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The Matchbox Girl
From the multi-award-winning author - a beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel telling the story of a young girl's battle for survival and search for the truth in occupied Vienna
Adelheid Brunner does not speak. She writes and draws instead and her ambition is to own one thousand matchboxes. Her grandmother cannot make sense of this, but Adelheid will stop at nothing to achieve her dream. She makes herself invisible, hiding in cupboards with her pet rat, Franz Joseph, listening in on conversations she can't fully comprehend.
Then she meets Dr Asperger, a man who lets children play all day and who recognises the importance of matchboxes. He invites Adelheid to come and live at the Vienna paediatric clinic, where she and other children like herself will live under observation.
But the date is 1938 and the place is Vienna – a city of political instability, a place of increasing fear and violence. When the Nazis march into the city, a new world is created and difficult choices must be made.
Why are the clinic's children disappearing, and where do they go? Adelheid starts to suspect that some of Dr Asperger's games are played for the highest stakes. In order to survive, she must play a game whose rules she cannot yet understand.
Triumphant and tragic, soulful and spirited, The Matchbox Girl is a burningly brilliant book – that brings the stories of a generation of lost children into the light.
Adelheid Brunner does not speak. She writes and draws instead and her ambition is to own one thousand matchboxes. Her grandmother cannot make sense of this, but Adelheid will stop at nothing to achieve her dream. She makes herself invisible, hiding in cupboards with her pet rat, Franz Joseph, listening in on conversations she can't fully comprehend.
Then she meets Dr Asperger, a man who lets children play all day and who recognises the importance of matchboxes. He invites Adelheid to come and live at the Vienna paediatric clinic, where she and other children like herself will live under observation.
But the date is 1938 and the place is Vienna – a city of political instability, a place of increasing fear and violence. When the Nazis march into the city, a new world is created and difficult choices must be made.
Why are the clinic's children disappearing, and where do they go? Adelheid starts to suspect that some of Dr Asperger's games are played for the highest stakes. In order to survive, she must play a game whose rules she cannot yet understand.
Triumphant and tragic, soulful and spirited, The Matchbox Girl is a burningly brilliant book – that brings the stories of a generation of lost children into the light.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published January 6, 2026
44 people are currently reading
595 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 21, 2025
Adelheid tells her story from a singular perspective and in her own unique style, complete with erratic use of capitalisation. Although looking back on events, she is determined to describe them as they happened and not with the benefit of hindsight. Of course, this is the way we all experience the world; unaware of what will happen next, only able to make decisions and adopt moral positions based on what we know now, or are told.
Adelheid is a patient in the ‘Curative Education’ department of the Vienna Children’s Hospital where children whom we would now describe as being on the autism spectrum are the subject of observation and research. Adelheid is an astute observer, both of events and of people, recording her thoughts in a series of notebooks, often with a wry humour. She is a lover of facts and of order, the latter exemplified by her obsession with collecting matchboxes and pondering how best they should be organised.
She finds herself in a chaotic world in which people try to persuade her that pretending is not the same as lying, and want her to get involved in activities she views as pointless. Ironically, in complete innocence, she initially finds some comfort in the Nazi’s promise to bring order to Austria. And, as a collector of facts, she believes what she is told.
Adelheid’s only friend is Adolf, a boy who has disdain for many of the other children on the ward, categorising them as Cabbages, Penguins (always flapping) or worse. Himself he describes as just ‘a Regular Delinquent’. He loves nothing better than creating mayhem and encourages Adelheid to join him in eavesdropping on staff meetings. Later we learn the dark secrets of his family life.
Nazi Germany continues its seemingly inexorable advance through the countries of Europe. By now Adelheid’s gift for accurately recording information has been noted and she’s given responsibility for recordkeeping. She begins to detect anomolies in patient records, noticing the unexplained transfer of children to a clinic in another hospital, Am Spiegelgrund, supposedly better able to meet their needs but in reality a place from which children never return. What Adelheid finds is a calculated, systematic programme targeting children who do not meet the Nazi ideals of racial purity, children categorised as ‘Useless Eaters’.
