, Dora is the true heart of the novel. Even though All That I Am is a fictionalized account of their pre-war actions, the fact remains that Ernst Toller, Ruth Becker, Hans Wesemann, and Dora Fabian did exist and did try to raise awareness of Hitler’s true aims behind his rise to power. Ms. Funder does a remarkable job balancing the fact from the fiction, staying as true as possible to the known details of this period in their lives.
All That I Am is a breathtaking tribute to those who risked everything, including their lives, for their country. The fate of the main four characters, as well as their entire group, is a profound example of everything that the West did wrong in the months and years before World War II. From a failure to ignore the reports from Germans forced to flee for their lives to an inability or unwillingness to protect these same exiles from harm, so much could have been avoided had the Western powers just listened and believed. One can do nothing but admire the courage and fortitude it took for this little band of left-wing exiles to fight to raise awareness of a pending war against insurmountable odds and appreciate Ms. Funder all the more for highlighting these courageous people and their efforts.
Acknowledgements: Thank you to the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association for my review copy!
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LibraryThing member Rosa_B
This is one of my favourite novels.
LibraryThing member voz
After Stasiland, this is a step backwards. It's writing is superficial and although I wanted to care about the characters, they are outlined and not developed internally. On this ground, for me it does not work as a novel. The sources and acknowledgements at the back look like fascinating starting
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points to develop ideas and characters from. Looking at "All That I Am", it reads as a series of events with short chapters and extensive use of paragraphing and dialogue, as if I could be willed into a film script without any effort by the reader. Perhaps this was aimed at the 18 to 30 generation who with high school history under their belt might respond to historical events with interest. The problem for me was not the research, it was in the writer's skill in writing creatively and having the ability to get into the skin of the characters. I persevered with it, although I could sense within the first 50 pages that there was little substance behind the hype. Show Less
LibraryThing member nicx27
Like other reviewers, I'm afraid I found this a difficult book to engage with. The first line about being in the bath when Hitler came to power is very powerful,and the prologue drew me in but I then just couldn't get into the story at all. I preferred the parts told by Ruth to the parts told by
I may revisit the book at some point in the future, but for the time being I'm going to move on to something else.
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Toller, but generally neither narrative really grabbed me in the way I would have hoped.I may revisit the book at some point in the future, but for the time being I'm going to move on to something else.
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LibraryThing member Warriapendibookclub
Warriapendi Book Club
June 18th 2012
Book chosen by Ros. Meeting held a week late because of storms.
Ros found the book hard to read but started again and found it was good to read when taken slowly. She was really pleased she had read it. She found the time frames interesting. The modern time was
Others:
Jenny M.: I did not enjoy reading this book, there are too many angst ridden novels about war- harried people. I feel it is almost a band wagon thing. I just couldn’t read it all but I read the beginning, the middle and the end! The writing was good but the jumping about was distracting!
Enid: The beginning had a lot of build-up and was boring. I didn’t like a lot of the characters.
Lorita: It was like reading a documentary. Thought it was good. It built up well and described how people might feel in those situations. It might make people think. Confusing time frames. Not a heavy book.
Barbara: She managed to get here this week! Her comments from email inserted here.
I'm working in Mandurah from noon to 5.30pm today and thought I'd have time to get back for book club, however have just heard the weather forecast for "early evening" and now I'm not sure I'll make it. So, I hope I'll be there but if not, don't wait for me. And just in case, I loved the book. I already had it because I'd heard Anna Funder on Q & A and thought her very interesting. I found it hard going at the start, I expected it to be good but it didn't quite engage me. Once I was past the early chapters, I was really impressed. It was such a different take on events that have been told so well many times. Fiction based on real people/factual events is probably my favourite genre, so it was always going to be up there for me. I thought Ruth and Toller were a bit "remote"? some how, but then after being through what they had, there would have to be some consequences for one's personality in the longer term. What indescribable bravery in staying with their beliefs and doing what they did. And of course they were refugees, lucky they were in Europe in WW2 and not Afghanistan or wherever in the 2000s. So, I thought it was beautifully written, took the reader to the place and told a rivetting tale.
