What do you think?
Rate this book
Almost Autumn
It’s October 1942 in Oslo, Norway. Fifteen-year-old Ilse Stern is waiting to meet boy-next-door Hermann Rod for their first date. She was beginning to think he’d never ask her; she’s had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But Hermann won’t be able to make it tonight. What Ilse doesn’t know is that Hermann is secretly working in the Resistance, helping Norwegian Jews flee the country to escape the Nazis. The work is exhausting and unpredictable, full of late nights and code words and lies to Hermann’s parents, to his boss . . . to Ilse. And as life under German occupation becomes even more difficult, particularly for Jewish families like the Sterns, the choices made become more important by the hour: To speak up or to look away? To stay or to flee? To act now or wait one more day? In this internationally acclaimed debut, Marianne Kaurin recreates the atmosphere of secrecy and uncertainty in World War II Norway in a moving story of sorrow, chance, and first love.
278 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
35 people are currently reading
1242 people want to read
About the author
Marianne Kaurin
12 books22 followersMarianne Kaurin er født i 1974 og har gått forfatterutdanningen ved Norsk barnebokinstitutt. "Nærmere høst" er hennes første bok.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
August 24, 2017
I am Jewish. Some people of my family survived WWII by hiding, some went to a concentration camp and died, but some lived. This book speaks to me, and I’m sure it also speaks to every Jewish people out there. Some people weren't lucky enough. And this is what this book is about : how can one moment change your life for the worst or the best? How can one moment condemn you or save your life?
This book isn’t a romance. I know the synopsis can make it sound like one, but it isn’t. It’s so much more than a love story between a Jewish girl and a resistant boy. This is the story of what Jewish people had to go through, every one of them. But also the story of the people who closed their eyes to what was happening, those who helped and made this genocide possible . . . This is the story of what truly happened during WWII. The story of good and bad people, on both sides.
Ilse, though being Jewish, is living a somehow normal life . . . she works at her dad’s shop, plays with her little sister, gossip with her big sister, scream/fight with her mother, and is in love. But she doesn’t know her dad is shielding her and her sisters from the ugly truth, from what’s truly happening out there to Jewish people.
In a way, her father, by not telling her what was happening, saved her life. He made her feel like she was safe enough to go spend a few days skiing with the boy she loves instead of fearing for her life and staying indoor with her family . . . family that was sent to Auschwitz during her absence.
Luck.
It was luck who made her fall in love with an active resistant without her knowing it. This said resister, Hermann, who provided her a way to escape Norway and survive the Holocaust.
Sweet Hermann, who did what he did because it was the right thing to do, because even though he was scared he kept fighting the Nazis.
This book also follows Isak - Ilse’s father - Sonja - her big sister - and Ole - her neighbour. Each of them has a story to tell. Each of them tells you about a different part of the war.
Maybe I expected something else from this book, but I’m not disappointed in what I got. Not at all.
The sun on the rooftop. A big yellow circle. Long beams reaching outward. The grass smells fresh and dry. Before long the backyard will be filled with yellow, rotting leaves, before long the wind will blow again, and the rain will pour down, hammering against the asphalt, creating deep furrows in the gravel. Before long everything will become white and cold, a hard shell forming over everything that is dead.
But now.
Around the Year in 52 books 2017.
15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland)
This book isn’t a romance. I know the synopsis can make it sound like one, but it isn’t. It’s so much more than a love story between a Jewish girl and a resistant boy. This is the story of what Jewish people had to go through, every one of them. But also the story of the people who closed their eyes to what was happening, those who helped and made this genocide possible . . . This is the story of what truly happened during WWII. The story of good and bad people, on both sides.
Ilse, though being Jewish, is living a somehow normal life . . . she works at her dad’s shop, plays with her little sister, gossip with her big sister, scream/fight with her mother, and is in love. But she doesn’t know her dad is shielding her and her sisters from the ugly truth, from what’s truly happening out there to Jewish people.
In a way, her father, by not telling her what was happening, saved her life. He made her feel like she was safe enough to go spend a few days skiing with the boy she loves instead of fearing for her life and staying indoor with her family . . . family that was sent to Auschwitz during her absence.
Luck.
It was luck who made her fall in love with an active resistant without her knowing it. This said resister, Hermann, who provided her a way to escape Norway and survive the Holocaust.
Sweet Hermann, who did what he did because it was the right thing to do, because even though he was scared he kept fighting the Nazis.
This book also follows Isak - Ilse’s father - Sonja - her big sister - and Ole - her neighbour. Each of them has a story to tell. Each of them tells you about a different part of the war.
Maybe I expected something else from this book, but I’m not disappointed in what I got. Not at all.
The sun on the rooftop. A big yellow circle. Long beams reaching outward. The grass smells fresh and dry. Before long the backyard will be filled with yellow, rotting leaves, before long the wind will blow again, and the rain will pour down, hammering against the asphalt, creating deep furrows in the gravel. Before long everything will become white and cold, a hard shell forming over everything that is dead.
But now.
Around the Year in 52 books 2017.
15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland)
February 22, 2017
This book sneaks up on you.
It's quiet. So quiet. A teenage girl who doesn't get along with her mother is stood up by her date. An older sister who dreams of working in the theater. Normal things. Life things.
And then we see a father who wants to protect his family from harm--hiding the nasty slogans painted on their shop window every morning. A boy striving to do right, to smuggle Jews into Sweden, but tongue tied by his inability to tell the truth. A neighbor who tells himself there is no need to warn the Jewish family in his building about what he knows is coming.
It is quiet and unassuming, with the every day pattern of life, and then, without the reader hardly noticing, the horror creeps in. Horror beyond imagining.
I think that is why this book has so much impact--because it mirrors so perfectly the quietness with which the Holocaust crept into people's lives and the maddening silence that characterized those who let it happen.
