Luisa

A Jewish Family Saga #4.5

by Roberta Kagan

Monsters are not born. They are bred.After all, the devil was once an angel...Luisa Eisenreich was not blessed with fortune. Daughter to an abandoned father and a maid for a mother, she knew that a life of success and happiness was not in her cards.She found solace in the arms of Noam Horowitz, the only son to the wealthy Jewish family her mother cleaned for. For once, it seemed that possibility and love could be in her future.Until Noam announced his engagement to a jewish girl, completely shattering any glimmer of happiness Luisa had.A deep bitterness begins to fester within Luisa's heart, a bitterness that will propel her desire for revenge against all those that made her suffer. She forms a friendship with Paula, a poor German girl, and sister to a rising politician in the German government.A man by the name of Adolf Hitler.And so began her life. A life full of triumph and decay, love and loss, and ultimately, a collection of unspeakable choices that would forever leave their mark on Germany.A villain is a victim whose story has never been told.This is the story of Luisa Eisenreich.

Genres: Historical Fiction

142 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2021

About the author

I’m an American writer of Jewish and Romany decent. I write Historical Fiction and Historical Romance, most of which is set during the holocaust. Although I never discount the horrors of the time period, the main focus of my work is on ordinary people who prove to be strong heroic characters in unfathomable circumstances.

Facebook Author page:
http://www.facebook.com/Rkagan4

Facebook Book Club:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/14942...

Instagram:
RobertaKaganAuthor

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but an awesome story with Luisa as a main character. Impossible to not enjoy this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author could probably write a training manual and I’d devour it.
Such a great short read!!

[Evelyn Gorelik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and well written as usual. I had no idea Hitler had sisters.

[Janice Alter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Roberta Kagan book that was hard to put down! These familynsagas set during the Holocaust are hard to put down!

[mark gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roberta, my favorite Author

I enjoyed Roberta letting us know what what happened to Luisa. It was another great read, Roberta is the best author.

[Debbie Trammell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful book

People just don't realize what hate can do. The Nazi's and their followers were filled with it not to mention drugs. The individuals were taught hate from the beginning and yes it can be taught. Such a powerful lesson to be learned and never repeated.

[David Samaras · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "Luisa", Roberta Kagan allows her readers to experience the hardship of living in Germany and Austria from the early 1900s to the end of World War II.
Readers will live through the poverty and despair and will gain a clearer understanding of the psychological trauma her characters experienced during those years. The birth of and the rise of the Nazi Party and Hitler's reign of terror can now be better understood through the eyes and minds if Paula, Goldie and Luisa.
Even through the darkest period of human history the spark of love, hope and forgiveness survived.
This is a chilling and enlightening story that is a must read for all who wish to broaden their understanding of of WWII and the Holocaust.

[Stacey B · Rating 5 out of 5]

142 pages 5.0
I first met Luisa in Roberta Kagan's book "The Syndrome That Saved Us" -which is the book written before this one. That book was emotional and I wanted closure on a character named Luisa. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I saw the author had written exactly that as the final book in this particular saga.
Written in the synopsis are three lines that are accurate, especially when the subject is WW2.
"Monster's aren't born. They are bred.
After all, the devil was once an angel...."
///
I have never met anyone that could possibly resemble Luisa's persona. When thinking of her I become disturbed and anxious.
The kindest words I can find to pin on Luisa are horrid and evil.
Can "monsters" have remorse for actions they inflict on others.-
Not when you are bred to recognize your actions will be heroic.
Thank goodness for karma. I was hoping it would hunt Luisa down early so she would suffer from her all her inflicted actions that were deplorable and irreversible. Suffering for a second, a minute or a day is not long enough for Luisa.
For me to feel this way long after the book was read is my signal of a well written book.
Though this may be a novel of fiction, I have always learned new facts that are documented - from each book this author has written.

[Joan Clemente · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual twist to the Holocaust

Normally books about the Holocaust are about the camps, the suffering of the Jewish people, the mass murders and mass graves. This book was not like that. Instead it was from the point of view of a young German girl who was so full of hate that she fell so easily under the "Nazi spell". The horror of the Holocaust is there but so is the element of how some ordinary Germans fell under the Nazi's spell. Ultimately Luisa is destroyed by the Holocaust too. It is a well written book. I do not in any way condone Luisa's behavior nor what the Nazi's did.

[jeannette Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean38no

I enjoyed this book. The main character was a thread through her other books of the saga of aJewish family before, during and after WWII. So much of the dialogue had already happened in the previous books. I think she just wanted to show that evil doesn’t pay. That a person with evil in their hearts in the end will lose all they have or want.

[Christine Cazeneuve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind Luisa

This book, albeit short, is just a slightly longer in depth retelling of Luisa's story. Much of it is an exact restatement of her story through the series, however, her friendship with Paula is new. Paula is Hitler's sister and this makes for an interesting story. Also it gives closure to Luisa's life which was left unknown in the final book.

[Rachelle Rand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this novella out of order and now need to read the others in the series. I couldn’t put it down and read it over the course of one evening. Most wwII stories are from the Jewish perspective where as this is entirely different and refreshing! I can see where over time and and generations people grasp different views. Look at the US as an example….We can not forget.

[Carolyn Scarcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally I read a popular author by Roberta Keegan who wrote the book called “Luisa”. It was short and quick series saga. This book is very captivating, unbearable, and it was very hard not to put the book down, because the story written was very simple and riveting. Yet of course it was horrendous to see how evil, monstrous, and influence Luisa was. She was main character and no wonder why things came back to haunt her. It was impossible for me not enjoy this book.

[Sherry Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This is an easy read and the end to a great family saga! I enjoyed and quickly read the whole series.

[Avid Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a waste of words. Not even close to the caliber of writing in the first book.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but interesting. I like the way Roberta has woven real life people into her fiction.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Twisted Story of Hate and Tragedy

A woman is caught up in Hitler’s ideals that mirror her own beliefs and consume her life. A pitiful story

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this series!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

Excellent book. I really enjoyed it. I plan on reading more of Ms. Karan’s books. Very good stories and author.

[Yvette Tsiropoulos · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a quick read, short story. The narrative almost throughout sounds contrived. Some tweaking is needed, e.g. through more than half way in the book, Luisa is addressed as "Frau" which means Mrs. in German, instead of Fraulein.
Reference to Noam returning from 'college' shows lack of cultural reference by the author.
Inconsistency about Luisa's residence, referred to as "a women's boarding house", then a few pages later as "a women's hotel" with the same happening later in the story.
At least the author seems to have done a good amount of historical research.