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A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son
Poland, 1939.
A country, torn by the occupation of two unlikely allies - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
On the border of this newly divided territory, a young Wehrmacht Unteroffizier, Werner and a Soviet Military Interpreter, Kira meet and fall in love against all odds.
Both forced into the military against their will, they wish for one thing only - a peaceful life together. Everything is set for Kira to defect and marry Werner...
But the German army invades the Soviet Union, and now the two lovers are forced to fight against each other on the opposite sides of the frontline; trying to keep their humanity as more and more atrocities are committed by both armies. They have to decide if their love is stronger than the devastation surrounding them or succumb to the hate as sworn enemies should.
Partially based on true events, this novel will take you on the unforgettable journey through war-torn countries, where hope can be lost in no-man’s-land, and one will have to go to great lengths not to lose sight of it.
A country, torn by the occupation of two unlikely allies - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
On the border of this newly divided territory, a young Wehrmacht Unteroffizier, Werner and a Soviet Military Interpreter, Kira meet and fall in love against all odds.
Both forced into the military against their will, they wish for one thing only - a peaceful life together. Everything is set for Kira to defect and marry Werner...
But the German army invades the Soviet Union, and now the two lovers are forced to fight against each other on the opposite sides of the frontline; trying to keep their humanity as more and more atrocities are committed by both armies. They have to decide if their love is stronger than the devastation surrounding them or succumb to the hate as sworn enemies should.
Partially based on true events, this novel will take you on the unforgettable journey through war-torn countries, where hope can be lost in no-man’s-land, and one will have to go to great lengths not to lose sight of it.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2018
653 people are currently reading
690 people want to read
About the author
Ellie Midwood
43 books1,164 followersEllie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author, whose works have been translated into 20 languages. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, "The Girl from Berlin." Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her husband and their three dogs.
In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her husband and their three dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
April 27, 2018
Having loved previous books by this author I am slightly surprised to write that this is even better! Fundamentally a love story, this book is also the story of Hitler's invasion of Russia, told from both sides of the conflict. Man's inhumanity to man is starkly described and in places makes for uncomfortable reading as the author doesn't sugar coat the reality of war. Both our lovers are fundamentally decent people but surrounded by atrocities, both show themselves capable of behavior they would have previously denounced as evil. The author makes us feel for the plight of our lovers and we understand their reactions to the situations in which they are placed.
After the quite light beginning, the rest of the pages are filled with raw emotion, making the book one hell of a tense roller coaster ride. Be prepared to shed tears. I could not stop reading and have finished the book in one day. Highly recommended!
After the quite light beginning, the rest of the pages are filled with raw emotion, making the book one hell of a tense roller coaster ride. Be prepared to shed tears. I could not stop reading and have finished the book in one day. Highly recommended!
March 22, 2018
A riveting story about a young Russian woman who becomes a sniper for the Soviet Union’s Army during WWII who falls in love with an officer in the German Army. On opposite sides of the brutal war between those two countries, the sweethearts try to hold onto their humanity and their love for each other. But the obstacles are ghastly. The battles and atrocities nearly unthinkable in their brutality.
It’s a World War II romance filled with lots of heartbreaking descriptions of savagery on both sides. So many people died, young and old, military and civilian, that Kira and Werner become disgusted with life, fearing they may end up shooting at each other. The reader grows weary, as the two main characters grow weary, of such a cruel war.
It’s a World War II romance filled with lots of heartbreaking descriptions of savagery on both sides. So many people died, young and old, military and civilian, that Kira and Werner become disgusted with life, fearing they may end up shooting at each other. The reader grows weary, as the two main characters grow weary, of such a cruel war.
May 5, 2021
Such Intense Descriptions of War!
I have read other books by other authors about World War II, but I have never seen any descriptions as vividly related to the reader as those by this author. I had to repeatedly put the book down just to let my mind process the horrors of war. I started this book planning to finish it quickly but ended up spending the better part of three days.
The love story of Werner from Nazi Germany and Kira from the Soviet Union continues throughout the book--interspersed with the horrible descriptions of war. Very much of the time our lovers had no idea whether their partner was dead or alive.
I look forward to reading more books from this author who is an excellent storyteller.
I have read other books by other authors about World War II, but I have never seen any descriptions as vividly related to the reader as those by this author. I had to repeatedly put the book down just to let my mind process the horrors of war. I started this book planning to finish it quickly but ended up spending the better part of three days.
The love story of Werner from Nazi Germany and Kira from the Soviet Union continues throughout the book--interspersed with the horrible descriptions of war. Very much of the time our lovers had no idea whether their partner was dead or alive.
I look forward to reading more books from this author who is an excellent storyteller.
May 15, 2018
Historical WWII love story at its very best
This isn't the first I read from this author. I read and enjoyed 'The Indigo Rebels' and 'The Girl From Berlin' so I knew this one would be another great read and I wasn't disappointed. This is an unforgettable journey through a war-torn country where atrocities occur on both sides. This is a WWII story of Kira (Motherland) and Werner (Fatherland) who start out as lovers but war turns them into enemies. Can love survive the ravages of war? Well written with engaging characters and a well-researched authentic-feeling plot kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next. The depth of historical detail and the scale of humanity vividly described ranging from the best to the worst give the story a compelling atmosphere and a real feel for the ugly horror of war. Highly Recommended.
This isn't the first I read from this author. I read and enjoyed 'The Indigo Rebels' and 'The Girl From Berlin' so I knew this one would be another great read and I wasn't disappointed. This is an unforgettable journey through a war-torn country where atrocities occur on both sides. This is a WWII story of Kira (Motherland) and Werner (Fatherland) who start out as lovers but war turns them into enemies. Can love survive the ravages of war? Well written with engaging characters and a well-researched authentic-feeling plot kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next. The depth of historical detail and the scale of humanity vividly described ranging from the best to the worst give the story a compelling atmosphere and a real feel for the ugly horror of war. Highly Recommended.
May 11, 2021
An extremely compelling story.
This incredibly powerful and, at times horrific story, gives a no holds barred insight into World War II and the clash between Russia and Germany.
Although very graphic in parts, it is worth persevering, as this is not only a story of the atrocities of war, but a tale of enduring love between two people who should have been enemies.
Brilliantly written and researched, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I know that this incredible story will stay with me for a long time.
This incredibly powerful and, at times horrific story, gives a no holds barred insight into World War II and the clash between Russia and Germany.
Although very graphic in parts, it is worth persevering, as this is not only a story of the atrocities of war, but a tale of enduring love between two people who should have been enemies.
Brilliantly written and researched, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I know that this incredible story will stay with me for a long time.
March 16, 2018
You know, two things that I always thought I didn't like were stories or movies about war, and historical stories.
Ellie Midwood has shocked me and I am now confirming that I do love historical romance (as long as she's the one writing it), and I can handle a war movie.
So many things in this story you want to turn away from, pray that it isn't real and these things didn't happen. They did. Unfortunately, a lot of these things did happen, and I can't imagine having been around at this time.
The characters were probably the only things that weren't real, though they were inspired by living people. And, at so many times during this story, you want to weep for them and what the actual people went through.
Ellie brings such life to WWII, and the emotion, worries, fears, and hopes of a country, several countries, surges through you. Definitely a must read for everyone!!!
Ellie Midwood has shocked me and I am now confirming that I do love historical romance (as long as she's the one writing it), and I can handle a war movie.