Through the response of the various members of hospital staff to what is happening, the book explores the question of accountability and complicity. Some, like the vile Dr. Jekelius, enthusiastically embrace Nazi ideals. Others, like Sister Viktorine and Dr. Feldner do everything they can to disrupt what’s going on, risking their own lives in the process. Even these efforts can only reduce the number of children sent to Am Spiegelgrund.
The role of Dr. Asperger (referred to in the book as ‘Dr. A’) comes under particular scrutiny. Was he knowingly complicit in what was going on? Did his desire to continue his research outweigh his moral scruples? Or did he in fact, as some of the hospital staff believe, at least prevent more children from disappearing?
Adelheid is a fictional character but many of the others in the book, including some of the children, were real people. Adelheid’s viewpoint means she is able to diverge from her own experiences now and again to give us information from a different perspective.
The Matchbox Girl depicts a dark period in European history when unimaginably evil things were done. I found some of the events in the book difficult to read about although, arguably, they should be difficult otherwise how are we to learn from them. The author has found an imaginative way of telling this story and, in Adelheid, created a memorable and captivating character.
Adelheid is a patient in the ‘Curative Education’ department of the Vienna Children’s Hospital where children whom we would now describe as being on the autism spectrum are the subject of observation and research. Adelheid is an astute observer, both of events and of people, recording her thoughts in a series of notebooks, often with a wry humour. She is a lover of facts and of order, the latter exemplified by her obsession with collecting matchboxes and pondering how best they should be organised.
She finds herself in a chaotic world in which people try to persuade her that pretending is not the same as lying, and want her to get involved in activities she views as pointless. Ironically, in complete innocence, she initially finds some comfort in the Nazi’s promise to bring order to Austria. And, as a collector of facts, she believes what she is told.
Adelheid’s only friend is Adolf, a boy who has disdain for many of the other children on the ward, categorising them as Cabbages, Penguins (always flapping) or worse. Himself he describes as just ‘a Regular Delinquent’. He loves nothing better than creating mayhem and encourages Adelheid to join him in eavesdropping on staff meetings. Later we learn the dark secrets of his family life.
Nazi Germany continues its seemingly inexorable advance through the countries of Europe. By now Adelheid’s gift for accurately recording information has been noted and she’s given responsibility for recordkeeping. She begins to detect anomolies in patient records, noticing the unexplained transfer of children to a clinic in another hospital, Am Spiegelgrund, supposedly better able to meet their needs but in reality a place from which children never return. What Adelheid finds is a calculated, systematic programme targeting children who do not meet the Nazi ideals of racial purity, children categorised as ‘Useless Eaters’.
Through the response of the various members of hospital staff to what is happening, the book explores the question of accountability and complicity. Some, like the vile Dr. Jekelius, enthusiastically embrace Nazi ideals. Others, like Sister Viktorine and Dr. Feldner do everything they can to disrupt what’s going on, risking their own lives in the process. Even these efforts can only reduce the number of children sent to Am Spiegelgrund.
The role of Dr. Asperger (referred to in the book as ‘Dr. A’) comes under particular scrutiny. Was he knowingly complicit in what was going on? Did his desire to continue his research outweigh his moral scruples? Or did he in fact, as some of the hospital staff believe, at least prevent more children from disappearing?
Adelheid is a fictional character but many of the others in the book, including some of the children, were real people. Adelheid’s viewpoint means she is able to diverge from her own experiences now and again to give us information from a different perspective.
The Matchbox Girl depicts a dark period in European history when unimaginably evil things were done. I found some of the events in the book difficult to read about although, arguably, they should be difficult otherwise how are we to learn from them. The author has found an imaginative way of telling this story and, in Adelheid, created a memorable and captivating character.
November 6, 2025
This historical fiction, set in Vienna at the time of the 1938 Anschluß and through WWII, is a challenging read, but one that rewards perseverance. I know that it’s going to cling to me for some time.
Told through the posthumous voice of Adelheid Brunner, who as a child was admitted to a special ward for ‘autistic psychopaths’ at the Vienna Children’s Hospital, it is an unsettling story based on real historical figures and events.
Adelheid displays many of the characteristics we now know as Asperger’s. She’s mute, nervous, and obsessive about rules and order. Her passions are her pet rat, Franz Joseph, collecting matchboxes and recording her thoughts in a series of notebooks.