It's quiet. So quiet. A teenage girl who doesn't get along with her mother is stood up by her date. An older sister who dreams of working in the theater. Normal things. Life things.
And then we see a father who wants to protect his family from harm--hiding the nasty slogans painted on their shop window every morning. A boy striving to do right, to smuggle Jews into Sweden, but tongue tied by his inability to tell the truth. A neighbor who tells himself there is no need to warn the Jewish family in his building about what he knows is coming.
It is quiet and unassuming, with the every day pattern of life, and then, without the reader hardly noticing, the horror creeps in. Horror beyond imagining.
I think that is why this book has so much impact--because it mirrors so perfectly the quietness with which the Holocaust crept into people's lives and the maddening silence that characterized those who let it happen.
January 31, 2013
Man begynner kanskje bli litt lei av bøker om andre verdenskrig, men denne kommer jeg til å anbefale til alt jeg ser av både ungdom og voksne. Marianne Kaurin er sparsommelig med informasjonen og bygger opp en spennende og usentimental historie rundt de problemer og dilemmaer krigen og jødeforfølgelsen byr på. Jeg liker spesielt noen av de mannlige bikarakterene, som Isak og Odd, som viser hvor vanskelig det kan være å ta et valg. Slutten føltes vel kanskje litt fast forward, men resten av romanen veier opp!
November 1, 2018
A quick YA read, historical fiction about a young Jewish girl in Norway in 1942.
Its almost autumn, and the world is opening up for Ilse Stern. She is 15, young, and going on her very first "date" with a boy. Everything begins in Autumn. Yet, skies are darkening, as the threat to Jews is expanding to Norway. Autumn is the beginning all right, but not the one she'd thought.
Read it in a day. Good quick autumn themed, WW2 themed, young adult novel. Maybe 3.5? Had never heard the Norwegian perspective before.
Its almost autumn, and the world is opening up for Ilse Stern. She is 15, young, and going on her very first "date" with a boy. Everything begins in Autumn. Yet, skies are darkening, as the threat to Jews is expanding to Norway. Autumn is the beginning all right, but not the one she'd thought.
Read it in a day. Good quick autumn themed, WW2 themed, young adult novel. Maybe 3.5? Had never heard the Norwegian perspective before.
November 21, 2016
I have always love history, but the second world war not so much. It is too heartbreaking to read when they die.
This is a lovely story. When I finished this book I was crying inside me. (I never cry outloud because my mother will ask me what happend.) I will say everyone should read this when it is tranlated to English.
This is a lovely story. When I finished this book I was crying inside me. (I never cry outloud because my mother will ask me what happend.) I will say everyone should read this when it is tranlated to English.
July 1, 2017
Wow, this an amazing book and story, I am soooo pleased that it was published in English!
February 5, 2017
This is a young adult book by a Nordic author translated into English. This Norwegian author is a first for me and I will be reading many more. This is the story of 3 Jewish sisters, their parents and what happened in Oslo when the German Nazi's rose to power right before WWII. Often, we read stories from survivors of the Holocaust or written first-hand accounts from those not so lucky to have survived the atrocities committed against human beings for simply being Jewish. At least for me, I had never read accounts/stories of those who lived in other European countries who suffered like fates. This book was heartbreaking in its horrific realism yet beautiful in the telling of the story of these beautiful girls who were much like any other teen girl with the exception that the world turned on them for something they didn't even quite understand. One day, being a Jewish person in their home town of Oslo no longer made you just like every other kid your age but rather an unwelcome outcast. This story is beautifully written. Anytime the underdog is given a voice from which future generations can learn from is a good thing.
November 17, 2016
"Alting begynder med efterår" er en fin, rørende og tragisk historisk ungdomsroman, der formår at indfange og beskrive de vigtige, men også tragiske omstændigheder, som jøderne måtte gennemgå under anden verdenskrig. Der er ingen snørklede eller poetiske sproglige finurligheder, men sproget er holdt på et meget ligefremt og nøgternt plan, der er med til, at understrege den tragiske og grusomme begivenhed som krigen var.
Tak til forlaget Turbine for anmeldereksemplar.
Tak til forlaget Turbine for anmeldereksemplar.
February 9, 2017
In the same genre as Code Name Verity and Between Shades of Gray, this is a powerful WWII story. I found the language, even in translation, to be powerful, sad, and ultimately hopeful.
August 29, 2017
Hidden Jem! Loved this one so much it really stuck with me for a long time after reading it! Here is my full video review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErLOc...
November 1, 2017
First sentence: Summer is over.
Premise/plot: Almost Autumn is set in Oslo, Norway in 1942. The heroine is a young teenager named Ilse Stern. She has an older sister and a younger sister. The novel opens with Ilse sneaking out of the house wearing a white dress with red polka dots. It's clearly a summer dress, and it is almost autumn. But she's meeting a boy, Hermann Rod, and it's more important to be beautiful than warm. He breaks the date, and disappoints the girl. But he's broken the date for an important reason: he's part of the Resistance, and he's trapped hiding in a building waiting for the Nazis to disperse. She doesn't know this, of course, no one does. Hermann isn't going to to around telling everyone what he's doing when he's not at work--not even his parents, especially not his parents. Hermann struggles in this one: should he warn Ilse Stern and her family to flee for their lives and press on her the urgency of the matter, the seriousness of the situation, or does he wait until he knows more?
Hermann isn't the only one struggling, there are others as well. Isak Stern is struggling as well. Should he and his family stay? Should they try to sneak out of the country and into Sweden? How much time does he have before it becomes critical? He's reluctant to make such a drastic, dramatic decision. But time isn't on his side.