So many things in this story you want to turn away from, pray that it isn't real and these things didn't happen. They did. Unfortunately, a lot of these things did happen, and I can't imagine having been around at this time.
The characters were probably the only things that weren't real, though they were inspired by living people. And, at so many times during this story, you want to weep for them and what the actual people went through.
Ellie brings such life to WWII, and the emotion, worries, fears, and hopes of a country, several countries, surges through you. Definitely a must read for everyone!!!
April 3, 2021
Beautifulstory
A love that survives the worst evil imaginable,how does it?the story of love that will find a place in your deepest soul
A love that survives the worst evil imaginable,how does it?the story of love that will find a place in your deepest soul
July 29, 2018
I have had the pleasure of reading two of Ellie Midwood's books previously and enjoyed them thoroughly, and A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son is no different. Reading one of her books is a total-immersion experience into life during World War II. Midwood's vast knowledge of that time period is remarkable and is a big part of what gives her stories depth: the intensity of the backdrop of a horrific war. She doesn't skimp on the details of the brutality of war, either. What she writes is gut-wrenchingly real.
The second element that gives her stories amazing depth is her characters. She develops them to such a degree that I cannot help but laugh, cry, and scream with them. In this story, we follow the lives of lovers Kira and Werner, a Russian woman and a German man who fall in love in 1939 right before Germany declares war on Russia.
The story is told in an alternating point-of-view style, where one chapter is told from Kira's point of view and the next chapter from Werner's. From this first-person perspective, I get into the head of the characters even more. They start out as idealistic young people, who believe in love and that they have their whole lives ahead of them to do what they wish. They will marry and be happy. The war devastates their lives, throwing them into the pile with millions of others whose lives are also being ruined by the horror of war.
Can they still come out of all this after the war is through as the same people? After seeing and performing awful deeds? After experiencing some of the worst moments of humanity and their own lives? Lovers whose countries dictate they are enemies?
Kira is enlisted as a sniper in the Red Army. Werner serves as a lieutenant in the Wehrmacht. The story follows the events of the war through its end in 1945 on the eastern front. It's easy to look back at history and want to blame the Germans, to mark them at the bad guys, but when you realize that many of these soldiers were just young man, pretty much boys, it breaks my heart. So much loss of life for both sides, which is clearly shown in this story. So much senseless death. It's no wonder both Kira and Werner question if they are who they were when they met, if love and hope still hold any meaning in a world shattered by such darkness.
The stakes are high, ridiculously, impossibly high. I kept turning the pages because I needed to believe that the inherent goodness in people, especially Kira and Werner, would win, that victory of the Allies during the war is one thing, but getting down to the level of person-to-person, victory of the heart matters, too. Love wins, right?
I happily give this book five stars!
The second element that gives her stories amazing depth is her characters. She develops them to such a degree that I cannot help but laugh, cry, and scream with them. In this story, we follow the lives of lovers Kira and Werner, a Russian woman and a German man who fall in love in 1939 right before Germany declares war on Russia.
The story is told in an alternating point-of-view style, where one chapter is told from Kira's point of view and the next chapter from Werner's. From this first-person perspective, I get into the head of the characters even more. They start out as idealistic young people, who believe in love and that they have their whole lives ahead of them to do what they wish. They will marry and be happy. The war devastates their lives, throwing them into the pile with millions of others whose lives are also being ruined by the horror of war.
Can they still come out of all this after the war is through as the same people? After seeing and performing awful deeds? After experiencing some of the worst moments of humanity and their own lives? Lovers whose countries dictate they are enemies?
Kira is enlisted as a sniper in the Red Army. Werner serves as a lieutenant in the Wehrmacht. The story follows the events of the war through its end in 1945 on the eastern front. It's easy to look back at history and want to blame the Germans, to mark them at the bad guys, but when you realize that many of these soldiers were just young man, pretty much boys, it breaks my heart. So much loss of life for both sides, which is clearly shown in this story. So much senseless death. It's no wonder both Kira and Werner question if they are who they were when they met, if love and hope still hold any meaning in a world shattered by such darkness.
The stakes are high, ridiculously, impossibly high. I kept turning the pages because I needed to believe that the inherent goodness in people, especially Kira and Werner, would win, that victory of the Allies during the war is one thing, but getting down to the level of person-to-person, victory of the heart matters, too. Love wins, right?
I happily give this book five stars!
April 24, 2018
***** WHAT A SOUL-GRIPPING BOOK!
Ever since I was introduced to Ellie Midwood, I have admired her thorough research, fine depictions of past eras, great plots, and well thought out characters. Having just finished her newest, I can add another category to that list: vivid and heart wrenching descriptions.
The core of this book is the touching Romeo and Juliet romance between Kira, a young Russian girl, and Werner, a German boy. When they first meet in 1939 Poland, their puppy love is filled with hope and naiveté. Germany is Russia’s ally, and although the two teens come from different countries, different cultures, they feel they are forever destined to be together. Not so, apparently. As they both go their separate ways, innocently swearing they will not forget one another, Hitler reneges on his pact with Russia and abruptly, Kira’s and Werner’s worlds are turned upside down. Werner is slated to invade Russia, and unbeknownst to him, Kira takes on a dangerous mission. Great detail is given to the harsh realities of war––the Siege of Leningrad, the unexpected fierceness of the Russians fighting the onslaught of Nazi soldiers, whether it be in the cities or out in the dense forests. So detailed are Midwood’s descriptions, I felt as though I, too, marched, hid, or suffered along with both sides; heard the blasts of weaponry; saw the horror of the maimed and killed; felt the rain, mud, bitter cold, and the crunch of snow. And ultimately, also witnessed the dehumanization of people and their souls. As the author writes, “They all want blood and revenge––anything just to soothe that bloodthirsty monster that has awakened in each and every one of us.” Truth be told, as I turned the pages I kept wondering: How could their faraway, diminishing love possibly win out, mired as it was in such horrific circumstances? Highly recommended!
Ever since I was introduced to Ellie Midwood, I have admired her thorough research, fine depictions of past eras, great plots, and well thought out characters. Having just finished her newest, I can add another category to that list: vivid and heart wrenching descriptions.
The core of this book is the touching Romeo and Juliet romance between Kira, a young Russian girl, and Werner, a German boy. When they first meet in 1939 Poland, their puppy love is filled with hope and naiveté. Germany is Russia’s ally, and although the two teens come from different countries, different cultures, they feel they are forever destined to be together. Not so, apparently. As they both go their separate ways, innocently swearing they will not forget one another, Hitler reneges on his pact with Russia and abruptly, Kira’s and Werner’s worlds are turned upside down. Werner is slated to invade Russia, and unbeknownst to him, Kira takes on a dangerous mission. Great detail is given to the harsh realities of war––the Siege of Leningrad, the unexpected fierceness of the Russians fighting the onslaught of Nazi soldiers, whether it be in the cities or out in the dense forests. So detailed are Midwood’s descriptions, I felt as though I, too, marched, hid, or suffered along with both sides; heard the blasts of weaponry; saw the horror of the maimed and killed; felt the rain, mud, bitter cold, and the crunch of snow. And ultimately, also witnessed the dehumanization of people and their souls. As the author writes, “They all want blood and revenge––anything just to soothe that bloodthirsty monster that has awakened in each and every one of us.” Truth be told, as I turned the pages I kept wondering: How could their faraway, diminishing love possibly win out, mired as it was in such horrific circumstances? Highly recommended!