Norriel: I haven’t finished it, it was not easy to read. Jumped around a lot and didn’t flow at the beginning. I didn’t engage with the people.I did like learning about that era. Janene read it on the way across the Nullabor and found it confusing but she likes that sort of book.
Wendy: I found it too hard to get in to so I haven’t read enough to score it. I will give it another go.
Lynn: Dora was a stronger character than Ruth. I couldn’t reconcile it being fiction it seemed to be so factual. Again, the time jumps were confusing. Wonderful story, sad but I appreciated it.
Jenny A.: Didn’t enjoy it.
Robin: Couldn’t come tonight. Dog had to go to the vet! Here is her comment via email : I am enjoying the book. It took me a while to get into it. Read a bit put it down picked it up until I started it again! I have been reading it solid since then..lots in candle light! I have not finish – just up to the discovery of Dora and ? bodies….. L . This book has given me much to think about – the power of young people to be so committed to a cause under such circumstances. The pull of the need to be “usefull” even in the case of Hans desperate need to be contributing..and then turning to satisfy that need. I loved the way Ruth is telling the story and the use of Tollers book to give his voice. Each of the “players” in this book seem believable as does the story - so glad I started it again 9 for me.
Scores 8.5, 5, 7.5, 8.5, 8.5, 7, 8.5, 9, 5. Av. 7.5
June 18th 2012
Book chosen by Ros. Meeting held a week late because of storms.
Ros found the book hard to read but started again and found it was good to read when taken slowly. She was really pleased she had read it. She found the time frames interesting. The modern time was
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really well done. She felt no connection with the heroes but liked the older people, the start of memory loss was very well portrayed. Not a novel to feel part of. The characters did become individuals as the book went along.Others:
Jenny M.: I did not enjoy reading this book, there are too many angst ridden novels about war- harried people. I feel it is almost a band wagon thing. I just couldn’t read it all but I read the beginning, the middle and the end! The writing was good but the jumping about was distracting!
Enid: The beginning had a lot of build-up and was boring. I didn’t like a lot of the characters.
Lorita: It was like reading a documentary. Thought it was good. It built up well and described how people might feel in those situations. It might make people think. Confusing time frames. Not a heavy book.
Barbara: She managed to get here this week! Her comments from email inserted here.
I'm working in Mandurah from noon to 5.30pm today and thought I'd have time to get back for book club, however have just heard the weather forecast for "early evening" and now I'm not sure I'll make it. So, I hope I'll be there but if not, don't wait for me. And just in case, I loved the book. I already had it because I'd heard Anna Funder on Q & A and thought her very interesting. I found it hard going at the start, I expected it to be good but it didn't quite engage me. Once I was past the early chapters, I was really impressed. It was such a different take on events that have been told so well many times. Fiction based on real people/factual events is probably my favourite genre, so it was always going to be up there for me. I thought Ruth and Toller were a bit "remote"? some how, but then after being through what they had, there would have to be some consequences for one's personality in the longer term. What indescribable bravery in staying with their beliefs and doing what they did. And of course they were refugees, lucky they were in Europe in WW2 and not Afghanistan or wherever in the 2000s. So, I thought it was beautifully written, took the reader to the place and told a rivetting tale.
Norriel: I haven’t finished it, it was not easy to read. Jumped around a lot and didn’t flow at the beginning. I didn’t engage with the people.I did like learning about that era. Janene read it on the way across the Nullabor and found it confusing but she likes that sort of book.
Wendy: I found it too hard to get in to so I haven’t read enough to score it. I will give it another go.
Lynn: Dora was a stronger character than Ruth. I couldn’t reconcile it being fiction it seemed to be so factual. Again, the time jumps were confusing. Wonderful story, sad but I appreciated it.
Jenny A.: Didn’t enjoy it.
Robin: Couldn’t come tonight. Dog had to go to the vet! Here is her comment via email : I am enjoying the book. It took me a while to get into it. Read a bit put it down picked it up until I started it again! I have been reading it solid since then..lots in candle light! I have not finish – just up to the discovery of Dora and ? bodies….. L . This book has given me much to think about – the power of young people to be so committed to a cause under such circumstances. The pull of the need to be “usefull” even in the case of Hans desperate need to be contributing..and then turning to satisfy that need. I loved the way Ruth is telling the story and the use of Tollers book to give his voice. Each of the “players” in this book seem believable as does the story - so glad I started it again 9 for me.