My thoughts: Almost Autumn is a fictional account of the Holocaust from the point of view of Norwegian Jews. In October, Jewish men were arrested and rounded up. In November, Jewish women and children were arrested and rounded up. They were sent by ship to concentration camps.
"The German ship Donau sailed from Oslo on the afternoon of that same day [November 26, 1942] with 532 Norwegian Jews on board. Only nine of those were to survive Auschwitz." (276)
Almost Autumn is dramatic but not overly dramatic. I think it's well worth reading. It's not unusual for Holocaust books to be set in Germany, Poland, or Austria, but how many have you read set in Norway? Even if there were dozens, no two stories are the same.
Premise/plot: Almost Autumn is set in Oslo, Norway in 1942. The heroine is a young teenager named Ilse Stern. She has an older sister and a younger sister. The novel opens with Ilse sneaking out of the house wearing a white dress with red polka dots. It's clearly a summer dress, and it is almost autumn. But she's meeting a boy, Hermann Rod, and it's more important to be beautiful than warm. He breaks the date, and disappoints the girl. But he's broken the date for an important reason: he's part of the Resistance, and he's trapped hiding in a building waiting for the Nazis to disperse. She doesn't know this, of course, no one does. Hermann isn't going to to around telling everyone what he's doing when he's not at work--not even his parents, especially not his parents. Hermann struggles in this one: should he warn Ilse Stern and her family to flee for their lives and press on her the urgency of the matter, the seriousness of the situation, or does he wait until he knows more?
Hermann isn't the only one struggling, there are others as well. Isak Stern is struggling as well. Should he and his family stay? Should they try to sneak out of the country and into Sweden? How much time does he have before it becomes critical? He's reluctant to make such a drastic, dramatic decision. But time isn't on his side.
My thoughts: Almost Autumn is a fictional account of the Holocaust from the point of view of Norwegian Jews. In October, Jewish men were arrested and rounded up. In November, Jewish women and children were arrested and rounded up. They were sent by ship to concentration camps.
"The German ship Donau sailed from Oslo on the afternoon of that same day [November 26, 1942] with 532 Norwegian Jews on board. Only nine of those were to survive Auschwitz." (276)
Almost Autumn is dramatic but not overly dramatic. I think it's well worth reading. It's not unusual for Holocaust books to be set in Germany, Poland, or Austria, but how many have you read set in Norway? Even if there were dozens, no two stories are the same.
April 8, 2019
This was a tough book to finish. Not because the story wasn't compelling, set in Norway during World War II and I currently live in Norway and wanted to know more about its history, but because the world is so full of stories of the systemic oppression and dehumanization of people happening right now. But plotting my progress in Goodreads helped me ease back into the fate of rebellious, restless Ilse Stern and her Jewish family and her first crush, the young Hermann Rod who is supposed to be taking art lessons across the city but is actually working for the Norwegian resistance. I took up the book again today after abandoning it in late fall after starting to read it in September, all too aware of what had to happen to the characters. And suddenly I raced through the remaining pages, the particular experiences of Norwegian Jews and the tightening grip of Nazi occupation fully imagined, including a brief sojourn in a forest cabin or Hutte that completes the loss of idyll and Norwegian way of life. There is a terrible, frustrating ambiguity to this story that is quite honestly as perfect as it is heartbreaking. The translation by Rosie Hedger is by turns lyrical and clipped, with a deep sense of understanding the awkward, intensely private choices and confusions of Norwegians caught up in working for the Nazis, capturing somehow the tragic rhythms of silence and doubt that led so many to wait too long, deny too much until it was ultimately too late.
July 6, 2017
This is a powerful book that looks at the lives of the Jewish people of Norway and the people who helped them or at least tried. I found this book different than many of the other books I have read about the Holocaust as this one shifts from one person to another and blends the thoughts of everyone so well. Ilse Stern is a headstrong 15-year-old girl who happens to be Jewish. Because she is so headstrong she survives. Why and how she survives and what happens to her family I will leave that up to you the reader to discern, but her story is special and the way the author twists things makes the reader think in a way they may never had thought before.
This story is beautifully written and one that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the Holocaust from the perspective of the people who lived it. It is a work of fiction that takes on the facts and makes the reader think about what would he or she do in the same situation.
This story is beautifully written and one that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the Holocaust from the perspective of the people who lived it. It is a work of fiction that takes on the facts and makes the reader think about what would he or she do in the same situation.
April 7, 2018
4 1/2 stars. This is YA literature at it's finest. An incredible story of chance - missed chances, chances taken, circumstances that happen by chance.... Very beautifully written, the story takes place in Norway during the German occupation. I feel that it is equally important to read the afterward where the author talks about where her idea for the novel came from and her personal family history in this time period.
August 10, 2024
Quick easy read since it is YA, loved seeing the perspective of all the characters and how fast the story line progressed. Still deciding on how many stars. Was a solid 4 maybe 4.5. But was disappointed /underwhelmed with the ending. Loved the book up until that point! The ending was lacking for a couple of characters, their storyline stopped too abruptly.
May 15, 2019
This book was pretty good. It had a slow start, but eventually had some action. The ending was kind of vague in certain senses, but it was still a good book.
December 28, 2020
Perfect YA book for historical fiction lovers.
August 30, 2017
A World War II novel set in occupied Norway, as seen through the eyes of a teen girl, and exploring the role of chance. Read my full review (plus more WWII novel recommendations) at:
http://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2017/0...
http://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2017/0...
November 9, 2020
A beautiful but sad novel about a Jewish family during the German occupation of Norway. I've never heard much about Norway during WWII. It's also been a while since I read historical fiction and I have sorely missed it. Kind of hard to read near the end of the book.
February 3, 2017
Listened to as audiobook via Hoopla
Almost Autumn is a realistic fiction story set in Norway in 1942. The story follows multiple members of the Stern family, but the main protagonist is 15 year old Ilse Stern.