December 20, 2018
I regret giving this book five stars – but only because it deserves at least seven. I usually read such books very quickly, skimming over them for the essence of the story and avoiding getting bogged down. In this book, I could not. I read it slowly, savoring each page, each section, each chapter. I looked forward to reading it when I was unable to read anything. I chose to read it over anything else I might be doing at the moment – and that is most unusual for me. I normally take breaks in my reading, but in this book, the break was to catch another section of it.
I describe my latest novel as ‘A love story for men and a war story for women,’ but this book is just as much so. It is entirely different – different people, different separations, different situations, a very different war, but it is just as much that war story and that love story. It is a book to be read thoroughly, to be treasured and to fall into.
I was close to tears when I finished it – again, a rarity for me. Characters I could not identify with normally don’t inspire that sort of reaction, but these, while I was never able to identify with them, nevertheless became so real to me as I read that I almost expected a note at the end to tell me more about the real characters whose story was told in the pages.
Usually I am happy to reach the end of a book. The story is told, the conflicts are resolved and it’s time to move on to the next book. Not so here. I was as sorry to reach the end, satisfactory as the ending was (and no, I’m not going to give it away), as I was to reach the end of a twenty-five year fifteen-book series. And that’s saying a lot.
I describe my latest novel as ‘A love story for men and a war story for women,’ but this book is just as much so. It is entirely different – different people, different separations, different situations, a very different war, but it is just as much that war story and that love story. It is a book to be read thoroughly, to be treasured and to fall into.
I was close to tears when I finished it – again, a rarity for me. Characters I could not identify with normally don’t inspire that sort of reaction, but these, while I was never able to identify with them, nevertheless became so real to me as I read that I almost expected a note at the end to tell me more about the real characters whose story was told in the pages.
Usually I am happy to reach the end of a book. The story is told, the conflicts are resolved and it’s time to move on to the next book. Not so here. I was as sorry to reach the end, satisfactory as the ending was (and no, I’m not going to give it away), as I was to reach the end of a twenty-five year fifteen-book series. And that’s saying a lot.
June 29, 2018
Turning her pen and focus on the eastern front, author Ellie Midwood has written what is sure to be a timeless tale of love and war.
The main characters, Werner and Kira, are absolutely perfect. You can't help but like them. And the author does a masterful job of evolving them, maturing and hardening them as their nations, which they love, force them to grow up quickly and fight for them.
Werner (German) and Kira (Russian) have fallen in love at the one of the most inopportune moments in history. They believe, however, the war will end soon and their budding relationship can survive the brief separation since there is an alliance between their two countries.
That hopes nearly fades to darkness when the alliance ends and Germany and Russia war against one another.
Nobly, on either sides, shooting at strangers across the lines, worried their love is over there, Werner and Kira cling to that tether of normalcy, each believing their love is the only sane thing left to get them through the cruelty and horrors. And there are plenty. The author has done her homework and the writing is crisp, quick and powerful. The history impeccable. The reader in drawn right into the bowels of terror and death. It is grim, harsh and real.
I've read several other works by author Ellie Midwood and this book is now my favorite. Absolutely marvelous.
The main characters, Werner and Kira, are absolutely perfect. You can't help but like them. And the author does a masterful job of evolving them, maturing and hardening them as their nations, which they love, force them to grow up quickly and fight for them.
Werner (German) and Kira (Russian) have fallen in love at the one of the most inopportune moments in history. They believe, however, the war will end soon and their budding relationship can survive the brief separation since there is an alliance between their two countries.
That hopes nearly fades to darkness when the alliance ends and Germany and Russia war against one another.
Nobly, on either sides, shooting at strangers across the lines, worried their love is over there, Werner and Kira cling to that tether of normalcy, each believing their love is the only sane thing left to get them through the cruelty and horrors. And there are plenty. The author has done her homework and the writing is crisp, quick and powerful. The history impeccable. The reader in drawn right into the bowels of terror and death. It is grim, harsh and real.
I've read several other works by author Ellie Midwood and this book is now my favorite. Absolutely marvelous.
September 12, 2018
A fascinating insight into love and war. When the novel begins, we’re thrown into the story behind a photograph and see our star-crossed lovers thrown together. In the beginning, everything seems straightforward, but as Hitler progresses in his Nazi regime, all bets are off.
I loved how much research the author did because all the details of the war, country, and situation were very realistic. The heroine in our story was brave, choosing to fight on the front lines rather than to hide. I can’t imagine how the story would’ve progressed with a different heroine.
While historical fiction isn’t really my cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish.
I loved how much research the author did because all the details of the war, country, and situation were very realistic. The heroine in our story was brave, choosing to fight on the front lines rather than to hide. I can’t imagine how the story would’ve progressed with a different heroine.
While historical fiction isn’t really my cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish.
December 2, 2020
Breathtaking
This book simply breathtaking. It has depth and inspiring character development. I found the story to be honest and compelling. If it wasn't inspired by a true story, it came close enough to make me feel as if I knew the primary persons as though they were speaking directly to me. Some parts brought me to tears while other parts made me smile for their innocence and beguiling naivety. The combination of tragic separation and magical reunion was beautifully composed. This is a story of hope, and the risks that often accompany its pursuit. I really burnt the midnight oil to finish it. I simply couldn't put it down until I knew how it ended. This author is wonderfully talented. I know I will read more of her work.
This book simply breathtaking. It has depth and inspiring character development. I found the story to be honest and compelling. If it wasn't inspired by a true story, it came close enough to make me feel as if I knew the primary persons as though they were speaking directly to me. Some parts brought me to tears while other parts made me smile for their innocence and beguiling naivety. The combination of tragic separation and magical reunion was beautifully composed. This is a story of hope, and the risks that often accompany its pursuit. I really burnt the midnight oil to finish it. I simply couldn't put it down until I knew how it ended. This author is wonderfully talented. I know I will read more of her work.
October 16, 2018
I have read a couple of books by Ellie Midwood and have never been disappointed.
A Motherland's Daughter and a Fatherland's Son was just as thrilling as the other books I read.
After the trials of the war between Germany and Russia that Kira and Werner faced I was happy to see that their love survived.
The story was well written and I enjoyed it very much.
I recommend it to lovers of historical romance.
A Motherland's Daughter and a Fatherland's Son was just as thrilling as the other books I read.
After the trials of the war between Germany and Russia that Kira and Werner faced I was happy to see that their love survived.
The story was well written and I enjoyed it very much.
I recommend it to lovers of historical romance.
May 6, 2018
Just think Romeo and Juliet set in WWII. Amazing telling not only of a love story that appears hopeless but also if the tragedy of two dictators’ quests to control their people.
Filled with heartache and hope as Werner and Kira fight on opposite sides of an atrocious war, this book will make you laugh, cry, fear, hope and most of all fall in love.
Filled with heartache and hope as Werner and Kira fight on opposite sides of an atrocious war, this book will make you laugh, cry, fear, hope and most of all fall in love.
May 28, 2018
Ellie Midward's Best Yet!
