Beautifully written story with a fascinating insight into east Germany post war. How 2 children lost their entire families and were thrown together in tragic circumstances. Loved it.

This novel is an intense read. I really wanted to love it, the history within, it right up my alley, but I found it tedious to read.

A beautifully written tale, the identity of the narrator is very clever and really gets you thinking. Would be great for a book club read.

Great title, another good book to add to WWII list. Enjoyed that it was from German children's perspective. Very unique prose in parts.

A wonderful book that will stay with you till the end. Beautifully written and created, however the narration was not really my favourite.

"The Wish Child" is one of those books that made me feel pretty confused. To give up (and I never give up on the books I started reading) or to finish it, whether I am really enthused, or do I really dislike it, i sit real or hardly in touch with reality? How could I have those doubts? That is exactly the question I will try to answer in this review.

The story begins in 1995, introducing Sieglinde, a mature woman with interesting task – to put together the pieces of the GDR documents that the responsible officials tried to destroy after the fall of the Berlin Wall. That's her job and she's doing it exceptionally well, though, part of her is looking for just one name - Erich Kröning, in every single document she's working on. However, to find out who Erich was, we will have to go back to the past and follow two family stories. Both begin in September 1939, either accidentally or not, just in the dramatic moments we are considering the beginning of a great war conflict that we now call - the Second World War.

This war story is told in such an interesting, but rather weird way. The narrator is mysterious, in some of the moments his narrative is so naive and unreal that you will surely wonder - is this person dazzled by propaganda to such a degree or is it really just the inescapable and unconscious evil surrounding it ?! You wonder if it was really possible to deceive the mass so much, that they would defend something unrealistic and unnecessary until the last moment, and at the same time, at least subconsciously, to know that things has not changed much until today.

Still, let's go back to the stories that this interesting narrator conveys to us. In both stories the protagonists are the children. One of the stories follows Sieglinde and her family's life in Berlin, while in the other we meet Erich's life in Leipzig. The stories are about two children growing up in the climax of the personality cult of the person we classify today as one of the greatest criminals in the history of the world, a time in which the differences between the opposing world powers reach a point where there is no return. Yet, for these children, everything is like a game. As time go on, and war is approaching and threatening to surround them completely, they find some child joy, they care for simple family problems and are not aware of everything that is threatening and the cruel times they live in. However, they are aware that something is different, or at least, not the way it should be. To be honest, this is something I can easily identify with, because I was one of those children growing up in the times of war (not Second World War, but Croatian War for independence).
By the end of the novel, fate will merge and then again divide Sieglinde and Erich, and carry them through different ways, the great friendship as well as terrible tragedies of war. Through their destiny, the storyteller will lead us through terrible scenarios that are created solely in warfare. It will take you some time, but you will ultimately realize - our narrator is the child himself. Or, at least, he was a child. A small person deprived of opportunity to meet this world with his own eyes.

"The Wish Child" is a tough but extremely touching story. Although it is mainly fiction, it is driven by so many real events that it is difficult to separate it from reality. This is the story of the evil that distorts peoples and masses, as well as the horrors that affect ordinary people. But, although deeply involved in the book, this is primarily a story dedicated to Child K, a case that has launched a huge wheel of evil and which has finally killed thousands of other children. Ultimately, it is easy to summarize this review in just one sentence; Very difficult topic and a bit tough book, but certainly valuable reading content.

