From the Dark We Rise (Margarete's Journey #2) by Marion Kummerow
Genre: Historical fiction, Wartime fiction, WW2, Holocaust
Read: 8th December 2021
Audio links:
Published: 17th November 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
“Please, let me help. I won’t tell anyone.” It was madness to help an escaped prisoner in Nazi Germany, but how could she not? If it weren’t for a lucky strike of fate, she might be the woman on the ground shivering with fear. A light of hope entered the prisoner’s eyes and she knew what she had to do…
1942, Germany: When a young woman calling herself Annegret Huber unexpectedly inherits a huge fortune, including a house and factory just outside Berlin, her first thought is to try to see out the war quietly, avoiding the Gestapo and SS as best she can.
No one needs to know her dark secret. She must focus on staying hidden. Because she can’t risk being exposed for who she truly is. Not really Annegret. But a girl living a secret life. A girl who was once called Margarete.
But then an encounter with an escaped prisoner changes everything, as Margarete discovers what is happening at the factory and its attached labor camp. Witnessing first-hand the suffering of prisoners—shivering, with faces gaunt from hunger, as they work in brutal and cruel conditions—she realises she must act.
If she can save just one life, she knows she has to. Because the truth is that Margarete resembles the prisoners in the camp in ways she daren’t admit. And on the other side of the fence, she has seen a face that is achingly familiar…
An absolutely gripping and devastating story, perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, All the Light We Cannot See, and My Name is Eva.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Marion Kummerow's enthalling sequel on Margarete's journey FROM THE DARK WE RISE.
Although there is a plethora of historical fiction tales rising from the plight of Jews in the atrocity known as the Holocaust, Margarete's journey is one that that stands out in particular for me. Marion Kummerow's sequel to "A Light in the Window" picks up a short time after where the previous book left off and is as engaging and as well-written as the first one. While FROM THE DARK WE RISE can be read sufficiently as a standalone, I highly recommend reading "A Light in the Window" first to get a proper insight into Margarete's history and that of Annegret. It will make the sequel far more powerful.
Beginning a short time after the first one ends, this story follows Margarete's journey from Paris - in the wake of the death of her "brothers" Wilhelm and Reiner - to the Huber family estate in rural Germany. Wilhelm's wish was that she use the Huber fortune she inherited as Annegret for good and Margarete intended on doing just that. And so she left Paris with Gestapo officer Horst Richter, a close family friend of Annegret's father Herr Huber, who enabled her fresh start in the German countryside.
Margarete Rosenbaum was a young and rather naive Jewish woman who worked as a maid in the Huber household, the father being an SS officer of the Nazi High Command. Whilst in their employ she was subjected to the usual types of cruelty and abuse inflicted on the Jewish. The eldest son, Reiner, had raped her and the daughter Annegret took great pleasure in dishing out cruelty as the spoilt young woman that she was. But then tragedy struck when the house was struck in a air raid, killing everyone but Margarete. And in a moment of madness, she swapped her clothing, with its prominent yellow star assigned to all Jews, and papers with the dead girl...thus identifying her as Annegret Huber, the lone survivor of her family home. She flees to Leipzig where she has an aunt whilst trying to evade her "brothers" Wilhelm and Reiner and anyone who knew the Huber family.
When she came into contact with Horst Richter whom she knew to be a close friend of her former employer, she feared her masquerade was up. But Richter has only fleeting glimpses of Annegret and paid her no attention and so she was able to continue her subterfuge. But then Wilhelm tracked her down and recognised her immediately...and he became her protector as she fled to Paris to live as his sister.
But now Wilhelm was dead, along with his self-satisfied elder brother Reiner, in an explosion orchestrated by the French Resistance of which Margarete had played a part. Now Richter has taken her under his wing and, without knowing her secret, eases the path to her inheritance as Annegret. This includes a sprawling estate in the German countryside where she decides would be the perfect place for her to continue her masquerade without fear of detection.
But Margarete doesn't realise that many people there have strong memories of the spoilt little rich girl who thought nothing of throwing a tantrum to get her own way or playing cruel pranks and setting others up to take the blame. To all intents and purposes, Annegret was a spiteful and selfish child and locals there assumed nothing had changed now that she had become a young woman, now sole heir to the Huber estate and its fortune. This makes her task more difficult and even challenging as she portrays a very different Annegret to the one everyone remembers. However, Margarete hopes she is able to convince them that Annegret is a changed woman in light of her recent bereavements thus enabling her to continue her charade.
