PUBLICATION DAY!TITLE - The Watchmaker of Dachau
AUTHOR - Carly Schabowski
GENRE - World War 2 historical novel
BUY LINK - Click here
BOOK BLURB -
An unforgettable novel of human kindness, inspired by an incredible true story.
Snow falls and a woman prepares for a funeral she has long expected, yet hoped would never come. As she pats her hair and straightens her skirt, she tells herself this isn’t the first time she’s lost someone. Lifting a delicate, battered wristwatch from a little box on her dresser, she presses it to her cheek. Suddenly, she’s lost in memory…
January 1945, Dachau, Germany. As the train rattles through the bright, snowy Bavarian countryside, the still beauty outside the window hides the terrible scenes inside the train, where men and women are packed together, cold and terrified. Jewish watchmaker Isaac Schüller can’t understand how he came to be here, and is certain he won’t be leaving alive.
When the prisoners arrive at Dachau concentration camp, Isaac is unexpectedly pulled from the crowd and installed in the nearby household of Senior Officer Becher and his young, pretty, spoiled wife. With his talent for watchmaking, Isaac can be of use to Becher, but he knows his life is only worth something here as long as Becher needs his skills.
Anna Reznick waits table and washes linens for the Bechers, who dine and socialise and carry on as if they don’t constantly have death all around them. When she meets Isaac she knows she’s found a true friend, and maybe more. But Dachau is a dangerous place where you can never take love for granted, and when Isaac discovers a heartbreaking secret hidden in the depths of Becher’s workshop, it will put Anna and Issac in terrible danger…
I have always "enjoyed" (although not sure if that is the correct word to use) books based in concentration camps and have found myself fully immersed in the lives of people who lived through those horrific years. This book was no different, but the main location this time, being Dachau and not Auschwitz.
Like others, this is a heartbreaking story. It's full of suffering, death, but also full of warm friendships that have formed through these times of adversity.
Isaac is the "Watchmaker" and is sent to work at the house of Sturmbannfuhrer Becher. This wasn't just to fix watches but to do all sorts of tasks that was demanded of him. Also introduce into the mix, warm characters like Greta, the cook from the local village; Anna, also from the camp, who works in the house alongside Greta and Friedrich, the son of the Sturmbannfuhrer.
The author has built some great relationships amongst the characters of both the camp and the household. I have to admit to tears in parts. I liked how the author had split chapters into the different characters, allowing you to get to know the character better.
The only part that I didn't always feel connected to, was the characters written about J.A.L. You find out more about who this relates to at the end of the book. Because I didn't see how it fitted in, I got a bit bored with it.
All in all I thought this was a well written book, full of great people; full of historical intrigue and an insight into the lives of those that made it, or didn't make it, through those horrific times.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me the chance to read and review this book.
Carly lives in a tiny cottage in Oxfordshire, with barely enough room to swing a cat. Yet, she has managed to dwell in such a hobbit-type abode for some years with her two dogs, who keep her company as she reads, writes, eats crisps, and drinks the occasional gin.An occasional runner, gym goer, and walker, Carly is also an habitual binge-watcher of box sets and reader of anything she can get her hands on, including the back of cereal boxes.
Her interest in WWII history spans from a familial connection, and inspired her to complete a PhD regarding the author's responsibility to historical fiction. Whilst an achievement, she gained 20 lbs, and became a hermit.