The Stern family is Jewish and is subjugated to the acts that were enacted against Norwegian Jews. Isak, the father, owns a tailor shop and has been steadily losing business because no one will visit Jewish run shops. Sonja, the eldest daughter (19) dreams of designing costumes for the theater. Ilse is most concerned with her looks, reading romance novels, and trying to impress Hermann Rod, the neighbor boy. Ilse describes herself as not being able to live up to the expectations her mother has set for her because Sonja is so perfect at everything.
The Stern family's lives take an abrupt turn on October 26, 1942 when Isak (and all Jewish men 15+) were arrested. Ilse's mother falls into melancholy,and the whole family is affected. With literally no income the family is struggling to survive. One month later, Ilse and her mother get into a shouting match (worse than their normal ones) and her mother orders Ilse out of the house.
Ilse goes and ends up hanging out with Hermann in a cabin for the whole night. On the morning of November 26,1942, all remaining Jewish women and children are rounded up and arrested, including the Stern women. However, Ilse has not returned from the fight.
Sonja, her mother, and the little sister Miriam are briefly reunited with their father before boarding a boat, and later a train and eventually arriving in Auschwitz. Ilse, however, is brought to a safe house by Hermann (who we come to find was really working for a resistance to German rule against the Jews) and is later smuggled out of the country to neutral Sweden.
I had never read a WWII story that was based on Jews in Norway and it was a different perspective. The chapters changed who the central character was (trading between Ilse, Sonja, Isak, and Hermann mostly) and the story followed from that character's perspective. This was a little confusing at first, and I attribute some of that to the translation from Norwegian to English.
I liked that these events (date specific) actually happened to Norway as it led credibility to the story (the Stern family is a made up). However, the reader is expected to have some background knowledge of WWII events to make complete sense of this story.
This book would be an interesting read for junior high or high school students who are studying treatment of Jewish people during WWII, especially to gain perspective from a country outside of Germany.
listened to as audio book
reviewed by Kirkus and Horn Book
written in Norwegian and translated to English
Almost Autumn is a realistic fiction story set in Norway in 1942. The story follows multiple members of the Stern family, but the main protagonist is 15 year old Ilse Stern.
The Stern family is Jewish and is subjugated to the acts that were enacted against Norwegian Jews. Isak, the father, owns a tailor shop and has been steadily losing business because no one will visit Jewish run shops. Sonja, the eldest daughter (19) dreams of designing costumes for the theater. Ilse is most concerned with her looks, reading romance novels, and trying to impress Hermann Rod, the neighbor boy. Ilse describes herself as not being able to live up to the expectations her mother has set for her because Sonja is so perfect at everything.
The Stern family's lives take an abrupt turn on October 26, 1942 when Isak (and all Jewish men 15+) were arrested. Ilse's mother falls into melancholy,and the whole family is affected. With literally no income the family is struggling to survive. One month later, Ilse and her mother get into a shouting match (worse than their normal ones) and her mother orders Ilse out of the house.
Ilse goes and ends up hanging out with Hermann in a cabin for the whole night. On the morning of November 26,1942, all remaining Jewish women and children are rounded up and arrested, including the Stern women. However, Ilse has not returned from the fight.
Sonja, her mother, and the little sister Miriam are briefly reunited with their father before boarding a boat, and later a train and eventually arriving in Auschwitz. Ilse, however, is brought to a safe house by Hermann (who we come to find was really working for a resistance to German rule against the Jews) and is later smuggled out of the country to neutral Sweden.
I had never read a WWII story that was based on Jews in Norway and it was a different perspective. The chapters changed who the central character was (trading between Ilse, Sonja, Isak, and Hermann mostly) and the story followed from that character's perspective. This was a little confusing at first, and I attribute some of that to the translation from Norwegian to English.
I liked that these events (date specific) actually happened to Norway as it led credibility to the story (the Stern family is a made up). However, the reader is expected to have some background knowledge of WWII events to make complete sense of this story.
This book would be an interesting read for junior high or high school students who are studying treatment of Jewish people during WWII, especially to gain perspective from a country outside of Germany.
