Prisioner of night and Fog review

Prisioner of night and Fog by Anne Blackman is set in Munich,Germany in 1930s

 

Prisioner of night and Fog by Anne Blackman, set in Munich,Germany in 1930s

The book starts by Gretchen, Reinhardt (Gretchen´s brother),Kurt (Reinhardt’s friend) and Eva (I was astonished to know that Eva Braun was Gretchen´s best friend.) were on their way to see attend to Hittler´s meal invitation but while Kurt was driving a Jew crossed the street and Kurt jerked out  that almost hit the Jew.

 

Both Kurt and Reinhardt went down the car and they rushed were the Jew was. They take him to towards an alley to beat him, Gretchen knew what they were going so she rushed towards them and she panicked when she saw them beating the Jew. She had been taught that the Jews are this sub-humans that don´t care anything more than destroy pure Germans and that they were her eternal enemy, but when she saw that Jew being beaten by the guys she felt compassion for him. Gretchen confronts his brother telling him that “Uncle Dolf” (Adolf Hitler is not her uncle, he is a family friend that Gretchen looked at him as a parental figure.) would be angry if he knew what they were doing, of course he laughs at her. After saying two more excuses for them to stop, a policeman arrives at the scene making Reinhardt and Kurt leave.

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Reinhardt and Kurt leave her at the alley and then  a shadow appears and says to her “You are no like the others.” And just before she was going to know the identity of this young men and Eva arrived complaining because Reinhart and Kurt leaved without them.

Reinhardt is Gretchen mean brother, he is part of the SA, he often gets into fights with communist and Jews. When he is into fights he seems emotionless and merciless. He is mean with Gretchen and he tries to make her pay for whatever little thing she do to him.

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After a few days Gretchen received a letter saying that the he(the writer of the letter) have some information that she didn´t about her father´s death at putsch, at first she was a little hesitant but she agree to go.

They encounter in front of her boarding house but she takes him to the woods so no one can she them, suddenly she realizes that he is the shadow that she saw on the alley. The fellow said to her that some National Socialist killed her father, (Hitler had told her and not only to her but the entire Germany that her father sacrificed for him at putsch receiving all the bullets that were meant to him.)

Later on her mother tell her that she didn´t have money to send her to school or to college, so she must find a job; later on she discovers that  it was for Reinhart welfare, because he didn´t finish school and he didn´t want her sister to finish it. Desperately, she goes to Circus Krone looking out her(were Hitler was going to give a speech) to look out her “uncle Dolf” for help.

But he instead of helping her he finds her a job at the Braunes House.

At the Circus Krone the name of the mystery guy is revealed by Geli (who is the half niece of Hitler.),his name is Daniel Cohen and he is a Jewish reporter at the Munich post, which is socialist newspaper that opposes the Nati onal Socialist party

Days later Gretchen decides to inspect her father´s uniform that he was wearing the day he died, while she was inspecting it she saw bullet powder in the back of the uniform, which meant that someone aim at him with a gun into his back.

Daniel and Gretche venture  into dangerous investigations  to find the truth about her father´s death.

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But between those adventures she realizes that the Jews aren´t as she had been taught to, she realizes that they are human beings, and all she had belived was built in a lie;  all thanks to Daniel Cohen. Eventually they fall in love with each other!

The book ends with Gretchen and Daniel escaping from Germany to England, after Gretchen confronted Hitler with all the proofs that he had killed his father in putsch, after that confrontation things get really dangerous for both Gretchen and Daniel, but luckily the scape for England.

 

My feelings

 

The book started with the right kind of emotion that makes you want to keep reading. The writings style is great, and the description that Anne Blackman uses make you interested throughout the entire book.
The character development was well done, I mean when book stated we have this Gretchen infested by Hitler´s beliefs but little by little with the help of Daniel the shelf starts to crumble and later on we see a new Gretchen that thinks by her own. I was so proud at Gretchen when she cut her hair the way that a National Socialist girl will never do.

Daniel Cohen was such an incredible character. I really liked the compatibility that they both have, He is always caring for Gretchen and being so supportive to her even though she treated him like trash at the very beginning. I was glad that Gretchen and Daniel escape together at the end.

Please Anne Blanckman, don´t kill him!

One of my favorite parts was  when Gretchen´s mother asked him if he loved her and he said “I love her with all my heart”, after reading that line I was fangirling and making weird sounds in the living room and then my mother ask me if I was ok,but I responded “ I am in love!”

 I have never liked so much a male lead character before as I liked Daniel.

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I wish I could have tell a more extended review but  there is so many things happening that is really hard to tell everything. This book kept me excited towards the end, It was by no means predictable.

 

This book is such a great book, I really enjoyed and I will give 5 in good reads. .

Well done Anne Blanckman! I am excited for the next year to read the next one.

This book has history, cutesy romance, suspense, mystery, I really recommend it. 

Go read it I you haven´t!

 

Blessings, bye!