Ever since I read The Girl from Berlin: War Criminal’s Widow I’ve admired Ellie Midward’s writing. She has the knack of contrasting a love story with a stark wartime setting, but never more effectively than she has with the passion between Kira and Werner. This is a true Romeo and Juliet story, with the lovers forced to fight for opposite sides, and it held me gripped to the end.
Ever since I read The Girl from Berlin: War Criminal’s Widow I’ve admired Ellie Midward’s writing. She has the knack of contrasting a love story with a stark wartime setting, but never more effectively than she has with the passion between Kira and Werner. This is a true Romeo and Juliet story, with the lovers forced to fight for opposite sides, and it held me gripped to the end.
June 5, 2018
Highly recommend to all readers.
I've read all of Midwood's books and in my opinion, this is the best yet. Loved the read and was completely lost in the story.
When their two countries are at peace, a German soldier and a Russian interpreter fall in love and plan to marry. When their countries go to war both are forced to fight, Werner in the Wehrmacht, Kira as a snipper.
At its heart, this is a love story against impossible odds but it also gives a breathtaking look at the reality of war.
Brilliant read.
I've read all of Midwood's books and in my opinion, this is the best yet. Loved the read and was completely lost in the story.
When their two countries are at peace, a German soldier and a Russian interpreter fall in love and plan to marry. When their countries go to war both are forced to fight, Werner in the Wehrmacht, Kira as a snipper.
At its heart, this is a love story against impossible odds but it also gives a breathtaking look at the reality of war.
Brilliant read.
April 13, 2019
I couldn't help but give this 5 stars for its realistic, balanced portrayal of two soldiers on opposite sides. That said, I also can't recommend to everyone for that exact reason. It is too heart-wrenching, painful and emotionally graphic at times. Werner and Kira do not let us forget for one second that they sacrificed the prime of their young lives to the horrifying circumstances of war. One cannot read this book and remain oblivious to that really means. Well done.
February 9, 2019
A wonderful book that provided an insight into Germany's invasion of Russia. It also made a woman into a heroic soldier.
September 18, 2021
A MOTHERLAND'S DAUGHTER, A FATHERLAND'S SON by Ellie Midwood is certainly a love story between a young woman from the Soviet Union and a young man from Nazi Germany. Both find themselves in their respective military services in 1939, before Germany and the Soviet Union declared war on each other. They meet in Poland, fall in love, agree to serve their time of service, return to each other and marry. But the next six years of World War II separate and divide them, putting them in the position of fighting each other to the death. We study the effect of the Russian harsh and punishing winter on the battles between Germany & the Soviet Union, with Germany finding itself on the losing side of the battle, retreating to and eventually defeated in Berlin. But this wartime tale is also a love story, with Werner at the German front lines and Kira first a translator then a successful and celebrated Soviet sniper. Both oppose each other at the front lines of battle. The book is unrelenting and graphic in depicting the sufferings, horrors, atrocities, evils, brutality, and miseries of war. How can their shared love survive such circumstances? Can the war do anything other than transform them from lovers into enemies? The writing is brilliant and the research extensive.
March 15, 2018
Rating: 4 1/2 stars out 5
Before I begin my review, I should warn people who are thinking about reading this book to be aware that it is fairly violent and depicts several sickening episodes that occurred during the war between Russia and Germany. Even for me, who has studied World War Two for several years, I found some scenes hard to read. If you try to avoid such stories, then I don't think this would be the right book to read.
I became a huge fan of Ellie Midwood after I read her phenomenal "The Girl from Berlin" series. So, naturally, I had to buy her new book when she announced it. The story itself deals with a topic I'm interested in myself, the Eastern Front during World War Two and female snipers who fought for the Soviet Union (who, quite frankly, need more recognition than what they receive). I really enjoyed how the story flipped back and forth between Kira and Werner's points of view, it helped the reader understand what each one was feeling. Also, I found this to be a very honest portrayal of both the German and Russian armies and the atrocities they did. No party was completely innocent and, as much as society likes to have one designated hero and one designated villain in stories, that's just not the case. I really like how Ms. Midwood portrayed this and at no point did I feel like she was portraying one group better than the other or less guilty, she just gave you the story and lets you decide your own opinion. I greatly admire that. I also enjoyed the frame narrative of the story, as it was being told to a young college student who wants to write her dissertation on Kira's wartime activities. I thought that was a really nice touch. I suppose you can say that the ending was predictable, but I really liked it and it was how I had hoped it would end.
The only thing I didn't like about the book, and the reason why I didn't give it five stars, was the development of Kira and Werner's relationship prior to the war, it felt a little rushed. It didn't seem like there was enough development before they were confessing their love for each other as oppose to the development of Annalise's relationship with Ernst in "The Girl from Berlin" series. Granted, that was a series, which gave the author more time to develop that relationship, but I still would have wanted a bit more development between Kira and Werner before they begin fighting each other. Finally, I was dying to know what happened to Werner's friend at the end (I won't say who because of spoiler reasons). Did he survive? Did he live? I would have just liked a little note of what happened to him at the end of the war only because I really grew to like him.
Once again, Ms. Midwood delivered another fantastic novel and I applaud her for her historical research. You can tell she really put a lot of time into writing the story and developing a story that would grab the reader's attention. Well done!
Before I begin my review, I should warn people who are thinking about reading this book to be aware that it is fairly violent and depicts several sickening episodes that occurred during the war between Russia and Germany. Even for me, who has studied World War Two for several years, I found some scenes hard to read. If you try to avoid such stories, then I don't think this would be the right book to read.
I became a huge fan of Ellie Midwood after I read her phenomenal "The Girl from Berlin" series. So, naturally, I had to buy her new book when she announced it. The story itself deals with a topic I'm interested in myself, the Eastern Front during World War Two and female snipers who fought for the Soviet Union (who, quite frankly, need more recognition than what they receive). I really enjoyed how the story flipped back and forth between Kira and Werner's points of view, it helped the reader understand what each one was feeling. Also, I found this to be a very honest portrayal of both the German and Russian armies and the atrocities they did. No party was completely innocent and, as much as society likes to have one designated hero and one designated villain in stories, that's just not the case. I really like how Ms. Midwood portrayed this and at no point did I feel like she was portraying one group better than the other or less guilty, she just gave you the story and lets you decide your own opinion. I greatly admire that. I also enjoyed the frame narrative of the story, as it was being told to a young college student who wants to write her dissertation on Kira's wartime activities. I thought that was a really nice touch. I suppose you can say that the ending was predictable, but I really liked it and it was how I had hoped it would end.
The only thing I didn't like about the book, and the reason why I didn't give it five stars, was the development of Kira and Werner's relationship prior to the war, it felt a little rushed. It didn't seem like there was enough development before they were confessing their love for each other as oppose to the development of Annalise's relationship with Ernst in "The Girl from Berlin" series. Granted, that was a series, which gave the author more time to develop that relationship, but I still would have wanted a bit more development between Kira and Werner before they begin fighting each other. Finally, I was dying to know what happened to Werner's friend at the end (I won't say who because of spoiler reasons). Did he survive? Did he live? I would have just liked a little note of what happened to him at the end of the war only because I really grew to like him.
Once again, Ms. Midwood delivered another fantastic novel and I applaud her for her historical research. You can tell she really put a lot of time into writing the story and developing a story that would grab the reader's attention. Well done!