listened to as audio book
reviewed by Kirkus and Horn Book
written in Norwegian and translated to English
August 7, 2020
Familie Stern, bestehend aus Hanna, Isak und den drei Töchtern Sonja, Ilse und der kleinen Miriam, lebt in einem Mietshaus im Osloer Stadtteil Grünerløkka, heute als Szeneviertel der Stadt bekannt. Isak Stern betreibt eine Schneiderei, wobei ihn vor allem die älteste Tochter Sonja, 18 Jahre alt, unterstützt. Sie soll das Geschäft einmal übernehmen. Seit kein Schulunterricht mehr stattfindet, hilft auch Ilse im Laden mit. Es ist weniger die NS-Okkupation, die im ersten Teil des Romans thematisiert wird, vielmehr geht es um die Träume, Ziele und ganz persönlichen Sorgen der beiden Mädchen. Ilse wäre gerne so schön wie ihre große Schwester Sonja, die in allem so geschickt und vernünftig scheint. Außerdem ist sie in ihren Nachbarn Hermann verliebt, der sie eines Nachmittags trotz Verabredung einfach versetzt. Sonja bewundert die Unbeschwertheit ihrer jüngeren Schwester Ilse und träumt von einer Arbeit als Kostümschneiderin am Theater, einer eigenen Wohnung und Unabhängigkeit, auch von der Familie. Isak hingegen träumt nicht. Er macht sich Sorgen, geht an jedem Morgen früher in die Schneiderei, um die antisemitischen Schmierereien an den Ladenfenstern zu entfernen, damit seinen Töchtern der Anblick erspart bleibt. Er denkt darüber nach, ob sie die Flucht ins neutrale Schweden wagen sollen, kann sich aber nicht entscheiden. Die Träume der Mädchen rücken mit dem Befehl, dass alle männlichen Juden zu verhaften sind, im zweiten Teil des Romans plötzlich in den Hintergrund. Isak Stern wird verhaftet und verschwindet und dadurch ändert sich in der Familie alles. Hanna Stern verlässt das Bett nur noch selten und ist kaum ansprechbar, weshalb Sonja die Verantwortung für die Familie und vor allem für die 5-jährige Miriam übernimmt. Nach einem Streit mit der Mutter verlässt Ilse wütend die Wohnung und bleibt über Nacht fort. Ein Zufall, der ihr Leben rettet, denn in ihrer Abwesenheit werden Hanna, Sonja und die kleine Miriam verhaftet und zum Osloer Hafen gebracht. Dort treffen sie Isak wieder, der von einem Monat Internierung im Lager Berg gezeichnet ist und die Hoffnung aufs Überleben verloren hat. Frauen und Männer werden getrennt, es folgen die zermürbende Überfahrt auf der „Donau“ nach Stettin und die Deportation in Zügen nach Auschwitz. Isak wird nach Ankunft im Konzentrationslager rasiert, tätowiert und in eine Baracke geschafft. An dieser Stelle endet Isaks Geschichte. Seine Gedanken, dass er nun ein Tier werden muss, um zu überleben, sind das letzte, was über ihn geschrieben steht. Hanna, Sonja und Miriam werden direkt nach der Ankunft in Auschwitz zusammen mit den anderen Frauen und älteren Männern des Transports auf einem Lastwagen zu einem Gebäude gefahren. Dort müssen sie ihre Kleider ablegen und werden in einen dunklen Raum geführt. An dieser Stelle endet auch die Geschichte von Hanna, Sonja und Miriam. Als Ilse nach Hause kommt, findet sie die Wohnung nur noch verschlossen vor und erfährt schnell, dass Mutter und Schwestern mitgenommen wurden. Durch den Einsatz von Hermann wird ihre Flucht nach Schweden vorbereitet und die Leser*in folgt Ilse auf diesem Weg bis kurz vor die Grenze. Ob sie es geschafft hat? Das letzte Kapitel beschreibt schließlich knapp, wie Ilse zwei Jahre später zurück zu ihrem alten Wohnhaus geht und dort auf Hermann trifft. Sie hat es also geschafft, hat überlebt.
Der preisgekrönte Roman (Debütantenpreis des norwegischen Kultusministeriums) beginnt anders, als die Leser*in es vielleicht bei einem Buch zum Thema Holocaust erwartet. Sie wird mitgenommen in Ilses Welt, in der es sich vorrangig nicht um die NS-Okkupation dreht. Ilse ist verliebt und unsicher, ob ihre Liebe auch erwidert wird. Unsicher, ob sie schön genug für Hermann ist. Diese Gefühle schildert die Autorin Marianne Kauren sehr poetisch und nicht ohne Witz. Die personale Erzählsituation ermöglicht aber nicht nur einen Einblick in Ilses Gedankenwelt, sondern wechselt episodenhaft zwischen den Figuren. Die Leser*in erfährt, dass Hermann viel an Ilse denkt, aber ein Geheimnis mit sich trägt, das nicht ans Licht kommen darf (er ist Fluchthelfer und Teil des norwegischen Widerstands). Der Blick in die Gedanken der vermeintlich perfekten Sonja verrät, dass diese die Unbeschwertheit ihrer Schwester Ilse beneidet und sich nach Unabhängigkeit sehnt. Der Schrecken und die Bedrohlichkeit der Situation für die Familie wird hingegen aus der Perspektive Isaks deutlich, der heimlich die Konten löscht, die Bankschließfächer ausräumt und noch damit hadert, ob die Familie fliehen soll. Die Perspektive, die am interessantesten zu sein scheint, bleibt der Leser*in hingegen verwehrt: die von Hanna Stern. Die Leser*in erfährt durch Ilse, dass die Mutter nicht mehr so unbeschwert lacht wie früher, dass das Gesicht ernst geworden ist. Die Leser*in erlebt durch die Perspektiven der Töchter, wie Hanna Stern nach Isaks Verhaftung kapituliert und immer mehr in Wahnsinn verfällt. Ahnt sie das furchtbare Ende voraus? Was geht in ihr vor? Diese Fragen bleiben unbeantwortet. Durch die unterschiedlichen Perspektiven erzeugt die Autorin Spannung und ermöglicht eine sehr vielschichtige Einsicht in die Familie Stern. Auch stilistisch zeugt der Roman von hoher Qualität: Während der Episoden, in denen es um die romantischen Gefühle oder Zukunftsträume der Mädchen geht, ist die Erzählung durch eine eher poetische Sprache geprägt. Verhaftung und Deportation werden hingegen nüchtern und sachlich beschrieben, was die Brutalität der Geschehnisse und die Kälte der Täter*innen verdeutlicht. Körperliche und psychische Grausamkeiten werden ebenso sachlich geschildert und in ihrer Brutalität nicht verharmlost, weshalb der Roman für Leser*innen unter 14 Jahren nicht geeignet ist. Der Roman lässt außerdem einige Leerstellen, beispielsweise bleibt das Schicksal von Ilses Vater letztlich ungewiss, auch der Tod von Hanna, Sonja und Miriam wird nicht explizit versprachlicht. Doch nicht nur, weil die Erzählungen der Figuren dort enden, liegt die Folgerung nahe. Wenn historische Hintergrundinformationen herangezogen werden und vermutet wird, dass sich die Autorin an diesen Informationen orientiert hat, bestätigt sich der schreckliche Verdacht, dass die Figuren Hanna, Sonja und Miriam im Roman sterben. Von den Ankommenden des Transports mit der „Donau“, ein Geschehen, das tatsächlich stattgefunden hat, wurden 186 Männer als Häftlinge übernommen, die anderen 346 Menschen, darunter alle Frauen und Kinder, wurden direkt in die Gaskammern geschickt. Die vielen Leerstellen sind Grund und Anlass, als Erwachsene mit jugendlichen Leser*innen über diese zu sprechen und über mögliche Erklärungen nachzudenken.