When the Nazis take over Vienna, Adelheid bears silent witness not just to the changes in her beloved city, but also to a growing tension and secrecy in the hospital, where children are taken away, never to return.
I struggled initially with the writing style, which, reflecting the chaos, fear and uncertainty in Adelheid’s head, is hard to follow. The use of random capitalization—I assume as a nod to the German language—was also irritating at first. However, I did become accustomed to it and forgot about it altogether as the layers of the story started peeling away.
What kept me reading as I stumbled through the early chapters was Jolly’s sense of time and place, which is superb. Having lived in Vienna for over 40 years, and knowing something of its history, I felt a powerful connection to the story.
It’s impossible to unpick all the threads of this deeply complex novel, as it tackles a multitude of themes, including truth, loyalty and the question of accountability and complicity. More than anything, though, I’d say that it shines as a memorial to the 300-plus disabled children, who were euthanized during this period for being an affront to the Nazi ideal.
Told through the posthumous voice of Adelheid Brunner, who as a child was admitted to a special ward for ‘autistic psychopaths’ at the Vienna Children’s Hospital, it is an unsettling story based on real historical figures and events.
Adelheid displays many of the characteristics we now know as Asperger’s. She’s mute, nervous, and obsessive about rules and order. Her passions are her pet rat, Franz Joseph, collecting matchboxes and recording her thoughts in a series of notebooks.
When the Nazis take over Vienna, Adelheid bears silent witness not just to the changes in her beloved city, but also to a growing tension and secrecy in the hospital, where children are taken away, never to return.
I struggled initially with the writing style, which, reflecting the chaos, fear and uncertainty in Adelheid’s head, is hard to follow. The use of random capitalization—I assume as a nod to the German language—was also irritating at first. However, I did become accustomed to it and forgot about it altogether as the layers of the story started peeling away.
What kept me reading as I stumbled through the early chapters was Jolly’s sense of time and place, which is superb. Having lived in Vienna for over 40 years, and knowing something of its history, I felt a powerful connection to the story.
It’s impossible to unpick all the threads of this deeply complex novel, as it tackles a multitude of themes, including truth, loyalty and the question of accountability and complicity. More than anything, though, I’d say that it shines as a memorial to the 300-plus disabled children, who were euthanized during this period for being an affront to the Nazi ideal.
Want to read
December 9, 2025Soft DNF @page 96
January 19, 2026
“An autistic psychopath is the human being who is most fundamentally himself. He cannot be anything but original and spontaneous. He is uninhibited by the collective social will.”
The Matchbox Girl is a story based on true events in Austria 🇦🇹 during the Second World War. Our protagonist, Adelheid, has been placed in a specialist paediatric clinic 🏥 for children with a range of mental illnesses.
Adelheid tells her story as she lives it 📝. At times it feels chaotic and random, yet she makes meticulous notes about everything that happens around her—sometimes to the detriment of those sharing her world 😬. She follows the rules carefully and does exactly as she’s instructed, until she begins to realise 🤔 that maybe she needs to follow her own rules instead.
I initially found The Matchbox Girl difficult to read—not because of the subject matter, but because of the haphazard use of capital letters 😕. This felt like a deliberate stylistic choice, intended to reflect Adelheid’s fragmented mind, but it soon became normal and I stopped noticing it altogether 🙂
I particularly enjoyed reading about Dr A (Dr Asperger) 🧠 and the early identification of the disorder. While much of this book makes for unhappy and uncomfortable reading 💔, I think it’s essential that we understand what happened in our past—and why it still matters today.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for the gifted copy of The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly.
The Matchbox Girl is a story based on true events in Austria 🇦🇹 during the Second World War. Our protagonist, Adelheid, has been placed in a specialist paediatric clinic 🏥 for children with a range of mental illnesses.
Adelheid tells her story as she lives it 📝. At times it feels chaotic and random, yet she makes meticulous notes about everything that happens around her—sometimes to the detriment of those sharing her world 😬. She follows the rules carefully and does exactly as she’s instructed, until she begins to realise 🤔 that maybe she needs to follow her own rules instead.