Scores 8.5, 5, 7.5, 8.5, 8.5, 7, 8.5, 9, 5. Av. 7.5
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LibraryThing member pam.furney
An amazing book outlining and embellishing real events in the period between the World Wars. I was staggered to find that the characters are based on real people and their resistance work during the rise of Hitler to power.
LibraryThing member whirled
It is sometimes difficult to separate a book from the hype surrounding it, and this is particularly true since All That I Am won the Miles Franklin Award. When it comes down to brass tacks, this is not an especially insightful look at life for refugees of the Holocaust, but it is still an
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interesting and worthwhile read. The novel alternates between two narrators - young activist Ruth and famed writer Ernst Toller - as they navigate (somewhat disjointedly) through several different time periods. Perhaps because Ruth is based on a real-life friend of the author, she feels more rounded and authentic than Toller, whose life is drawn from secondary sources only. I found myself looking forward to Ruth's next chapter, sometimes wishing Funder had stuck with a single protagonist. All That I Am has its flaws, but the betrayal Ruth experiences at the hands of a trusted ally is truly devastating. Show Less
LibraryThing member ilovejfranzen
'All that I am' is not your average holocaust book. Anna Funder carves out a little-covered niche in time - the period before the worst of the atrocities - as the setting for her excellently written and researched book. The book's main characters are left-wing intelligenzia fleeing from Germany in
I always find books based on real life events compelling and this book is no exception. Anna Funder is to be congratulated for vividly bringing these little known individuals and their heroic deeds to life and for contributing to the answer to that enduring question about the Holocaust and other such atrocities - 'How could these things happen?'
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the face of increasing threats by the Reich. The story is their struggle to tell the outside world of Germany's slide into despotism, as well as the individual stories of resourcefulness and incredible bravery, bewilderment and displacement. I always find books based on real life events compelling and this book is no exception. Anna Funder is to be congratulated for vividly bringing these little known individuals and their heroic deeds to life and for contributing to the answer to that enduring question about the Holocaust and other such atrocities - 'How could these things happen?'
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LibraryThing member Beamis12
I love books that feature real life events and the people who figured prominently in them. The historical data and the characters in this book were fascinating, I just had a little trouble with the format. I appreciated that the book chapters were headed with the persons name, but within the
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chapters themselves the events were related into the past and the present. Different chapters also did this, back and forth and while I could keep track of what was happening when, it served as a distraction and kept me becoming fully invested in the story. I would get into one part and it would be switched to another, very frustrating especially since this was a very well written book. Just really didn't care for the structure. Show Less
LibraryThing member ParadisePorch
The winner of Australia’s Miles Franklin Award and several other prizes, Funder’s WWII drama, All That I Am, is said to be based on real characters. A group of left-wing German activists find themselves self-exiled to England when Hitler comes to power in the 1930s. From their London base, they
I found this to be very powerful in an elegant, understated fashion, and think it well-deserving of the prizes and honourable mentions that it garnered.
Read this if: you’re interested in a slightly different perspective on Hitler’s rise to power. 4½ stars
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try to alert the world to the human-rights atrocities being perpetrated by Hitler’s government. With hindsight, we think all should have listened. But no one did.I found this to be very powerful in an elegant, understated fashion, and think it well-deserving of the prizes and honourable mentions that it garnered.
Read this if: you’re interested in a slightly different perspective on Hitler’s rise to power. 4½ stars
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LibraryThing member readingwithtea
"Hans, who was shy speaking to the English, spoke of them as they fitted his preconceptions: a nation of shopkeepers, tea drinkers, lawn clippers. But I came to see them differently. What had seemed a conformist reticence revealed itself, after a time, to be an inbred, ineffable sense of fair play.
(from the blurb) When Hitler comes to power in 1933, a tight-knit group of friends and lovers become hunted outlaws overnight. United in their resistance to the madness and tyranny of Nazism, they must flee the country. Dora, passionate and fearless, her lover, the great playwright Ernst Toller, her younger cousin Ruth and Ruth's husband Hans find refuge in London. Here they take breathtaking risks in order to continue their work in secret. But England is not the safe haven they think it to be, and a single, chilling act of betrayal will tear them apart.
