Matthew 14:6

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Matthew 24:6 KJV

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Book Review: UNYIELDING

Today I am featuring the novel, 
Unyielding 
by Marion Kummerow
Seventy-four years ago today, an event happened that forever changed one man's life. This is his story.
Based on real events--

About Unyielding:


Eighty years ago on October 24, 1936 two people pledged their love -- for each other, but also for their country and for humanity.

They left a legacy of courage and resilience. Something that is all too often forgotten in our world today.

Unyielding tells the story of unconditional love and bravery. Q and Hilde fight everyday to keep on to their own happiness while battling the evils of the Nazi regime.

Q gets sucked deeper and deeper into his intelligence work that includes sabotage of war production, giving critical information to the enemies of Germany, and acts of passive resistance.

But he feels it's not enough.
He's devising a plan to do the one thing that might shorten this horrible war and save millions of lives: assassinate a fellow human, a Nazi leader.
But can he go through with it? Or will this be the ruin not only for himself, but his entire family?




Excerpt:

   “I have a surprise for you,” Q said as they finished their coffee and pastry.
   “What is it?” Hilde’s eyes glowed as she asked, glancing once more at the precious ring on her right hand.
   “Jakob asked one of his friends, who is an interior designer, to open up his warehouse for us this afternoon. He has a new shipment of furniture that we can look at.”
   Hilde pouted, but there was amusement in the gesture. “I still have to get used to your idea of bein romantic, but it’s a great idea. A comfortable couch would be rather nice.”
   While Q had moved into their new apartment in the district of Charlottenburg a while ago, Hilde had done so only this morning before going to the registry office.
   “Let’s go then,: he said, once again surprised at her different way of thinking. Hadn’t she always complained that the apartment wasn’t properly furnished, and the front room contained nothing more than two wooden chairs, borrowed from the kitchen table? So what could be more appropriate than buying furniture on their wedding day?
   They had a lot of fun looking at and test-sitting the selection, and after an hour, they purchased two couches and arranged to have them delivered the next day. Jacob’s friend congratulated them on their choice of the studio couches. “Well done, my friends. Those are the last high-quality cover fabrics our Fatherland used to make.”
   Q raised and eyebrow. “How so?”
   Hilde wrinkled her nose. Nobody wanted to believe in the imminence of another war, but the signs became more prominent with every passing day.
 


You may purchase Unyeilding on Amazon by CLICKING HERE.


My Remarks:

This book is the second in a series. My review of the first book, Unrelenting, you may find by CLICKING HERE.

This book continues the story of "Q", Wilhelm Quedlin, and his new wife, Hilde. Starting with their efforts to marry in 1936, they found getting the proper paperwork to prove they were not Jewish and approval to marry and travel increasingly difficult in Nazi Germany. They didn't like what they saw happening in their country.

I enjoyed the scenes in which the couple went on a honeymoon to other nations in Europe. They could not help but contrast the happiness of the people and the freedom to move and speak unrestrained available outside Germany as compared to the dark, fearful atmosphere of oppression in their native land. When they tried to emigrate and found they could not receive permission, they chose to stay and fight back.


As an American, I find this history of late 1930's-early 1940's Germany interesting. A common American criticism of World War II Germans is why didn't they stop Hitler? Why did they look away and allow it to happen? The message of this book is most Germans were not in a position to stop him--the Nazi machinery was already too strong even as Hitler first rose to power. By the time the German people realized their loss of freedom and the atrocities taking place around them, it was too late to act without risking their lives and those of their family members. Although this story touches on the terrible treatment of German Jews, it is about the difficulties that touched the lives of everyday Germans. Increasingly the people found they must be careful what they said and who they said it in front of, even their children. Criticisms spoken about the Nazi party often proved deadly.

There was resistance to the Nazi regime, which is what this story is about, but out of necessity it had to be kept quiet and hidden from public view. Successes were few. Many of those stories were probably lost to us. This story of fighting back against Nazism is based on real events in the lives of the author's German grandparents. The author is sharing a fictionalize story of their fighting back against Hitler's Nazism with the world.

I anxiously await the publication of the third volume of this saga of love and resistance in Nazi Germany. 

About the Author:



Marion Kummerow was born and raised in Germany, before she set out to "discover the world" and lived in various countries. In 1999 she returned to Germany and settled down in Munich where she's now living with her family.


After dipping her toes with non-fiction books, she finally tackled the project dear to her heart. UNRELENTING is the story about her grandparents, who belonged to the German resistance and fought against the Nazi regime.


It's a book about resilience, love and the courage to stand up and do the right thing.
Visit her blog at kummerow.info or her facebook page at facebook.com/autorinkummerow
 

1 comment:

  1. I will definitely be getting this one. All your books look great.

    ReplyDelete