I initially found The Matchbox Girl difficult to read—not because of the subject matter, but because of the haphazard use of capital letters 😕. This felt like a deliberate stylistic choice, intended to reflect Adelheid’s fragmented mind, but it soon became normal and I stopped noticing it altogether 🙂
I particularly enjoyed reading about Dr A (Dr Asperger) 🧠 and the early identification of the disorder. While much of this book makes for unhappy and uncomfortable reading 💔, I think it’s essential that we understand what happened in our past—and why it still matters today.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for the gifted copy of The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly.
Read
July 25, 2025*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review*.
The Matchbox Girl follows Adelheid Brunner who does not speak and wants to own one thousand matchboxes. Her grandmother doesn’t understand Adelheid’s ambition and Adelheid hides in cupboards with her pet rat, Franz Joseph and listens in on conversations. Adelheid meets Dr Asperger who invites her to come and live at the Vienna paediatric clinic where she will be under observation with other children. But this takes place in 1938 with Vienna a place of political instability and Nazis march into the city crating a new world and more danger.
This was very well written as the narrative jumped around and it really felt like Adelheid was a real person and as if I was experiencing her thoughts. This has some good observations on Vienna and the Nazi threat and generally I can see people enjoying this.
The Matchbox Girl follows Adelheid Brunner who does not speak and wants to own one thousand matchboxes. Her grandmother doesn’t understand Adelheid’s ambition and Adelheid hides in cupboards with her pet rat, Franz Joseph and listens in on conversations. Adelheid meets Dr Asperger who invites her to come and live at the Vienna paediatric clinic where she will be under observation with other children. But this takes place in 1938 with Vienna a place of political instability and Nazis march into the city crating a new world and more danger.
This was very well written as the narrative jumped around and it really felt like Adelheid was a real person and as if I was experiencing her thoughts. This has some good observations on Vienna and the Nazi threat and generally I can see people enjoying this.
Want to read
November 16, 2025Read the following review of this book:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
November 6, 2025
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing PLC and Netgalley for this advanced copy.
I picked up The Matchbox Girl expecting something straightforward, but it turned out to be a quietly compelling read. Adelheid’s world is strange and captivating, and the way her silence shapes her view of Vienna in 1938 really stuck with me. The book hops around a bit, which took a while to get used to, but it made the story feel more alive and unpredictable. There’s a mix of charm, tension, and melancholy that lingers long after you’ve put it down. Not an easy read, but well worth the effort.
I picked up The Matchbox Girl expecting something straightforward, but it turned out to be a quietly compelling read. Adelheid’s world is strange and captivating, and the way her silence shapes her view of Vienna in 1938 really stuck with me. The book hops around a bit, which took a while to get used to, but it made the story feel more alive and unpredictable. There’s a mix of charm, tension, and melancholy that lingers long after you’ve put it down. Not an easy read, but well worth the effort.
August 22, 2025
The blurb for this bo9k waa intriguing but it felt a bit disjointed in places which had nothing to do with the jumps in the timeline which all came together in the end,, it kept referring to the main character's death which unless I missed something, never materialised . It wasn't the book for me but it was well written and researched
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2026
My Rating ~ 4.5*
The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly published November 6th with Bloomsbury and is described as ‘triumphant and tragic, soulful and spirited, a burningly brilliant book that brings the stories of a generation of lost children into the light.’
Having just finished this extraordinary novel I am in a bit of a quandary as to how to present my thoughts. Although fiction, The Matchbox Girl is a novel very much based on fact, with Alice Jolly referring (in the Notes & Acknowledgements) to the many controversies surrounding the events described. With historical figures that can easily be referenced online, I was sick to my stomach and really quite disturbed upon completion.
Adelheid Brunner’s character is a work of pure fiction. Today Adelheid’s behaviour would fall under the spectrum of Autism but, in 1934, her condition made certain people uncomfortable and frustrated. Unable, or perhaps unwilling, to speak, Adelheid was brought to the renowned Vienna Children’s Hospital and put under the care of Dr Hans Asperger and his team. There Adelheid was allowed to just be herself, With no expectations or pressure on her regarding her behaviour she grew in confidence a little and became less on edge. As the Nazi engine steamrolled its way into Vienna, following the Anschluss in 1938, Adelheid was ready to embrace the excitement and the changes it brought with it, caught up in the general excitement as one of their own, Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, took control. His actions were initially met with rapturous applause and jubilation.