Often a book seems driven by one of three things to me - plot, characters, or beautiful writing. This seemed a half-and-half study of plot and characters. The plot moved at inconsistent speed (and jumped around - but more on that later), but while we stayed in one place and time, particularly in the early 30s in Germany and then in the mid 30s in London, it was well-crafted and progressed. A level of tension is well-maintained without being exhausting. I didn't see the plot twist coming at all. I was surprised when it came, who it was that was responsible, and the effects.
I already protested about the back-and-forth perspective, the way we flick from Ruth as an old woman, to Ruth as a young woman during the Nazi years, to Ernst Toller at the start of the war, and back again. I still maintain that Ernst's story served no purpose at all - it was necessary that some of the information about Dora came through him, but that was really it.
Young Ruth was my favourite character (I suspect this is Funder's intention); gentle and idealistic, committed and loving. I found Dora more difficult; headstrong, impetuous, strangely unconcerned with consequences. Ernst was sanctimonious and selfish, and Hans was strangely nothing. He was inspired and gregarious as a young man, but he petered out into nothingness in a new country. I loved old Ruth's observations on Bev (her carer) - a little comic relief in the other timeline.
This is such a depressing book. So naturally I read it on holiday in Rome in the sunshine. But still. I can't decide whether it needed heavier editing, redirecting, or whether I was never going to like something so dark.
One thing this book did teach me was the experience of living in 20s Germany. At school we only heard about the rampant inflation and needing a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy a loaf of bread; this book managed to convey the joy and freedom and idealism and optimism of the early 20s. No mean feat.
Not bad, and others will enjoy it more than I. But so, so depressing.
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They didn't need as many external rules as we did because they had internalised the standards of decency."(from the blurb) When Hitler comes to power in 1933, a tight-knit group of friends and lovers become hunted outlaws overnight. United in their resistance to the madness and tyranny of Nazism, they must flee the country. Dora, passionate and fearless, her lover, the great playwright Ernst Toller, her younger cousin Ruth and Ruth's husband Hans find refuge in London. Here they take breathtaking risks in order to continue their work in secret. But England is not the safe haven they think it to be, and a single, chilling act of betrayal will tear them apart.
Often a book seems driven by one of three things to me - plot, characters, or beautiful writing. This seemed a half-and-half study of plot and characters. The plot moved at inconsistent speed (and jumped around - but more on that later), but while we stayed in one place and time, particularly in the early 30s in Germany and then in the mid 30s in London, it was well-crafted and progressed. A level of tension is well-maintained without being exhausting. I didn't see the plot twist coming at all. I was surprised when it came, who it was that was responsible, and the effects.
I already protested about the back-and-forth perspective, the way we flick from Ruth as an old woman, to Ruth as a young woman during the Nazi years, to Ernst Toller at the start of the war, and back again. I still maintain that Ernst's story served no purpose at all - it was necessary that some of the information about Dora came through him, but that was really it.
Young Ruth was my favourite character (I suspect this is Funder's intention); gentle and idealistic, committed and loving. I found Dora more difficult; headstrong, impetuous, strangely unconcerned with consequences. Ernst was sanctimonious and selfish, and Hans was strangely nothing. He was inspired and gregarious as a young man, but he petered out into nothingness in a new country. I loved old Ruth's observations on Bev (her carer) - a little comic relief in the other timeline.
This is such a depressing book. So naturally I read it on holiday in Rome in the sunshine. But still. I can't decide whether it needed heavier editing, redirecting, or whether I was never going to like something so dark.
One thing this book did teach me was the experience of living in 20s Germany. At school we only heard about the rampant inflation and needing a wheelbarrow full of cash to buy a loaf of bread; this book managed to convey the joy and freedom and idealism and optimism of the early 20s. No mean feat.
Not bad, and others will enjoy it more than I. But so, so depressing.
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LibraryThing member suesbooks
Il found this very interesting, moreso because it was historical fiction of peoples' lives trying to warn Europe regarding the events in Nazi Germany. I cared about many of the characters, although I did not find it easy to know them all. I also did not always know the exact time frame, but I do
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not feel that was important. Knowing the risks these people took made the novel worthwhile. Show Less
LibraryThing member Secret7
Powerful, beautiful, sad. An amazing story wonderfully and passionately told.