It has been over ten years since the publication of Catherine Chidgey’s previous novel, also historical fiction. This seems a very long time for someone so talented, who can narrate a story with such finesse and poetic elegance. The novel is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Sieglinde Heilman is a young girl growing up with her bourgeois family in Berlin, and Erich Köning is a young boy with his family living outside Leipzig. While Sieglinde’s father is a civil servant working on in censorship bureaucracy, Erich’s father, a farmer, is called up by the Wehrmacht and sent to the Eastern front. The story unfolds to show how Sieglinde and Erich meet in the last, apocalyptic days of the War – which is giving nothing away as the opening chapter reveals that they knew each other through a near-retired Sieglinde searching for evidence of Erich’s whereabouts in 1995. There is a moving and surprising conclusion, one that identifies the hitherto distant and vague narrator.
Nazi Germany seems to have an apparently inexhaustible attraction for writers – entirely justified when a writer like Catherine Chidgey is prompted to write such a gentle, well-observed work. There is an increasing element of symbolist fantasy in the narrative, which throws the reader a little as there was no initial sign that the plot was going to leave the path of grim mundane reality that is wartime Germany. It is an absorbing story, intelligent and literary.

I am the wish child, the future cast in water. I am the thrown coin, the blown candle; I am the fallen star.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a sucker for WWII books, so when I saw The Wish Child on Netgalley I couldn’t resist! After closing the last page, I am not quite sure where to begin, because The Wish Child must be one of the strangest – or should I say most unusual – and haunting WWII books I have ever read! The entire book is being told in the surreal voice of a ghostly omniscient being which seems to follow the two main protagonists Erich and Siggi wherever they go, infiltrates their lives and commentates on the environment of the times. I spent the first half of the book wondering who this narrator could be, and how it is connected to the story. There are a few hints throughout the book, but its true identity is not revealed until the end, when it all falls into place perfectly. As in The Book Thief, where Death narrates the entire novel, this mysterious voice added an air of mystery to the story that made the book stand out for me.

Erich and Siggi are two innocent children caught up in the events of WWII, one growing up as the daughter of a censor in Berlin, the other on a rural property near Leipzig. Bit by bit, their innocence is shattered by the horrors of war, their lives connecting due to unexpected circumstances. By offering a child’s perspective of the propaganda and the general hype surrounding Hitler, the author catches a unique snapshot of this time in history not usually found in other novels of the genre.

“On these nights, when the planes were almost too remote to hear, Sieglinde wished she could climb into her parents’ bed. But this was not a gypsy camp; this was not a den of dogs.”

But Chidgey doesn’t stop there – she also includes small chapters of two ordinary German women’s conversations in the story, as well as the internal dialogue of a teacher taking a class of children on school excursions to Berlin’s factories, where items necessary to the war effort are being produced (and other things too – some very chilling moments here!). The constant danger of living under a dictatorship is beautifully demonstrated in the conversations between Frau Miller and Frau Müller, two factory workers, discussing daily life under Hitler as the war progresses. This may sound unusual, and it certainly was! I loved the way the author manages to capture the essence of the times in those snippets of conversation and musings in often hidden phrases and seemingly innocent words – it was so very cleverly done!

Due to our ghostly narrator, there is an era of mystique but also malice underlying the entire story, which often gave me goosebumps. There are many elements of a kind of magic realism, or symbolism, hidden amongst the pages that convey the full horror of the war, reflected in somewhat puzzling scenes in the book (like the shifting walls of Siggi’s apartment or the snippets of words she keeps hidden in her tin of treasures that take on a life of their own). Whilst most of the actions pertain to the two children’s lives and fates during those horrible war years, the author also catches a perfect snapshot of the general atmosphere and attitudes of many German people during that time, even those small doubts and acts of passive resistance that were often the only thing people felt safe to offer.

Frau Müller: There’s no need. I meant nothing. It means nothing.
Frau Miller: Everything means something.
Frau Müller: The lies that fall from the sky – they are not suitable reading. You should not be reading them. They should be burned.
Frau Miller: Quite right. Quite right. And I do. But sometimes one notices a sentence here and there as one is gathering them to burn.
Frau Müller: One should stop noticing.

This is a very difficult book to review, as it relies so much on its “unusual” elements! I really enjoyed it, although it was (expectedly) very disturbing at times, and had me asking many questions along the way, many of which still haunt me. The Wish Child would undoubtedly make a fantastic book club book, as everyone will have a different take on some of these elements, and I personally would love to be able to discuss them a bit more deeply.