As time passed the reality of Hitler’s plans for a genetically perfect Aryan race started to seep into conversations. Rumours were spreading like wildfires about neighbours disappearing, suddenly leaving to visit relatives. Fear was creeping into homes and even whispers were no longer safe. For the hospital community, the environment changed, with Dr Asperger becoming quite tense and stressed. Adelheid observed her surroundings, writing copious notes and collecting her matchboxes, with the full encouragement of Dr Asperger and his staff. But Adelheid noticed things. She could see the changing expressions, understand the looks of terror but she struggled to deal with the complexity of her altering world.
When children started to disappear from the hospital wards, Adelheid became confused, but, as a reader, it is all too stark what was happening to them. Over a period of five years the Nazi regime conducted barbaric experiments on children who were considered sub-standard, in order to progress medical research at the Am Spiegelgrund facility in Vienna. Through Adelheid’s words we see the chaos and trauma that ensued leading to questions being raised about the true character of Dr Hans Asperger. Was he complicit in sending children to their brutal death or was he sacrificing some for the sake of others?
Alice Jolly’s research into this period of history must have been extremely disturbing and shocking. It took me quite a few days to read this novel for two main reasons. I did, at times, struggle with Adelheid’s voice and the odd syntax that is used to convey her thoughts but I also kept being diverted down an online rabbit-hole as I discovered more and more about this absolutely heinous period of history. As a narrator, Adelheid Brunner is unique, raw and so very vulnerable. Her story is powerful and very profound. Dr Asperger is often remembered as the father of neurodiversity with his radical approach to dealing with the children under his care. Historically, it was noted, that he was an opponent of the Nazi regime but in recent years, however, new evidence suggests otherwise.
Alice Jolly wonderfully captures Vienna during the oppressive war years through the eyes of this quirky young woman. This is most definitely a challenging read but it is worth persevering with as Adelheid’s character becomes more and more real as her story unfolds. Heart-breaking, unsettling and quite original, The Matchbox Girl is a memorable and unorthodox novel, profound and compelling.
‘…if everyone insists repeatedly that a thing is not there – then finally It Is There. Enough. Enough. We did all know. We did. Guilty as charged ~’
The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly published November 6th with Bloomsbury and is described as ‘triumphant and tragic, soulful and spirited, a burningly brilliant book that brings the stories of a generation of lost children into the light.’
Having just finished this extraordinary novel I am in a bit of a quandary as to how to present my thoughts. Although fiction, The Matchbox Girl is a novel very much based on fact, with Alice Jolly referring (in the Notes & Acknowledgements) to the many controversies surrounding the events described. With historical figures that can easily be referenced online, I was sick to my stomach and really quite disturbed upon completion.
Adelheid Brunner’s character is a work of pure fiction. Today Adelheid’s behaviour would fall under the spectrum of Autism but, in 1934, her condition made certain people uncomfortable and frustrated. Unable, or perhaps unwilling, to speak, Adelheid was brought to the renowned Vienna Children’s Hospital and put under the care of Dr Hans Asperger and his team. There Adelheid was allowed to just be herself, With no expectations or pressure on her regarding her behaviour she grew in confidence a little and became less on edge. As the Nazi engine steamrolled its way into Vienna, following the Anschluss in 1938, Adelheid was ready to embrace the excitement and the changes it brought with it, caught up in the general excitement as one of their own, Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, took control. His actions were initially met with rapturous applause and jubilation.
As time passed the reality of Hitler’s plans for a genetically perfect Aryan race started to seep into conversations. Rumours were spreading like wildfires about neighbours disappearing, suddenly leaving to visit relatives. Fear was creeping into homes and even whispers were no longer safe. For the hospital community, the environment changed, with Dr Asperger becoming quite tense and stressed. Adelheid observed her surroundings, writing copious notes and collecting her matchboxes, with the full encouragement of Dr Asperger and his staff. But Adelheid noticed things. She could see the changing expressions, understand the looks of terror but she struggled to deal with the complexity of her altering world.