LibraryThing member sianpr
A complex story set in the years following the Nazis coming to power in Germany and the outbreak of WW11 that focuses on German political exiles in London. Funder brings a relatively unknown (at least to me) bit of history to life in a taut, but ultimately extremely bleak story involving betrayal
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of the highest order. There are no happy endings for any involved. Show Less
LibraryThing member nautilus
Sad, beautiful, important book. The best I've read so far this year.
LibraryThing member TheWasp
The fictional story of a group of young political activists who are forced to flee Germany in the years before WWII and the reach of the Nazis to silence them. The author uses real people and events and The voices of Ernst Toller and Ruth as narrators,
LibraryThing member PhilipJHunt
Wow! What superb writing! Is this a first novel? If so, one suspects many earlier learning attempts languish somewhere because this is a fully formed talent. The novel, thinly disguised over true history, is literary, thrilling and emotional. Exercise your heart and mind, and contemplate the
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lessons for the new century. Show Less
LibraryThing member benkaboo
Summary: Story of a group of socialists fleeing nazi Germany before the outbreak of world war 2. They live in a world were no-one really believes Hitler is Hitler
What I liked:
Characters: Dora and Ruth in particular I thought were well realized.
Setting: I was fascinated by the world of the pre-WWII
What I thought could be improved:
I thought the plot was not that clever and developments were clearly signposted (even though I suspect they were intended to be 'the big twist'.
Highlight: The scenes when the socialists are trying to flee Germany were so tense and dripping with sensation.
What I liked:
Characters: Dora and Ruth in particular I thought were well realized.
Setting: I was fascinated by the world of the pre-WWII
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Germany/England. That the evil of Hitler wasn't realized until much later was hard to take in. What I thought could be improved:
I thought the plot was not that clever and developments were clearly signposted (even though I suspect they were intended to be 'the big twist'.
Highlight: The scenes when
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LibraryThing member Chris.Wolak
This book tired me out. Not that it's overly long or a slog to get through, but Funder's telling of the fear, paranoia, and betrayal that infected people during Hitler's earliest years in power and the reach of that early power is exhausting. At one point I realized it was only 1933-35 that I was
Funder is an Australian writer and I'm participating in the Australian Women Writers Reading Challenge. I'm interested in German history as my Mom is from Germany. I'm also interested in Australian history and writers these days because several years ago we connected with cousins who'd left Germany for Australia after the family was bombed out of Dresden in 1945. My cousins live in Sydney. They've visited the US several times and we've had a reunion in Germany. I hope to make it to Australia sooner rather than later. Of course I'll hit every bookstore I can find, but I digress--back to the book.
All That I Am is the story of a group of left-wing German activists at the end of the Weimar Republic: Ruth Becker, a self-described observer, and her husband Hans Wesemann; Ruth's cousin Dora Fabian; and Dora's lover Ernst Toller.
Dora is the center of the novel. The action of the novel jumps around throughout time and the story is told through the alternating perspective of Ruth and Toller. Ruth's focus is Dora and Hans and Toller primarily tells his own story as he's revising his memoir to include Dora. The time frame of the novel stretches from 1923 when Ruth, as a young girl, convalesces with Dora's family, to contemporary Australia where Ruth lives an old woman recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. There is also mention of World War I, in which Toller fought, and his earliest activist years in Munich, but most of the action takes place between 1933-1939.
The book opens on the night of January 30, 1933, the day Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Ruth and Hans live in an apartment in the center of Berlin. They can see the Reichstag from their windows and hear Hitler give his first speech as chancellor. Hitler denounces communism. Hans eventually pulls Ruth away from the window to have some drinks, but first she rummages through their closet and pulls out a red flag, the symbol of the left movement, and hangs it out their window. Within a month, such an action would be not only illegal, but potentially suicidal.
As Hitler continues to build and consolidate his power, Dora and Hans do what they can to combat the growing extremism. Their weapons are reason and words, which are no match for the propaganda and violence of the Nazis.
