I love to read Advanced Readers Copies. There’s something about reading a book before it’s published. Especially if it is a new author.
The Dutch Wife I read in a few days time this week. Although hard to read at times, and full of triggers due to the cruelty and abuse, it was true to life of the women in concentration camps who were made to work in the brothels. Some were in fact given the choice, but the choice was chosen so that they would have a better choice of survival. I’ve read massive amounts of Holocaust Literature and there had not been much about the brothels in an in-depth manner that I know of. This portrayal was done well. A little to graphic for me, however it gets the point of how horrific it actually was across and I don’t think you would catch that otherwise. We need to be uncomfortable reading it. The book had two-story lines; the other being about Argentina. Interestingly enough, it has long been established that many Nazis fled to South America. This particular story that intertwined with the brothel and the Holocaust was “The Disappeared” On March 24, 1976, a military junta led by General Jorge Rafael Videla seized power from President Isabel Peron. Between 1976 and 1983, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 people the new government suspected of involvement with left-wing activities were “disappeared” by authorities in what is now called the “Dirty War.” Citizens were kidnapped, detained, tortured, executed and occasionally dumped out of airplanes — dead or alive — over the Atlantic Ocean. Those taken came to be known as the Desaparecidos, the Spanish word for “Disappeared.” This was an interesting way to tell and put the stories together.
I think this book will do well. The flow of the book goes nicely between stories and you are invested in these characters and want to know what happens. The best part for me is that it doesn’t necessarily all tie up in a nice bow at the end. As it did not for the real life people who endured this hell. The book is due out September 4, 2018. Preorder or check it out of the library when it comes in. It’s worth the read.
Peace.