She is thrilled the maid who is assigned to her, Dora, is new to the estate after escaping the Ukraine and therefore has no knowledge of Annegret. Her boyfriend stud master Oliver, on the other hand, has. He remembers Annegret's cruelty all too well and the times he was left to take the punishment that should have been hers when she lay the blame at his feet. Oliver doesn't believe she has changed at all despite a few glimpses he catches of her that don't marry up to the memories he has of the spoilt child. But no matter how Dora sings her praises, Oliver knows different. And it is he who proves to be Margarete's biggest threat...for his memories of Annegret are so vivid she doubts she can pull of her charade in front of him.
But then things become further challenging when she discovers a beaten, abused and emaciated young woman in the forest and is shocked to learn that she has escaped from a secret munitions factory which apparently belongs to her! Her estate manager, Gustav Fischer, looks after the books and machinations of the factory whilst foreman Heinz Strobler overseers the workers and production. But Margarete soon discovers conditions there are poor and workers are pushed to the brink of death. When she brings up her concerns with Gustav, whom she trusts implicitly, he informs her that they are merely Jews and are the lowest of the low. Despite his initial misgivings, Margarete convinces him to instill new work practices which see in the fair treatment of the workers as well as sufficient food and bedding. But upon an impromptu visit to the factory she discovers none of her instructions she sanctioned have been imposed and when she confronts Gustav he pleads ignorance, claiming he handed over her instructions to a third party to be delivered.
Then when she discovers there have been thefts from the rations intended for the workers, Margarete makes it her mission to uncover the culprit with the welcome help of Gustav who does some undercover digging. Who on the estate is helping themselves to the rations meant for the prisoners/workers? Can Margarete uncover the guilty party before it's too late? And is she able to help Lena, the Jewish prisoner who escaped the munitions factory, without putting herself at risk? Determined to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety and well-being of the prisoners and uncover the thief without compromising her own identity, will Margarete succeed? Or is she doomed to fail?
A story about resilience, sacrifice, courage, hope and love, FROM THE DARK WE RISE is as powerful in its prose as it is heartbreaking in its reality. I read it in one sitting late into the night and did not stop until I turned the last page. Having followed Margarete's journey from the start, I am eager to see where life takes her next and quietly cheering her on to survive the war living as Annegret Huber so she can shed that facade once and for all and become Margarete Rosenbaum once again...before she loses her identity completely. Living your life as someone else takes a tremendous toll, keeping up a charade of deception and lies in an act of desperation and will to survive.
In "A Light in the Window", Margarete was a naive young woman living under the protection of her "brother" Wilhelm who knew her true identity and shielded her from discovery. In FROM THE DARK WE RISE, she really comes into herself taking on the responsibilities of the heir to the Huber fortune and friend of the Reich whilst secretly doing what she can to help her own kind from the harsh treatment as prisoners under her care. She no longer had Wilhelm to hide behind and, although she had Horst Richter to ease her smooth transition from Paris to the family estate in Gut Paun, his having been urgently called away to Leipzig was the best thing that could have happened to her because it enabled her to become her own version of Annegret as a much stronger and resilient young woman who has lost her entire family. Without his watchful eye, she had greater freedom and she flourished.
Each of the characters were perfectly drawn and played their roles to perfection. Kummerow has cleverly crafted a plot to resonate with readers both in plight and reason. She also highlighted just how easily people could be lead. The sheer fact that one man, Hitler, could manipulate an entire nation into believing that Jews were an abomination to the human race and should be eradicated is shocking! How easily they believed his ideology and propoganda. And how easily others were swayed to follow the orders of those above them. All in the name of power. That's all it was. And that is so completely shocking. People march and protest today about the atrocities dealt out to others for whatever reason centuries ago, but what they don't realise is that pulling down statues of those who represented that ideology doesn't change history. The past is the past and history can never be rewritten...but it can be learned from. And that is the purpose of history.
I thoroughly enjoyed FROM THE DARK WE RISE and eagerly await the continuation of Margarete's journey in "The Girl in the Shadows" in March 2022.
Perfect for fans of historical fiction, particularly wartime fiction with a specific focus - albeit a different one - on the Holocaust and the plight of the Jews.
I would like to thank #MarionKummerow, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #FromTheDarkWeRise in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Inspired by the true story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime, she started writing historical fiction, set during World War II. Her books are filled with raw emotions, fierce loyalty and resilience. She loves to put her characters through the mangle, making them reach deep within to find the strength to face moral dilemma, take difficult decisions or fight for what is right. And she never forgets to include humor and undying love in her books, because ultimately love is what makes the world go round.
Social Media links:
No comments:
Post a Comment