The Reichstag burns on the night of February 27 and The Reichstag Fire Decree is issued the very next day. It basically suspended civil liberties and gave Hitler the power of martial law:
It "permitted arrests without warrant, house searches, postal searches; it closed the newspapers and banned political meetings. In essence . . . it prevented campaigning by any other parties before the election. By the end of that day, thousands of anti-Hitler activists were being held in 'protective custody' in makeshift SA barracks. . . . Soon there was not enough room. That was when they set about building the concentration camps" (133).
Overnight Ruth & Hans, and those in their circle of friends who are fortunate enough to be given time to get out of Germany, find themselves living as refugees.
Ruth, Hans, and Dora end up in England. But once there they realize their fight against Hitler will face new challenges:
"Our English visas stipulated 'no political activities of any kind'. But our lives would only have meaning if we could continue to help the underground in Germany, and try to alter the rest of the world to Hitler's plans for war. We were being offered exile on condition that we were silent about the reason we needed it. The silence chafed; it made us feel we were betraying those we had left behind. The British government was insisting on dealing with Hitler as a reasonable fellow, as if hoping he'd turn into one" (160).
"The German government had silenced writers in Germany, and now it was trying to silence those of us who'd managed to get abroad. The Nazis were putting pressure on the British government to prevent us addressing public events. They threatened reprisals against publishers in Britain who were publishing our work. It wasn't just about depriving us of a living, it was the first step to silence" (177).
One character works around the clock, in secret, of course, to carry on the fight against Hitler's take-over and ramp-up for war. Other characters try to work, too, but have a harder time finding their footing in exile. It's a story about friendship, love, bravery, cowardice, betrayal, and fear. Lots of fear and what it does to people.
I was more interested in the Ruth/Dora portion of the story than the Toller/Dora portion. I thought Toller was a rather flat character, a bit of a washed-up pompous ass, if you will, which can often make a character "interesting," but he came off like a non-entity. There's good reason for that, from the context of the story, but for me Dora stole the show. I also really enjoyed the older Ruth.
I won't go into anymore of the plot in order to avoid spoilers. I will say that there is no feel-good ending to this novel. It left me feeling wrung-out and hollow. I found myself thinking about the characters when I didn't realize my mind had drifted off to dwell on the story. It took a few weeks before I was ready to pick up another novel. However, don't let that sway you from picking up All That I Am. It's a powerful novel based on true events and real people. I highly recommend it.
It's a good companion to Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts, a creative non-fiction account of 1933 through the eyes of America's first ambassador to Nazi Germany. If you read All That I Am and want to read another novel about German resistance to the Nazis I HIGHLY recommend Hans Fallada's Every Man Dies Alone.
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reading about and it was jarring to think that there was a decade to go before the end of the war.Funder is an Australian writer and I'm participating in the Australian Women Writers Reading Challenge. I'm interested in German history as my Mom is from Germany. I'm also interested in Australian history and writers these days because several years ago we connected with cousins who'd left Germany for Australia after the family was bombed out of Dresden in 1945. My cousins live in Sydney. They've visited the US several times and we've had a reunion in Germany. I hope to make it to Australia sooner rather than later. Of course I'll hit every bookstore I can find, but I digress--back to the book.
All That I Am is the story of a group of left-wing German activists at the end of the Weimar Republic: Ruth Becker, a self-described observer, and her husband Hans Wesemann; Ruth's cousin Dora Fabian; and Dora's lover Ernst Toller.
Dora is the center of the novel. The action of the novel jumps around throughout time and the story is told through the alternating perspective of Ruth and Toller. Ruth's focus is Dora and Hans and Toller primarily tells his own story as he's revising his memoir to include Dora. The time frame of the novel stretches from 1923 when Ruth, as a young girl, convalesces with Dora's family, to contemporary Australia where Ruth lives an old woman recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. There is also mention of World War I, in which Toller fought, and his earliest activist years in Munich, but most of the action takes place between 1933-1939.
The book opens on the night of January 30, 1933, the day Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Ruth and Hans live in an apartment in the center of Berlin. They can see the Reichstag from their windows and hear Hitler give his first speech as chancellor. Hitler denounces communism. Hans eventually pulls Ruth away from the window to have some drinks, but first she rummages through their closet and pulls out a red flag, the symbol of the left movement, and hangs it out their window. Within a month, such an action would be not only illegal, but potentially suicidal.