When children started to disappear from the hospital wards, Adelheid became confused, but, as a reader, it is all too stark what was happening to them. Over a period of five years the Nazi regime conducted barbaric experiments on children who were considered sub-standard, in order to progress medical research at the Am Spiegelgrund facility in Vienna. Through Adelheid’s words we see the chaos and trauma that ensued leading to questions being raised about the true character of Dr Hans Asperger. Was he complicit in sending children to their brutal death or was he sacrificing some for the sake of others?
Alice Jolly’s research into this period of history must have been extremely disturbing and shocking. It took me quite a few days to read this novel for two main reasons. I did, at times, struggle with Adelheid’s voice and the odd syntax that is used to convey her thoughts but I also kept being diverted down an online rabbit-hole as I discovered more and more about this absolutely heinous period of history. As a narrator, Adelheid Brunner is unique, raw and so very vulnerable. Her story is powerful and very profound. Dr Asperger is often remembered as the father of neurodiversity with his radical approach to dealing with the children under his care. Historically, it was noted, that he was an opponent of the Nazi regime but in recent years, however, new evidence suggests otherwise.
Alice Jolly wonderfully captures Vienna during the oppressive war years through the eyes of this quirky young woman. This is most definitely a challenging read but it is worth persevering with as Adelheid’s character becomes more and more real as her story unfolds. Heart-breaking, unsettling and quite original, The Matchbox Girl is a memorable and unorthodox novel, profound and compelling.
‘…if everyone insists repeatedly that a thing is not there – then finally It Is There. Enough. Enough. We did all know. We did. Guilty as charged ~’
December 12, 2025
I very much enjoyed this novel which is set in World War II Nazi occupied Vienna it follows the story of Brunner who is autistic and before the war receiving treatment in a children’s Hospital locally. Whilst in the hospital she meets Dr Asperger who is named Dr A throughout the novel . As she grows older, she meets other children with similar autistic tendencies and it becomes clear that Dr A is studying these children. As an adult she is employed as a ward helper as the has the horrific German eugenic laws but start to be put into practice.
The novel follows both her story and the stories of other doctors as they migrate from Vienna to America to escape the atrocities. These are real stories the author manages to tell the story as a novel and doesn’t fall into the problem. I’ve seen with other historic novels based on real happenings when the story becomes a list of occurrences. This is a tricky line to walk and the author of this novel manages to do it very well.
The fate of children with congenital abnormalities is perhaps not as well known as the face of the Jews during the holocaust but many thousands were euthanised in the bid for racial ethnic and genetic purity
I love the way the author uses the story build the tension in a consistent fashion of course you know immediately who Dr A is but this isn’t revealed till towards the end of the novel .
The way that the autistic main character sees life around her in a Children’s Hospital is interesting and her dilemma in doing what was right was very clear. As an autistic person she is a rule follower but what will she do when the rules become so horrific?
Interesting use of capital letters in the middle of sentences I don’t know if this was just in my early electronic copy on NetGalley or whether this was a deliberate thing to try and show the way the Child was thinking
This book route moves along at a reasonably fast paced and kept my attention throughout. The author has a clear flowing writing style and the book was an easy read.
I would recommend this novel for those who like historic dramas for character based novels with exciting back stories can’t immediately think of a novel to compare it to.
I read an early copy on NetGalley UK and returned for an honest review. The book was published in the UK on the 6th of November 2025 by Bloomsbury publishing plc.
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, storyGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com it will also appear on Amazon UK and Waterstones
The novel follows both her story and the stories of other doctors as they migrate from Vienna to America to escape the atrocities. These are real stories the author manages to tell the story as a novel and doesn’t fall into the problem. I’ve seen with other historic novels based on real happenings when the story becomes a list of occurrences. This is a tricky line to walk and the author of this novel manages to do it very well.
The fate of children with congenital abnormalities is perhaps not as well known as the face of the Jews during the holocaust but many thousands were euthanised in the bid for racial ethnic and genetic purity
I love the way the author uses the story build the tension in a consistent fashion of course you know immediately who Dr A is but this isn’t revealed till towards the end of the novel .
The way that the autistic main character sees life around her in a Children’s Hospital is interesting and her dilemma in doing what was right was very clear. As an autistic person she is a rule follower but what will she do when the rules become so horrific?
