A fight for survival that kept my intrigued until the last pages.
This is a great book. A tale of one woman's fight to survive and do what's right in some of the most difficult circumstances.
Connected (very loosely) to a real person, V.S Alexander's book shows a more human side to WWII Germany. Magda, born and raised in Berlin decides to leave the city as the dangers mount. Magda is a quiet sceptic of the National Socialist party, but she needs to find work, and with the help of her uncle (an enthusiastic party member) she finds herself in Hitler's inner circle of workers as the taster of his food.
The storyline is really interesting, letting you peek behind the curtain in to Hitler’s private life. Although I’m not sure how much of what features in this book is fact or embellishment, the research put in to this amazing novel by the author is clear, and let the fact interweave seamlessly with the fiction.
This gripping book has romance, tension and a fight between doing what is necessary to survive and doing what is right. Magda and the other characters are brilliantly crafted, and you can tell the author put a lot of time into their research before writing. An intriguing look at such a horrific historical event from a slightly different perspective. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in World War Two or Historical Fiction.
Magda Ritter moves from her sheltered life in Berlin to work as a food taster at Hitler’s mountain retreat. The serene alpine location belies the dangers lurking around every corner.
Her Hidden Life is set in Germany in 1943 and focuses on its young heroine, Magda Ritter. Magda has led a rather sheltered life in Berlin, but is sent to live with relatives in Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps, to escape the Allied bombing of Berlin. Under pressure to pay her way, and taking advantage of her uncle’s connections, Magda soon finds herself in the employment of Adolf Hitler as a food taster.
V.S. Alexander has clearly done extensive research on this period and this topic in particular. The small details of Magda’s daily life at Berghof, Hitler’s mountain retreat, ring true as we see her gradually absorbed into his inner circle. Her budding relationship with Karl Weber, a handsome SS officer, brings her further into danger when it is revealed that Karl is a member of the resistance. Through him, Magda learns the truth about Hitler and the death camps and determines to take action to save Germany from Hitler’s increasing madness.
Magda’s and Karl’s characters are well-rounded and their fears and desires are palpable, particularly as the numerous attempts on Hitler’s life, and the advancing Red Army cause paranoia to set in all around. Readers will empathise with the moral dilemmas they face as they balance their longing for a normal life with their patriotic duty to expose the atrocities they now know about and to rid Germany of Hitler once and for all.
This is an absorbing read which will appeal to fans of historical, romantic fiction.