Kaurens Roman ist ein literarisch durchaus anspruchsvoller, berührender, bedrückender und nachdenklich stimmender Einblick in den tragischen Verlauf des Lebens einer norwegischen Familie zur Zeit der NS-Okkupation.
Der preisgekrönte Roman (Debütantenpreis des norwegischen Kultusministeriums) beginnt anders, als die Leser*in es vielleicht bei einem Buch zum Thema Holocaust erwartet. Sie wird mitgenommen in Ilses Welt, in der es sich vorrangig nicht um die NS-Okkupation dreht. Ilse ist verliebt und unsicher, ob ihre Liebe auch erwidert wird. Unsicher, ob sie schön genug für Hermann ist. Diese Gefühle schildert die Autorin Marianne Kauren sehr poetisch und nicht ohne Witz. Die personale Erzählsituation ermöglicht aber nicht nur einen Einblick in Ilses Gedankenwelt, sondern wechselt episodenhaft zwischen den Figuren. Die Leser*in erfährt, dass Hermann viel an Ilse denkt, aber ein Geheimnis mit sich trägt, das nicht ans Licht kommen darf (er ist Fluchthelfer und Teil des norwegischen Widerstands). Der Blick in die Gedanken der vermeintlich perfekten Sonja verrät, dass diese die Unbeschwertheit ihrer Schwester Ilse beneidet und sich nach Unabhängigkeit sehnt. Der Schrecken und die Bedrohlichkeit der Situation für die Familie wird hingegen aus der Perspektive Isaks deutlich, der heimlich die Konten löscht, die Bankschließfächer ausräumt und noch damit hadert, ob die Familie fliehen soll. Die Perspektive, die am interessantesten zu sein scheint, bleibt der Leser*in hingegen verwehrt: die von Hanna Stern. Die Leser*in erfährt durch Ilse, dass die Mutter nicht mehr so unbeschwert lacht wie früher, dass das Gesicht ernst geworden ist. Die Leser*in erlebt durch die Perspektiven der Töchter, wie Hanna Stern nach Isaks Verhaftung kapituliert und immer mehr in Wahnsinn verfällt. Ahnt sie das furchtbare Ende voraus? Was geht in ihr vor? Diese Fragen bleiben unbeantwortet. Durch die unterschiedlichen Perspektiven erzeugt die Autorin Spannung und ermöglicht eine sehr vielschichtige Einsicht in die Familie Stern. Auch stilistisch zeugt der Roman von hoher Qualität: Während der Episoden, in denen es um die romantischen Gefühle oder Zukunftsträume der Mädchen geht, ist die Erzählung durch eine eher poetische Sprache geprägt. Verhaftung und Deportation werden hingegen nüchtern und sachlich beschrieben, was die Brutalität der Geschehnisse und die Kälte der Täter*innen verdeutlicht. Körperliche und psychische Grausamkeiten werden ebenso sachlich geschildert und in ihrer Brutalität nicht verharmlost, weshalb der Roman für Leser*innen unter 14 Jahren nicht geeignet ist. Der Roman lässt außerdem einige Leerstellen, beispielsweise bleibt das Schicksal von Ilses Vater letztlich ungewiss, auch der Tod von Hanna, Sonja und Miriam wird nicht explizit versprachlicht. Doch nicht nur, weil die Erzählungen der Figuren dort enden, liegt die Folgerung nahe. Wenn historische Hintergrundinformationen herangezogen werden und vermutet wird, dass sich die Autorin an diesen Informationen orientiert hat, bestätigt sich der schreckliche Verdacht, dass die Figuren Hanna, Sonja und Miriam im Roman sterben. Von den Ankommenden des Transports mit der „Donau“, ein Geschehen, das tatsächlich stattgefunden hat, wurden 186 Männer als Häftlinge übernommen, die anderen 346 Menschen, darunter alle Frauen und Kinder, wurden direkt in die Gaskammern geschickt. Die vielen Leerstellen sind Grund und Anlass, als Erwachsene mit jugendlichen Leser*innen über diese zu sprechen und über mögliche Erklärungen nachzudenken.
Kaurens Roman ist ein literarisch durchaus anspruchsvoller, berührender, bedrückender und nachdenklich stimmender Einblick in den tragischen Verlauf des Lebens einer norwegischen Familie zur Zeit der NS-Okkupation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2019
I want to recommend this book to everyone now.
[image error]
The author's end notes and why she wrote the book are exactly why I think it is so essential that everyone tells their story. All stories are necessary... but this one...
Anyway, read it.
It's amazing.
If you want more details of the story so you know what you're picking up read this review, it's extremely fair and well stated: Romie's review
And yes, this is a story about WWII and concentration camps, so there are plenty of trigger warnings to be stated... but the author did an excellent job of giving honor to the history, and these trigger points are necessary. So if you know you can't handle written descriptions of how the Jews were treated, then okay, pass this one... but if you can push through and read it, and gain empathy and remember the bleaker sides of history, then do it. It's important.
[image error]
The author's end notes and why she wrote the book are exactly why I think it is so essential that everyone tells their story. All stories are necessary... but this one...
Anyway, read it.
It's amazing.