As Hitler continues to build and consolidate his power, Dora and Hans do what they can to combat the growing extremism. Their weapons are reason and words, which are no match for the propaganda and violence of the Nazis.
The Reichstag burns on the night of February 27 and The Reichstag Fire Decree is issued the very next day. It basically suspended civil liberties and gave Hitler the power of martial law:
It "permitted arrests without warrant, house searches, postal searches; it closed the newspapers and banned political meetings. In essence . . . it prevented campaigning by any other parties before the election. By the end of that day, thousands of anti-Hitler activists were being held in 'protective custody' in makeshift SA barracks. . . . Soon there was not enough room. That was when they set about building the concentration camps" (133).
Overnight Ruth & Hans, and those in their circle of friends who are fortunate enough to be given time to get out of Germany, find themselves living as refugees.
Ruth, Hans, and Dora end up in England. But once there they realize their fight against Hitler will face new challenges:
"Our English visas stipulated 'no political activities of any kind'. But our lives would only have meaning if we could continue to help the underground in Germany, and try to alter the rest of the world to Hitler's plans for war. We were being offered exile on condition that we were silent about the reason we needed it. The silence chafed; it made us feel we were betraying those we had left behind. The British government was insisting on dealing with Hitler as a reasonable fellow, as if hoping he'd turn into one" (160).
"The German government had silenced writers in Germany, and now it was trying to silence those of us who'd managed to get abroad. The Nazis were putting pressure on the British government to prevent us addressing public events. They threatened reprisals against publishers in Britain who were publishing our work. It wasn't just about depriving us of a living, it was the first step to silence" (177).
One character works around the clock, in secret, of course, to carry on the fight against Hitler's take-over and ramp-up for war. Other characters try to work, too, but have a harder time finding their footing in exile. It's a story about friendship, love, bravery, cowardice, betrayal, and fear. Lots of fear and what it does to people.
I was more interested in the Ruth/Dora portion of the story than the Toller/Dora portion. I thought Toller was a rather flat character, a bit of a washed-up pompous ass, if you will, which can often make a character "interesting," but he came off like a non-entity. There's good reason for that, from the context of the story, but for me Dora stole the show. I also really enjoyed the older Ruth.
I won't go into anymore of the plot in order to avoid spoilers. I will say that there is no feel-good ending to this novel. It left me feeling wrung-out and hollow. I found myself thinking about the characters when I didn't realize my mind had drifted off to dwell on the story. It took a few weeks before I was ready to pick up another novel. However, don't let that sway you from picking up All That I Am. It's a powerful novel based on true events and real people. I highly recommend it.
It's a good companion to Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts, a creative non-fiction account of 1933 through the eyes of America's first ambassador to Nazi Germany. If you read All That I Am and want to read another novel about German resistance to the Nazis I HIGHLY recommend Hans Fallada's Every Man Dies Alone.
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LibraryThing member robfwalter
The great strength of this book is that it is based on a true story. The heroism and courage of the protagonist and her colleagues are inspirational, and their outrage in the face of international apathy seems accurate. However, the prose never really soars and the tricksy structure, with endless
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casting back and forth in time adds nothing to the story. The paragraphs that are supposed to sound profound tend to come across as rather trite and don't match the majesty of the Ruth's life or the sacrifices of her friends. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2013)
National Jewish Book Award (Finalist — 2012)
New South Wales Premier's Literary Award (Shortlist — 2012)
John Gardner Fiction Book Award (Shortlist — Shortlist — 2013)
Australian Book Industry Awards (Shortlist — Book of the Year — 2012)
Barbara Jefferis Award (Winner — 2012)
Miles Franklin Literary Award (Winner — 2012)
The Indie Book Award (Longlist — 2012)
Victorian Premier's Literary Award (Shortlist — Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction — 2012)
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards (Fiction — 2011)
BookPeople Booksellers' Choice Award (Winner — 2012)
ALS Gold Medal (Shortlist — Shortlist — 2012)
Paterson Fiction Prize (Finalist — 2013)
Prime Minister's Literary Award (Shortlist — Fiction — 2012)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2011
Physical description
372 p.; 8.02 inches
ISBN
9780062077578
UPC
884375343074