Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

From Goodreads: In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines. Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family’s farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred–who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz. As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–assuming any of them even survive.

LOVED IT! I think this is my favorite thus far for 2012 (I know it's only March but it really was that good!). I've read books before about the Second World War and the terror of the Nazi's and the plight of the Jews but there always seems to be more to be explored. This book explores the time from the perspective of a German family that are initially Nazi supporters but slowly discover the hideous barbarity being perpetuated. There were several instances in this book where I wondered if the described events were more history than fiction. At one point the Jew, Uri, goes into hiding in the woods where it is rumored a whole community of Jews are living; well, I seem to remember a book or a movie with that scenario at the core, so maybe it is true? True or not, it was fascinating. I cared deeply for the characters and while I wanted the war to end, I didn't want the story to end.



I have another book of his, Midwives, in my TBR pile, I might have to dig it out and put it closer to the top!

The audiobook challenge is hosted by Teresa at Teresa's Reading Corner, click on the logo to see my progress.










I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!