If you want more details of the story so you know what you're picking up read this review, it's extremely fair and well stated: Romie's review
And yes, this is a story about WWII and concentration camps, so there are plenty of trigger warnings to be stated... but the author did an excellent job of giving honor to the history, and these trigger points are necessary. So if you know you can't handle written descriptions of how the Jews were treated, then okay, pass this one... but if you can push through and read it, and gain empathy and remember the bleaker sides of history, then do it. It's important.
December 10, 2021
(3.5)
"Sola over taket. En gul runding. Lange streker utover." *gråte-emoji*
En fin og fort lest historie om bygården i Biermanns gate, dens beboere og deres skjebner.
Dette trakk opp:
- kapitlene fra familiefedrenes perspektiv, særlig de første, der (de ganske ulike, dog relaterte) dilemmaene deres var fint skildret
- parallellene mellom første og siste kapittel (jeg er litt svak for sånt)
- at Kaurin ikke ventet til slutten av boka med å vise oss hvordan det gikk med enkelte av karakterene, samtidig som vi sitter igjen med mange spørsmål etter å ha lest ferdig. I grunn ganske passende for en bok med slik handling og tema.
Dette trakk ned:
- til å være en såpass kort bok føltes det som historien brukte litt vel lang tid på å komme ordentlig i gang, men jeg skjønner at det var for å gjøre oss kjent med karakterene. Da alvoret først begynte kunne jeg derimot ønske vi fikk *mer* tid med dem.
- hverken Ilses, Hermanns eller Sonjas kapitler fenget meg så veldig.
- skrivestilen innimellom, men jeg kan ikke formulere hva det var jeg ikke likte.
"Sola over taket. En gul runding. Lange streker utover." *gråte-emoji*
En fin og fort lest historie om bygården i Biermanns gate, dens beboere og deres skjebner.
Dette trakk opp:
- kapitlene fra familiefedrenes perspektiv, særlig de første, der (de ganske ulike, dog relaterte) dilemmaene deres var fint skildret
- parallellene mellom første og siste kapittel (jeg er litt svak for sånt)
- at Kaurin ikke ventet til slutten av boka med å vise oss hvordan det gikk med enkelte av karakterene, samtidig som vi sitter igjen med mange spørsmål etter å ha lest ferdig. I grunn ganske passende for en bok med slik handling og tema.
Dette trakk ned:
- til å være en såpass kort bok føltes det som historien brukte litt vel lang tid på å komme ordentlig i gang, men jeg skjønner at det var for å gjøre oss kjent med karakterene. Da alvoret først begynte kunne jeg derimot ønske vi fikk *mer* tid med dem.
- hverken Ilses, Hermanns eller Sonjas kapitler fenget meg så veldig.
- skrivestilen innimellom, men jeg kan ikke formulere hva det var jeg ikke likte.
March 10, 2017
What is it about European authors that have a way of evoking such emotional reactions in me with such small, quiet sentences? Is it the translation? I don't think so. What I thought would be a book about a teen dating a boy in the Resistance turned into much more: while those two are at the heart of the story, the book ends up being comprised of short, vignette-like stories of other characters. I wish the American version had a different cover because I think boys would also get into the story but probably wouldn't pick it up with its very-feminine cover. I hope to read more stories from this author in the future.
July 3, 2017
I started off not really enjoying this book because of the style of writing. Once I got used to it (it is a translation), I was able to really get into the book more. It does begin slowly, but I had a sense of dread the whole time, because I knew what was coming, even if the characters didn't.
When books show the moral quandaries that people find themselves in, it makes a book a little more believable. You can understand why not everyone stood up to the Nazis - some slowly got taken in, and some were unable to make a stand once they finally realized what was happening.
When books show the moral quandaries that people find themselves in, it makes a book a little more believable. You can understand why not everyone stood up to the Nazis - some slowly got taken in, and some were unable to make a stand once they finally realized what was happening.
May 7, 2017
Actually DNF. It had all the hallmarks of a Scandinavian novel, that is endless bleak descriptions and an agonizingly slow plot. The characters were not even remotely interesting, it may have been the translation but I doubt it. I think I've been spoiled by reading too many really exciting WWII/Holocaust books.
February 11, 2018
Words cannot express how much I despise Hermann Rod. The overall writing style is ok but my one star is because of how much I can't stand him. Hermann questions himself and asks 'Am I being a selfish coward?' Yes, Hermann. Yes, you are, you are the worst.
October 11, 2018
This book was okay. I liked how it had an epilogue at the end, though I wish it had told more from Isak and Hermann's point of view. It tells you the beginning of their stories, but you don't really find out what ends up happening to them, and how they got where they were in the epilogue.
December 30, 2022
It was sad that she had to leave her family behind to die but at least she ended with coming back home even though the end wasn’t really an end it was like the story should have continued on. Verrrrry gooood!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2017
The last normal day for Isle Stern was when the boy she has had a crush on for forever, the boy next door, Hermann Rod, asked her to go to the movies with him, but then he never showed. Isle waited for over 2 hours to make sure she had the right movie time, but Hermann didn't show up at all. That day was the last normal day for Isle.
Because after that, the Germans came and took her father away. He was under arrest because he was Jewish. And this begins the very trying life that will happen for the next few years for Isle's family.
There are many different stories that are told throughout this novel including Isle, Hermann, Isle's older sister Sonja, Isle's neighbor Ole Rustard, and Isle's father Isak. Each character has a different story to tell, because they have been through completely different experiences during this terrible time in their life.
Isle ran out of her house mad at her mother the night that the policemen came to take the Jewish women and children away. She was left alone, not knowing where the rest of her family was, but knowing that the Germans were looking for her. Chance had her gone from the house that night, but was she really so lucky to be left in the dark when everyone she knew was in danger?