Interesting use of capital letters in the middle of sentences I don’t know if this was just in my early electronic copy on NetGalley or whether this was a deliberate thing to try and show the way the Child was thinking
This book route moves along at a reasonably fast paced and kept my attention throughout. The author has a clear flowing writing style and the book was an easy read.
I would recommend this novel for those who like historic dramas for character based novels with exciting back stories can’t immediately think of a novel to compare it to.
I read an early copy on NetGalley UK and returned for an honest review. The book was published in the UK on the 6th of November 2025 by Bloomsbury publishing plc.
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, storyGraph, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com it will also appear on Amazon UK and Waterstones
January 19, 2026
This novel recounts the experiences of a mute girl, Adelheid Brunner, who spends much of her life in the Vienna Children’s Hospital. Though kids in Dr Asperger’s ward are informally categorised as Cabbages, Penguins, Sluts, or Autistic Psychopaths, Adelheid finds a safe place to continue her writing, map-drawing, and matchbox collecting, and ultimately becomes a valued worker.
Alice Jolley masterfully exploits the tension between Adelheid’s innocence and Nazism’s actual psychopathy to show how the sheer unbelievability of the latter’s extremism enabled its spread across Europe. Jolley thus helps us ‘imagine the unimaginable’ by putting us in Adelheid’s shoes: having become her, we turn our gaze away from endless monstrosities because we know that we are at perennial risk of being murdered for being a ‘useless Eater’.
Adelheid has always known she must perform a false self to navigate society. In the New World, such falsity becomes the norm. ‘The World stumbles on,’ she notes, ‘I make my Own World. You may say that these are lies. I no longer care. I must live and this is how it is done.’ Though the novel hints at the mass suffering of those who died, it foregrounds the mass moral injury of those who lived: no one can survive such atrocities and remain innocent.
As well as commemorating the past, The Matchbox Girl urgently warns us away from denying the growing fascism, militarism and ideological extremism of today. As Adelheid notes, if we can learn about ‘the banality of Evil’ from Nazism, we must also learn about evil’s counterforce: 'the banality of Goodness’.
This review was first published in https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/.
Alice Jolley masterfully exploits the tension between Adelheid’s innocence and Nazism’s actual psychopathy to show how the sheer unbelievability of the latter’s extremism enabled its spread across Europe. Jolley thus helps us ‘imagine the unimaginable’ by putting us in Adelheid’s shoes: having become her, we turn our gaze away from endless monstrosities because we know that we are at perennial risk of being murdered for being a ‘useless Eater’.
Adelheid has always known she must perform a false self to navigate society. In the New World, such falsity becomes the norm. ‘The World stumbles on,’ she notes, ‘I make my Own World. You may say that these are lies. I no longer care. I must live and this is how it is done.’ Though the novel hints at the mass suffering of those who died, it foregrounds the mass moral injury of those who lived: no one can survive such atrocities and remain innocent.
As well as commemorating the past, The Matchbox Girl urgently warns us away from denying the growing fascism, militarism and ideological extremism of today. As Adelheid notes, if we can learn about ‘the banality of Evil’ from Nazism, we must also learn about evil’s counterforce: 'the banality of Goodness’.
This review was first published in https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/.
October 6, 2025
Set in 1938 Vienna, The Matchbox Girl tells the story of Adelheid Brunner, a girl who does not speak, but dreams of collecting 1000 matchboxes. She enters Dr. Asperger’s clinic, where he studies “austistic psychopaths.” But Adelheid is the real observer, eavesdropping on conversations and watching those around her react in different ways as Nazism spreads and Germans occupy Austria. When children begin disappearing, Adelheid must figure out who she can trust, and how to survive in an increasingly incomprehensible and frightening world. This timely book, extensively researched and deeply complex, shows readers the different shapes resistance and bravery take, and the small ways we can stand up to forces of evil even as they are normalized. The Matchbox Girls is a remarkable achievement.
October 12, 2025
Received this in my Goldsboro subscription. I will admit I struggled to read it at first, the internal monologue style of the narrator is hard to latch onto at first but after committing to reading 100 pages I couldn’t put it down. It is highly intense and frenetic, showing me a part of history I hadn’t delved into before. Gave an interesting and nuanced look into the grey areas of diagnosis, history and every individuals actions.
It was not a perfect book for me. I felt confused and a little lost at times, holding my breath and feeling on edge, but perhaps I was supposed to?…seeing the world unfold through the eyes of our main character?
It was not a perfect book for me. I felt confused and a little lost at times, holding my breath and feeling on edge, but perhaps I was supposed to?…seeing the world unfold through the eyes of our main character?
December 5, 2025
I was attracted to the premise of this book, particularly as it was based on real life and was about WWII, but I’m afraid this failed to engage me from the start. It was just so disconnected, with such unrelentingly strange syntax and annoyingly random capitalisation (what was that about?!) that I found myself rereading to a point of exhaustion. This is my first DNF for a long time - I hate that it’s beaten me, but sadly I think a number of people will struggle with this one.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity of reading the matchbox girl, but unfortunately this is not a book I would recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity of reading the matchbox girl, but unfortunately this is not a book I would recommend.
January 5, 2026
I can understand why some people find the writing style of this book unpleasant - it helped that I had read some reviews and knew what to expect. I read this with my local rad reading group for Holocaust memorial month. I had previously read Neurotribes by Steve Silberman and I can see the influence of that in this book. I enjoyed it. I felt I related to the thinking style of the main character and therefore the writing style worked for me. I found it a sad and profound read.
January 6, 2026
This is a harrowing read, dealing with the fate of autistic children in wartime Austria. I loved the style; the story is seen through the eyes of a non-speaking autistic character.
Certainly thought-provoking, how a society changes when it gets infected by a poison, and how do we even begin to apportion blame if we weren’t there. A rare book which tells a gripping story and can maybe question your world-view.
Certainly thought-provoking, how a society changes when it gets infected by a poison, and how do we even begin to apportion blame if we weren’t there. A rare book which tells a gripping story and can maybe question your world-view.
February 9, 2026
Thank you to Bloomsbury for the advanced reading copy.
"So much of our world is held in place simply by the power of belief."
Told from the point of view of a mute girl within the Asperger's clinic in pre second world war Vienna, tension is mounting from the Nazi threat. Adelheid though doesn't understand people's actions, they don't say what they mean and they don't do what they should.
There are bits that are confusing and I read it in my head with an Austrian accent.
"So much of our world is held in place simply by the power of belief."
Told from the point of view of a mute girl within the Asperger's clinic in pre second world war Vienna, tension is mounting from the Nazi threat. Adelheid though doesn't understand people's actions, they don't say what they mean and they don't do what they should.
There are bits that are confusing and I read it in my head with an Austrian accent.
February 15, 2026
At first I really had trouble getting into the style of writing and was very distracted by the capitalisations. However, after getting used to that and “growing up” with the heroine of the novel Adelheid Brunner, I was captivated by the story, deeply moved and very attached to the heroine and the other heroes and non-heroes of the book. I ended up researching many of the main persons, the book talks about, and learning a lot about a very dark chapter of Austrian (medical) history.
September 11, 2025
What fresh hell is this? I got it from my Goldsboro book subscription and boy did they screw this one up.
I don’t know what it’s about or what happened in the 30 pages I read, to be honest. The way it’s written is pure garbage to me. Lost interest by page 10, so it’s a miracle I made it to page 30.
Throw this in the bin.
I don’t know what it’s about or what happened in the 30 pages I read, to be honest. The way it’s written is pure garbage to me. Lost interest by page 10, so it’s a miracle I made it to page 30.
Throw this in the bin.
February 17, 2026
What an astonishing book. It took very little time for me to be enthralled by the narrator of this story. Immense power is wielded by her original voice, which carries such heartbreak and devastation. This simply is a masterpiece.
February 16, 2026
An ambitious novel with a unique voice - haunting and important
January 16, 2026
ci ho messo 283738 anni a leggerlo perché è stato difficilissimo ma ne vale la pena… per favore entrate nella testa di adelheid, fate lo sforzo di capirla perché… wow
January 17, 2026
This just didn’t work for me overall although the historical context aspect was really interesting. Being told from the perspective of such an unreliable narrator was tiring to read and the style was really annoying, especially the capital letters inserted randomly. I wanted to like it more but found it a chore to read.
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