November 22, 2020
I wanted to love this story because I love wartime romance and forbidden romance. I was intrigued by the blurb and was intrigued by the idea of a forbidden romance between a Soviet female sniper and German officer who met and fell in love before the war. Female Soviet snipers have always fascinated me. I also enjoy and watched many wartime romance movies with German officers as the romantic interest.
The blurb reminded me of a Russian TV show that I really love called Snipers: Love In The Reticle . In the show, the heroine is a Soviet sniper and the hero is a German sniper. They met and fell in love before the war and now, they had orders to hunt each other down. It's currently on Amazon Prime Video and I really recommend it. (The hero is exceptionally handsome too).
So I was very excited to find this novel with similar premise. Unfortunately, the book was disappointing; the romance wasn't safe for me and was ruined around the end of the story.
I thought it was such a shame because the beginning of the story where they first met and fell in love was good. And the part where they met each other again (this time as enemies) on the battlefield was angsty and great. However, it all went downhill from there.
I also thought the two characters spent not enough scenes together in the whole book for it to be a compelling romance. There were too many unnecessary details and not enough romance. I was also disappointed that the love scenes were not steamy or detailed enough.
The character developments were also not to my liking.
I felt bad for the hero and I liked him more than the heroine, which is usually not a good thing when I read romance.
The ending was also abrupt.
Overall, good concept but a disappointing read.
The blurb reminded me of a Russian TV show that I really love called Snipers: Love In The Reticle . In the show, the heroine is a Soviet sniper and the hero is a German sniper. They met and fell in love before the war and now, they had orders to hunt each other down. It's currently on Amazon Prime Video and I really recommend it. (The hero is exceptionally handsome too).
So I was very excited to find this novel with similar premise. Unfortunately, the book was disappointing; the romance wasn't safe for me and was ruined around the end of the story.
I thought it was such a shame because the beginning of the story where they first met and fell in love was good. And the part where they met each other again (this time as enemies) on the battlefield was angsty and great. However, it all went downhill from there.
I also thought the two characters spent not enough scenes together in the whole book for it to be a compelling romance. There were too many unnecessary details and not enough romance. I was also disappointed that the love scenes were not steamy or detailed enough.
The character developments were also not to my liking.
I felt bad for the hero and I liked him more than the heroine, which is usually not a good thing when I read romance.
The ending was also abrupt.
Overall, good concept but a disappointing read.
May 5, 2018
True Love Survives All
A great love story between a German boy (werner) and a Russian girl (Kira). Set during World War II both soldiers fighting on opposite sides their love endures the horrors of War. The story is told with striking reality as to the violence of war and the human suffering of the heart due to the loss and horrors faced by the soldiers fighting on both sides. It is also the story of a love that survived these horrors. Very good book, I would definitely recommend it.
A great love story between a German boy (werner) and a Russian girl (Kira). Set during World War II both soldiers fighting on opposite sides their love endures the horrors of War. The story is told with striking reality as to the violence of war and the human suffering of the heart due to the loss and horrors faced by the soldiers fighting on both sides. It is also the story of a love that survived these horrors. Very good book, I would definitely recommend it.
May 6, 2018
This is a surprisingly warm book to read despite the love story being set against the grim and gruesome atrocities of World War 2. Two dictators, two ideologies, two totalitarian regimes, two allies. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Both as bad as each other. And then, Romeo and Juliet style, a German soldier falls in love with a Russian girl working for the Russian army and they are hopeful of happiness together until Germany turns on Russia and breaks the accord and all hell breaks loose on the Russian front as Germany attempts to invade Russia for the rest of the war. Shame Germany didn’t pay attention to their history lessons as they should have learned from what happened to Napoleon when he tried the same thing. Maybe just as well for the rest of Europe that they didn’t though, as it was their pig-headed insistence on not backing down from Russia that broke Germany and took up all their fighting resources, just as it had Napoleon. The Russian Bear being the ‘immovable stone’ has saved Europe more than once.
Will their love survive the traumas of war, will their spirits survive the traumas of war, will they even survive?
No-one in Europe had a good war. The population of a continent was traumatised, and those that survived had to live with it. And so did their children, born to traumatised parents. And then the next generation too is dimly connected. It takes four generations to clear the trauma out of a population. Pity Syria now. No good comes of war. It’s a shameful waste of time, money, resources, land, and precious, precious life and sanity.
An extra charming moment in this book for me were the scenes in Lvov. Just before the war my own Polish father-in-law would have been standing on the top of the hill in the city drinking champagne with his newly married wife, as was the custom. A couple of years later the Russians had invaded and shot everyone in his village and taken him off to a prison camp in Siberia. Shortly after, the Germans invaded and took his younger brother to Auschwitz where they tortured him for information then shot him. They later also put his youngest brother in a prisoner of war camp, where he survived by being useful, as he was a good translator between German and Polish and Russian and managed to smuggle food back into the camp for the prisoners whenever he was taken out to translate for the officers. My father-in-law escaped from the Siberian camp in the carcass of a dead cow, jumped trains through the Caucasus, escaped via Persia and joined the British Air Force. He tried to find his wife and one year old son but no-one, Red Cross, Catholic Church could find any trace of them. Long after the war, settled in England, they were finally officially ‘assumed dead’ and he married again and had 3 more sons – and then his wife and grown up son turned up again, making him an accidental bigamist. But that’s another story… and sadly a common one with such a huge displacement of people across a continent.
I laughed when I read a description of the hotel room they stayed in, in Lvov. It sounded to me like the grand Hotel George where my husband and I stayed when we went back out there to try to find out what had happened to his lost half-brother. When we switched on the TV in the room, Saddam Hussein had just been hung. It was being announced a few minutes after the grisly deed in numerous languages. It seemed entirely fitting to hear of another dictator coming to a sticky end within the setting that echoed with war atrocities.
We found some other relatives now residing in Poland, who had been small children at the end of the war, and who described surviving the Russian purge of the Polish out of Ukraine by climbing into the Russian trenches and taking the coats off dead bodies and re-fashioning them into hats and other clothing to sell, eating fungi growing in the trenches, digging up worms and catching sparrows to eat. As they told their stories, their own children and grandchildren listening in open-mouthed silence. They didn’t know any of it, because they’d never spoken of it after the war. We’re glad now that we went. That elderly cousin died a few months ago. We also found out that the family had already found the wife and son, before my husband’s father married the new bride, but didn’t tell him because they knew he could never return as he’d be shot for being a deserter to the British, and they felt he deserved to be able to start a new life. We never told my husband’s mother. She was a devout Catholic who had been humiliated enough by finding out that her marriage was invalid, without hearing that it could have been avoided. The family in Poland had decided not to make the moral decision on their brother’s behalf, and probably that was just as well.
Will their love survive the traumas of war, will their spirits survive the traumas of war, will they even survive?
No-one in Europe had a good war. The population of a continent was traumatised, and those that survived had to live with it. And so did their children, born to traumatised parents. And then the next generation too is dimly connected. It takes four generations to clear the trauma out of a population. Pity Syria now. No good comes of war. It’s a shameful waste of time, money, resources, land, and precious, precious life and sanity.
An extra charming moment in this book for me were the scenes in Lvov. Just before the war my own Polish father-in-law would have been standing on the top of the hill in the city drinking champagne with his newly married wife, as was the custom. A couple of years later the Russians had invaded and shot everyone in his village and taken him off to a prison camp in Siberia. Shortly after, the Germans invaded and took his younger brother to Auschwitz where they tortured him for information then shot him. They later also put his youngest brother in a prisoner of war camp, where he survived by being useful, as he was a good translator between German and Polish and Russian and managed to smuggle food back into the camp for the prisoners whenever he was taken out to translate for the officers. My father-in-law escaped from the Siberian camp in the carcass of a dead cow, jumped trains through the Caucasus, escaped via Persia and joined the British Air Force. He tried to find his wife and one year old son but no-one, Red Cross, Catholic Church could find any trace of them. Long after the war, settled in England, they were finally officially ‘assumed dead’ and he married again and had 3 more sons – and then his wife and grown up son turned up again, making him an accidental bigamist. But that’s another story… and sadly a common one with such a huge displacement of people across a continent.
I laughed when I read a description of the hotel room they stayed in, in Lvov. It sounded to me like the grand Hotel George where my husband and I stayed when we went back out there to try to find out what had happened to his lost half-brother. When we switched on the TV in the room, Saddam Hussein had just been hung. It was being announced a few minutes after the grisly deed in numerous languages. It seemed entirely fitting to hear of another dictator coming to a sticky end within the setting that echoed with war atrocities.
We found some other relatives now residing in Poland, who had been small children at the end of the war, and who described surviving the Russian purge of the Polish out of Ukraine by climbing into the Russian trenches and taking the coats off dead bodies and re-fashioning them into hats and other clothing to sell, eating fungi growing in the trenches, digging up worms and catching sparrows to eat. As they told their stories, their own children and grandchildren listening in open-mouthed silence. They didn’t know any of it, because they’d never spoken of it after the war. We’re glad now that we went. That elderly cousin died a few months ago. We also found out that the family had already found the wife and son, before my husband’s father married the new bride, but didn’t tell him because they knew he could never return as he’d be shot for being a deserter to the British, and they felt he deserved to be able to start a new life. We never told my husband’s mother. She was a devout Catholic who had been humiliated enough by finding out that her marriage was invalid, without hearing that it could have been avoided. The family in Poland had decided not to make the moral decision on their brother’s behalf, and probably that was just as well.
November 18, 2018
A Russian translator falls in love with a young German officer during the short-lived 1939 Soviet-German alliance and Hitler’s subsequent invasion of Russia. Can their budding relationship endure the horrors of a long, ghastly war? Even if you are forced to shoot at each other?
Even though this is a work of fiction, Midwood’s compelling narrative and fleshed out characters depicting the horrors of war make the time period come alive in a way that no historian has done for me. Its premise reminds me of Romeo and Juliet, but unlike the Shakespearean tragedy where characters became caricatures of immaturity and infatuation, Kira and Werner are fully-formed characters; people too young to be thrust into the unforgiving grasp of war.
Through Kira and Werner’s eyes, we see the hopes and dreams of individuals slowly turn to dust. In the opening chapters, they believed the war would end soon and everything would return back to normal soon.
Sadly as we know, that won’t be the case.
Through her masterful command of language and eerie character-driven imagery, we are drawn into the terrifying, gruesome nature of war. Midwood makes us question - what is the point of war? How can people draw senseless, invisible lines in the sand to demarcate who to hate and who to love? How can people treat other people like beasts?
Be prepared for an uncomfortable, yet riveting read. Her voice is yet dispassionate in parts, yet filled with raw emotion in others. Perhaps this was deliberate; we see the psychological torment and gradual dehumanization of her characters as they compromise their morals, again and again, to shoot at each other.
As the war drags on, we see our protagonists turn from bright-eyed, idealistic individuals into battle-hardened, soulless individuals. They commit atrocities they would have previously denounced as evil. We see their initial shock and horror at taking life slide into grim, numb acceptance - even relishing the sensation of having their finger against the cold steel of their guns.
It’s clear Midwood has done her research on the war-torn conditions of the Eastern Front and it shows in the precision of the writing, arresting imagery of what it feels like to be down in the trenches with bombs exploding around you and facing the prospect of death every single day.
This book will make you sniffle. It will make you want to scream at the senselessness of the entire situation. Ellie Midwood has created a masterpiece here that thrusts you feet-first into the midst of the bitter Russian winter while experiencing all the emotions that come with it. I was completely lost in the story.
Is it possible to be emotionally exhausted by a book? Yes, I definitely think so. As someone who studied modern history in school, this book brought the time period to life in a way that your history textbook can not. It’s one thing to study what the politicians say, but another to see how the men on the frontline see these same policies.
You actually question - how do these men in gilded chairs make their decisions, insulated from the repercussions of those policies on the men and women who serve them?
I recommend this book highly as a cautionary tale against violence, a fateful exploration of what it means to be human in the midst of a harrowing situation. This is my first book by Midwood and she has enthralled me with this stunning tale. I will be checking out her other works!
Even though this is a work of fiction, Midwood’s compelling narrative and fleshed out characters depicting the horrors of war make the time period come alive in a way that no historian has done for me. Its premise reminds me of Romeo and Juliet, but unlike the Shakespearean tragedy where characters became caricatures of immaturity and infatuation, Kira and Werner are fully-formed characters; people too young to be thrust into the unforgiving grasp of war.
Through Kira and Werner’s eyes, we see the hopes and dreams of individuals slowly turn to dust. In the opening chapters, they believed the war would end soon and everything would return back to normal soon.
Sadly as we know, that won’t be the case.
Through her masterful command of language and eerie character-driven imagery, we are drawn into the terrifying, gruesome nature of war. Midwood makes us question - what is the point of war? How can people draw senseless, invisible lines in the sand to demarcate who to hate and who to love? How can people treat other people like beasts?
Be prepared for an uncomfortable, yet riveting read. Her voice is yet dispassionate in parts, yet filled with raw emotion in others. Perhaps this was deliberate; we see the psychological torment and gradual dehumanization of her characters as they compromise their morals, again and again, to shoot at each other.
As the war drags on, we see our protagonists turn from bright-eyed, idealistic individuals into battle-hardened, soulless individuals. They commit atrocities they would have previously denounced as evil. We see their initial shock and horror at taking life slide into grim, numb acceptance - even relishing the sensation of having their finger against the cold steel of their guns.
It’s clear Midwood has done her research on the war-torn conditions of the Eastern Front and it shows in the precision of the writing, arresting imagery of what it feels like to be down in the trenches with bombs exploding around you and facing the prospect of death every single day.
“Cold. It’s the only word that is on everyone’s mind. It crawls under our summer uniforms, bites into our exposed faces, ears, and necks, sends us shivering uncontrollably as soon as the evening sets in and the temperatures plummet even more and make our fingers and toes numb regardless of our ranks and positions.”
This book will make you sniffle. It will make you want to scream at the senselessness of the entire situation. Ellie Midwood has created a masterpiece here that thrusts you feet-first into the midst of the bitter Russian winter while experiencing all the emotions that come with it. I was completely lost in the story.
Is it possible to be emotionally exhausted by a book? Yes, I definitely think so. As someone who studied modern history in school, this book brought the time period to life in a way that your history textbook can not. It’s one thing to study what the politicians say, but another to see how the men on the frontline see these same policies.
You actually question - how do these men in gilded chairs make their decisions, insulated from the repercussions of those policies on the men and women who serve them?