Hermann's family was safe, since they weren't Jewish, but Hermann was putting himself in danger - he was helping Jewish families escape to Sweden - the closest country that was neutral and a safe haven for the people who were being hunted. And he was trying to protect the girl who lived next door and who was always on his mind, even when he knew she shouldn't be.
Sonja was trying to get a better seamstress job to start her own life and career when everything happened. Then she was the one taking care of her family when she was traveling with the other Jews by boat and train, since her mother checked out when her father was arrested. She was in charge of her mother and her 5 year old sister Miriam, but was constantly worrying about Isle since she was missing.
Ole Rustad lived on the floor above the Sterns. He was also safe since he was Jewish, but he was put into a compromising situation: he was taking the Jewish families from point A to point B in a taxi. He didn't know where there were going or what was going to happen to them, but he knew that it wasn't good. But Ole Rustad needed the money because his wife and him are expecting another child by Christmas.
Isak has been trying to hide from his family the negative reaction his shop was getting because he is Jewish, but once he was arrested, he had a lot more important things to worry about. When he sees his family at the camp where all Jews were taken to, he became paranoid about what was going to happen to his family.
All of these characters have a different story to tell, and have to deal with terrible inner struggles during a terrible time in history. Marianne Kaurin created a novel that will be sure to bring emotion to all readers who pick up her novel.
I'm not much into historical fiction - especially about WWII or any war. I just can't relate well to these kinds of novels and it makes for a tough read for me. But one of my friends recommended me this novel and I wanted to try something different for me. Even though it took me a little longer than it should have for me to read this short book, I'm glad I did read it because it was very touching.
I can't even imagine going through a period like this. Seriously, thinking about what all of these people had to go through because they were Jewish is terrible and it makes me sad. Being able to get an idea of what each character went through sent chills through me, because all of it was horrifying, no matter if the character was Jewish or not.
The most chilling and saddest line of the book is this:
"Sonja catches sight of a sign hanging over the platform: Auschwitz. It means nothing to her." (page 222)
Since readers would know what the Auschwitz Camp was, we all know the fate of these Jewish people. And to know that they were just regular people trying to raise their family and live their lives, to go through that fate? It breaks my heart.
I gave this 3 stars because I found myself drifting from the book often. Maybe it was the subject rather than the novel, but I do tend to read books faster when there is dialogue, rather than large paragraphs like this book.
I did enjoy this novel. I think Marianne Kaurin did a fantastic job with this book, and for it being her debut novel as well! I think history buffs will really enjoy this book and know a lot of the significance that is in here - more than I did.
I will definitely be adding this as a book to read if you like WWII topics in the teen collection!
Because after that, the Germans came and took her father away. He was under arrest because he was Jewish. And this begins the very trying life that will happen for the next few years for Isle's family.
There are many different stories that are told throughout this novel including Isle, Hermann, Isle's older sister Sonja, Isle's neighbor Ole Rustard, and Isle's father Isak. Each character has a different story to tell, because they have been through completely different experiences during this terrible time in their life.
Isle ran out of her house mad at her mother the night that the policemen came to take the Jewish women and children away. She was left alone, not knowing where the rest of her family was, but knowing that the Germans were looking for her. Chance had her gone from the house that night, but was she really so lucky to be left in the dark when everyone she knew was in danger?
Hermann's family was safe, since they weren't Jewish, but Hermann was putting himself in danger - he was helping Jewish families escape to Sweden - the closest country that was neutral and a safe haven for the people who were being hunted. And he was trying to protect the girl who lived next door and who was always on his mind, even when he knew she shouldn't be.
Sonja was trying to get a better seamstress job to start her own life and career when everything happened. Then she was the one taking care of her family when she was traveling with the other Jews by boat and train, since her mother checked out when her father was arrested. She was in charge of her mother and her 5 year old sister Miriam, but was constantly worrying about Isle since she was missing.
Ole Rustad lived on the floor above the Sterns. He was also safe since he was Jewish, but he was put into a compromising situation: he was taking the Jewish families from point A to point B in a taxi. He didn't know where there were going or what was going to happen to them, but he knew that it wasn't good. But Ole Rustad needed the money because his wife and him are expecting another child by Christmas.
Isak has been trying to hide from his family the negative reaction his shop was getting because he is Jewish, but once he was arrested, he had a lot more important things to worry about. When he sees his family at the camp where all Jews were taken to, he became paranoid about what was going to happen to his family.
All of these characters have a different story to tell, and have to deal with terrible inner struggles during a terrible time in history. Marianne Kaurin created a novel that will be sure to bring emotion to all readers who pick up her novel.
I'm not much into historical fiction - especially about WWII or any war. I just can't relate well to these kinds of novels and it makes for a tough read for me. But one of my friends recommended me this novel and I wanted to try something different for me. Even though it took me a little longer than it should have for me to read this short book, I'm glad I did read it because it was very touching.
I can't even imagine going through a period like this. Seriously, thinking about what all of these people had to go through because they were Jewish is terrible and it makes me sad. Being able to get an idea of what each character went through sent chills through me, because all of it was horrifying, no matter if the character was Jewish or not.
The most chilling and saddest line of the book is this:
"Sonja catches sight of a sign hanging over the platform: Auschwitz. It means nothing to her." (page 222)
Since readers would know what the Auschwitz Camp was, we all know the fate of these Jewish people. And to know that they were just regular people trying to raise their family and live their lives, to go through that fate? It breaks my heart.
I gave this 3 stars because I found myself drifting from the book often. Maybe it was the subject rather than the novel, but I do tend to read books faster when there is dialogue, rather than large paragraphs like this book.
I did enjoy this novel. I think Marianne Kaurin did a fantastic job with this book, and for it being her debut novel as well! I think history buffs will really enjoy this book and know a lot of the significance that is in here - more than I did.
I will definitely be adding this as a book to read if you like WWII topics in the teen collection!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews