Consider the structure of the book: the shifting narrative and the shifting timeline. How does the book’s structure influence your understanding of Heuser and his co-defendants?
How well does Thomas convey the era? Did you have a sense of whether or not he remained true to the events, social structures and political events of the time period? How did it confirm or vary from your past knowledge?
Is it difficult to keep our own, modern-day experiences from influencing the reading of a historical fiction tale? Can we imagine what life was really like for the characters within the context of the time period?
Did you like it more or less than other books you've read? What do you think will be your lasting impression of the book?
Though at the novel’s center is an act of shocking violence, this is also a story about many different kinds of love. What are these various forms of love? What role does love play in this novel, and how does love contribute to the feelings you are left with in the end?
How did you feel reading each defendant’s sentencing? Obviously great acts of evil were committed, but do you agree with Kraus’s assessment that the fact that they were normal people before the war should be taken so heavily into account?
Heuser, his colleagues, and the Nazis shrouded all of their horrible actions in the mundane veil of office politics and bureaucracy. What effect did this have on the German men? On their victims? How susceptible do you think you are to this approach to difficult work?
Who do you think is the biggest villain of the book? The biggest hero?
Do you think the Nazis were adequately prosecuted? How important to you think physical evidence is for bringing them to justice? Do you agree with Paula’s professor on the ideal nature of justice?
How well does Thomas convey the era? Did you have a sense of whether or not he remained true to the events, social structures and political events of the time period? How did it confirm or vary from your past knowledge?
Is it difficult to keep our own, modern-day experiences from influencing the reading of a historical fiction tale? Can we imagine what life was really like for the characters within the context of the time period?
Did you like it more or less than other books you've read? What do you think will be your lasting impression of the book?
Though at the novel’s center is an act of shocking violence, this is also a story about many different kinds of love. What are these various forms of love? What role does love play in this novel, and how does love contribute to the feelings you are left with in the end?
How did you feel reading each defendant’s sentencing? Obviously great acts of evil were committed, but do you agree with Kraus’s assessment that the fact that they were normal people before the war should be taken so heavily into account?
Heuser, his colleagues, and the Nazis shrouded all of their horrible actions in the mundane veil of office politics and bureaucracy. What effect did this have on the German men? On their victims? How susceptible do you think you are to this approach to difficult work?
Who do you think is the biggest villain of the book? The biggest hero?
Do you think the Nazis were adequately prosecuted? How important to you think physical evidence is for bringing them to justice? Do you agree with Paula’s professor on the ideal nature of justice?
Would you recommend this book?