I recommend this book highly as a cautionary tale against violence, a fateful exploration of what it means to be human in the midst of a harrowing situation. This is my first book by Midwood and she has enthralled me with this stunning tale. I will be checking out her other works!
March 20, 2018
If you read my reviews, you will know what an enormous fan I am of Ellie Midwood's novels set during the second world war. Her latest release; A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son has done absolutely nothing to dampen my love and enthusiasm for this immensely talented author. In my humble opinion this is Midwood's finest work to date and she just gets better and better with every story she pens.
Set, initially at the start of World War II, when German and the USSR were allies, we meet Kira, a Russian military interpreter and Werner, a young, German soldier who meet in Poland, whilst their superiors are discussing the things allies discuss at the time of war. Kira and Werner fall completely and hopelessly in love, with the ultimate plan being for Kira to defect to Germany and the pair to marry. Herr Hitler, however, has other ideas and when Germany reneges on it's mutual non-aggression treaty with the Soviet Union and invades their territory, the two lovers find themselves facing each other on the battlefield. How can their love possibly survive the horrors both will experience as atrocities are committed by both sides on their enemies? Is there a way out for these two lovers, or was their future doomed when the first Panzer division rolled into Soviet territory.
In many ways, this story reads like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet; the two lovers destined to never be together. As each chapter alternates between Kira and Werner, the reader is drawn into deep sympathy for these characters, as they try to make sense of the horror that their daily lives have devolved into. As a reader, I can honestly say, by the end of the book I alternated between hope and despair for this angst-ridden pair, as they both tried desperately to keep the warmth of their love alive despite the horror.
This is a tough book to read, partly because Midwood is so accurate in her depictions of the true horrors of this war. She does not hide from the raw senselessness and violence that saw one quarter of the population of the Soviet Union wiped from the face of the earth in the bloodiest conflict in human history. She doesn't gloss over it - and neither should she. This was a horrific war that, at times, betrayed the very worst of the human condition, but... and it's a big BUT, this war was also capable of showing great human kindness, understanding and love and Midwood displays this beautifully and with great tenderness. I think the author summed it up perfectly when she talked about how individual soldiers from both sides, quickly found common ground when they were forced into a position of cohabitation, as they were in the Russian medical centre. German and Russian wounded rapidly realised they had much more in common, that drew them together, than that which pulled them apart. It is this insightful writing by Midwood, that lifts this book FAR above your average war story.
As I said earlier, I believe this book is Ellie Midwood's most powerful and most enjoyable book to date. I can only wait, with bated breath, for the next missive from this ultra-talented author's pen. A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son is an absolute triumph and a must read for all fans of the genre and all readers everywhere. Bravo, Ellie Midwood!
Set, initially at the start of World War II, when German and the USSR were allies, we meet Kira, a Russian military interpreter and Werner, a young, German soldier who meet in Poland, whilst their superiors are discussing the things allies discuss at the time of war. Kira and Werner fall completely and hopelessly in love, with the ultimate plan being for Kira to defect to Germany and the pair to marry. Herr Hitler, however, has other ideas and when Germany reneges on it's mutual non-aggression treaty with the Soviet Union and invades their territory, the two lovers find themselves facing each other on the battlefield. How can their love possibly survive the horrors both will experience as atrocities are committed by both sides on their enemies? Is there a way out for these two lovers, or was their future doomed when the first Panzer division rolled into Soviet territory.
In many ways, this story reads like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet; the two lovers destined to never be together. As each chapter alternates between Kira and Werner, the reader is drawn into deep sympathy for these characters, as they try to make sense of the horror that their daily lives have devolved into. As a reader, I can honestly say, by the end of the book I alternated between hope and despair for this angst-ridden pair, as they both tried desperately to keep the warmth of their love alive despite the horror.
This is a tough book to read, partly because Midwood is so accurate in her depictions of the true horrors of this war. She does not hide from the raw senselessness and violence that saw one quarter of the population of the Soviet Union wiped from the face of the earth in the bloodiest conflict in human history. She doesn't gloss over it - and neither should she. This was a horrific war that, at times, betrayed the very worst of the human condition, but... and it's a big BUT, this war was also capable of showing great human kindness, understanding and love and Midwood displays this beautifully and with great tenderness. I think the author summed it up perfectly when she talked about how individual soldiers from both sides, quickly found common ground when they were forced into a position of cohabitation, as they were in the Russian medical centre. German and Russian wounded rapidly realised they had much more in common, that drew them together, than that which pulled them apart. It is this insightful writing by Midwood, that lifts this book FAR above your average war story.
As I said earlier, I believe this book is Ellie Midwood's most powerful and most enjoyable book to date. I can only wait, with bated breath, for the next missive from this ultra-talented author's pen. A Motherland's Daughter, A Fatherland's Son is an absolute triumph and a must read for all fans of the genre and all readers everywhere. Bravo, Ellie Midwood!
May 28, 2018
This gripping tale began as a romance and quickly evolved into an exploration of what it means to be human. Predominantly a love story that unravels on the raging front lines of WWII battle, the reader is brought face to face with the capacity for utter depravity, malice, and generosity of spirit of which we are all capable.
Kira and Werner, lovers separated by their uniforms and allegiances to the Motherland and Fatherland, respectively, enter the war not more than mere children themselves. And as Kira observes of the enemy SS soldiers advancing on Soviet borders, they're only boys themselves. Yet the atrocities of war create the backdrop against which these two characters are shaped, both eventually yielding to the same instincts. "Maybe it’s better that we don’t have mothers anymore; they wouldn’t have recognized us when we returned," Kira observes. The expertise and ease with which she's become a heroic killing machine is her new identity.
Amidst the devastation, ruin, and loss of who they once were, can there be redemption? Ironically, while friends and family have been lost in service to their homelands, there is no home left to which to return. And when once-lovers don uniforms that now denote them as enemy combatants, can the human spirit triumph? I will not answer that question here. This absorbing book is well worth reading to find the answer.
I highly recommend this historical novel and look forward to exploring this author's work in far more dept. As far as the WWII novels I've read this year, Ellie Midwood's brilliant and intricate account is by far the most unique and most enjoyable read thus far.
Kira and Werner, lovers separated by their uniforms and allegiances to the Motherland and Fatherland, respectively, enter the war not more than mere children themselves. And as Kira observes of the enemy SS soldiers advancing on Soviet borders, they're only boys themselves. Yet the atrocities of war create the backdrop against which these two characters are shaped, both eventually yielding to the same instincts. "Maybe it’s better that we don’t have mothers anymore; they wouldn’t have recognized us when we returned," Kira observes. The expertise and ease with which she's become a heroic killing machine is her new identity.
Amidst the devastation, ruin, and loss of who they once were, can there be redemption? Ironically, while friends and family have been lost in service to their homelands, there is no home left to which to return. And when once-lovers don uniforms that now denote them as enemy combatants, can the human spirit triumph? I will not answer that question here. This absorbing book is well worth reading to find the answer.
I highly recommend this historical novel and look forward to exploring this author's work in far more dept. As far as the WWII novels I've read this year, Ellie Midwood's brilliant and intricate account is by far the most unique and most enjoyable read thus far.
November 9, 2018
Napoleon's folly became Germany's morass.
“A Motherland’s Daughter, a Fatherland’s Son” is a gory, gut-wrenching, atrocity ridden war between Germany and Russia, but beyond everything else, it’s a parable of serene and beautiful love that elevates the main protagonists above all the extreme hell of that period in history.
Kira the beautiful red headed Russian girl who joins the military as an interpreter in a gesture of support for the Motherland’s soldiers is sent to Poland. After arriving in Lvov she is assigned to a meeting between her senior commanders and officers of their new allies, Germany.
It’s at this location that she and a strikingly handsome Wehrmacht officer Werner, fall in love. And so begins this roller coaster of historical fiction when the treacherous act of Germany suddenly breaking their Treaty by attacking Russia, causes our two lovers to go their separate ways. Kira to become one of Russia’s most decorated snipers, and Werner to his role as a combat officer invading Kira’s Motherland while trying his best to maintain a conscience.
The author whose previous works of WWII history proves, here again, her most sensitive and descriptive powers, as it draws the reader into the horrors of actual brutal warfare on unimagined levels. As our two lovers move along their divergent paths, so too are they conflicted in their beliefs and emotions. Does either one them know how certain elements of their respective armies have acted in such inhuman ways? How in fact does this affect their feelings for each other, especially because of a forced absence during the course of the war?
The author leaves us in the end with a lesson of hope for mankind. This book is unquestionably a MUST read!
“A Motherland’s Daughter, a Fatherland’s Son” is a gory, gut-wrenching, atrocity ridden war between Germany and Russia, but beyond everything else, it’s a parable of serene and beautiful love that elevates the main protagonists above all the extreme hell of that period in history.
Kira the beautiful red headed Russian girl who joins the military as an interpreter in a gesture of support for the Motherland’s soldiers is sent to Poland. After arriving in Lvov she is assigned to a meeting between her senior commanders and officers of their new allies, Germany.
It’s at this location that she and a strikingly handsome Wehrmacht officer Werner, fall in love. And so begins this roller coaster of historical fiction when the treacherous act of Germany suddenly breaking their Treaty by attacking Russia, causes our two lovers to go their separate ways. Kira to become one of Russia’s most decorated snipers, and Werner to his role as a combat officer invading Kira’s Motherland while trying his best to maintain a conscience.
The author whose previous works of WWII history proves, here again, her most sensitive and descriptive powers, as it draws the reader into the horrors of actual brutal warfare on unimagined levels. As our two lovers move along their divergent paths, so too are they conflicted in their beliefs and emotions. Does either one them know how certain elements of their respective armies have acted in such inhuman ways? How in fact does this affect their feelings for each other, especially because of a forced absence during the course of the war?
The author leaves us in the end with a lesson of hope for mankind. This book is unquestionably a MUST read!
April 4, 2018
I wish I could give this 10 stars!
It has been a while since I picked up an historical novel in this genre and now I am wondering why I have never read this author before. It is reminiscent of Captain Corelli's Mandolin - not because the story is anyway similar but because of the author's approach to his harrowing tale and the extremes of emotion she puts you thorough. I'm still dabbing away the last of the tears, Midwood broke my heart on numerous occasions with her words just like Louis de Bernières did when I read his blockbuster.
A romeo and Juliet tale of epic proportions, Ellie Midwood documents the lives of these two (based on real life people) star-crossed lovers as they find themselves on opposing sides in WWII. Kira Miloslavskaya is a skilled sniper in the Soviet army and Werner Suss is the driver for an officer and later promoted to a Lieutenant in the Landers in the German army. The story is huge, the time line covering four years taking the Kira and Werner from allies and lovers and plunging them into a war that turns them against each other's countries.
The descriptions are vivid, the horror and desperateness palpable, and heart wrenching. It is hard to read at times to be sure, but that is because the author submerges you in the desperate reality of war. This is honestly one of the best books I have read in a few years and from the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.
It has been a while since I picked up an historical novel in this genre and now I am wondering why I have never read this author before. It is reminiscent of Captain Corelli's Mandolin - not because the story is anyway similar but because of the author's approach to his harrowing tale and the extremes of emotion she puts you thorough. I'm still dabbing away the last of the tears, Midwood broke my heart on numerous occasions with her words just like Louis de Bernières did when I read his blockbuster.
A romeo and Juliet tale of epic proportions, Ellie Midwood documents the lives of these two (based on real life people) star-crossed lovers as they find themselves on opposing sides in WWII. Kira Miloslavskaya is a skilled sniper in the Soviet army and Werner Suss is the driver for an officer and later promoted to a Lieutenant in the Landers in the German army. The story is huge, the time line covering four years taking the Kira and Werner from allies and lovers and plunging them into a war that turns them against each other's countries.
The descriptions are vivid, the horror and desperateness palpable, and heart wrenching. It is hard to read at times to be sure, but that is because the author submerges you in the desperate reality of war. This is honestly one of the best books I have read in a few years and from the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.
September 30, 2018
Wow.
This is a hard novel to categorize. It’s historical fiction and wartime fiction for sure, going deep into the atrocities that happen in war. But it’s also an epic love story with the kind of Deus Ex Machina coincidences you get in a romance novel. And of course it’s a coming of age story for two young soldiers during WWII, Werner and Kira.
I liked this novel a lot because it’s really well written- heartbreakingly, viscerally so. Both protagonists are incredibly strong characters, neither of them is perfect, both of them commit atrocities- in fact, at certain points in the novel, it’s almost a competition of who has bloodier hands, but no matter what, you never lose your sympathy for two young people caught up in a war not of their making and trying to survive.
I feel like the ending was a little too convenient and rushed and not as creative as the rest of the novel but overall this tale of star-crossed lovers was a really interesting historical depiction of the Soviet-German conflict during World War 2. This is not a novel that makes a specific judgment call on the Nazis or the communists as being bad or good. Obviously, there are references to the racist and fascist regime of Nazi Germany but this book doesn’t necessarily therefore make it that the soldiers of Nazi Germany were the villains of the novel. This is a novel that portrays how devastating war is even to those who volunteer to serve and protect their countries and how far removed these soldiers are from the ideologies and strategies they are made to fight for. This novel is also a cautionary tale against war and violent conflict. I recommend it highly.
This is a hard novel to categorize. It’s historical fiction and wartime fiction for sure, going deep into the atrocities that happen in war. But it’s also an epic love story with the kind of Deus Ex Machina coincidences you get in a romance novel. And of course it’s a coming of age story for two young soldiers during WWII, Werner and Kira.
I liked this novel a lot because it’s really well written- heartbreakingly, viscerally so. Both protagonists are incredibly strong characters, neither of them is perfect, both of them commit atrocities- in fact, at certain points in the novel, it’s almost a competition of who has bloodier hands, but no matter what, you never lose your sympathy for two young people caught up in a war not of their making and trying to survive.
I feel like the ending was a little too convenient and rushed and not as creative as the rest of the novel but overall this tale of star-crossed lovers was a really interesting historical depiction of the Soviet-German conflict during World War 2. This is not a novel that makes a specific judgment call on the Nazis or the communists as being bad or good. Obviously, there are references to the racist and fascist regime of Nazi Germany but this book doesn’t necessarily therefore make it that the soldiers of Nazi Germany were the villains of the novel. This is a novel that portrays how devastating war is even to those who volunteer to serve and protect their countries and how far removed these soldiers are from the ideologies and strategies they are made to fight for. This novel is also a cautionary tale against war and violent conflict. I recommend it highly.
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