The Wish Child is a clever, multi-layered novel offering a very unique perspective of the events of WWII. Told by a ghostly omniscient narrator and including unusual elements not often found in other novels of the genre, the story takes on a haunting and thought-provoking air that stayed with me long after reading it and made it memorable for me. I thoroughly enjoyed The Wish Child and can fully recommend it to all lovers of historical fiction.

Ooh very interesting book! Slightly strange, and all the more intriguing because of it! The book follows two German families in the build up to and during WW2, seen through the eyes of children. The narrator is an unidentified third party, who is not revealed until the very end of the book, and then - oh my goodness!!! This was a somewhat mysterious read, as you try to make sense of what you're reading. One family are true Nazis, and their beliefs are illustrated throughout the novel., with their son trying to be a good German and follow the Nazi rhetoric.The other family live in Berlin, and are more of an everyday German family- not particularly fanatic, but still keen to obey the rules. A fascinating insight into the buildup of WW2 from the German viewpoint; and then the devastation of Berlin and the Russian invasion, all seen through the eyes of two children as they struggle to survive amid the chaos. This story aroused strong emotions in me, as I followed the children's stories and the ending was incredible! The writer's descriptions of the period are incredible, particularly regarding the attitudes of the German people. A must read for anyone interested in the WW2 period.

One of my favourite eras to read about is WW2. I’ve always been fascinated by my family’s own stories and equally love hearing other people’s. The Wish Child is set in Germany and spans the rise and fall of the Nazi party. We follow two children, whose lives come to intertwine forever.

Erich lives on a rural farm near Leipzig and his experience of the war is very different to middle class Berliner Sieglinde’s. Each child’s life gradually becomes harder. The prosperity and dedication we see at the beginning of the novel becomes desperation and pain. Food is scarce, opinions about the goverment change and family members are missing.

Catherine Chidgey lived for two years in Berlin in the early 90s. Her personal experience enriches the novel. The writing and descriptions are immersive so you really get a feel for what living in Germany during the war was really like. The novel is well researched and beautifully written. The lives of ordinary families are peppered with quotes from songs and speeches of the time. This blurs the reader’s reality with that of the characters.

The novel is relayed to us via an anonymous narrator who seems to watch over Erich and Sieglinde. It is only during the last section of the novel when the narrator’s identity is revealed and everything instantly makes sense. I found this last section to be the most enjoyable and appreciated the faster pace. After reading the ending I immediately wanted to re-read. To experience the rest of the novel with the knowledge I had gleaned from the end.

I have to admit that whilst reading, I felt frustrated at the pace and was a little lost at points. The dramatic change of pace and unravelling of mysteries that make up the book’s conclusion was unsettling. It was for this reason that I immediately gave it a three-star rating. However, upon reflection, I really appreciate the quality of the writing and this is an important story that needs to be shared. I’ve recently amended my rating to four stars.

I learnt so much about the everyday German’s experience of the war, alongside horrific facts detailing the grim reality of the Nazi party’s ambition. I would definitely recommend The Wish Child if you have an interest in the second world war, or if you enjoy well written family sagas.

In 1939 Sieglinde Heilmann is 6 years old as World War II starts, her family living comfortably in western Berlin. Likewise Erich Kröning is a little towhead doted on by his family in the rural outskirts of Leipzig. I was fascinated by these families, as they coped with changing conditions and were manipulated by ultra-nationalism; and I loved all the details about their relatives and histories and disregard for foreigners. While I have to admit I was confused by the title and the mysterious narrator, it did not detract from my utter enjoyment of this book; indeed keeping the identity under wraps until the end was a genius move on the part of the author, as was her tying in references to the Saxon bog child mummy. Not understanding stuff like people-shaped beehives carved out of wood, or strange noises in the night shifting walls that expand an Aryan apartment while diminishing the size of the Jew neighbors', all of that helps put the reader in the mindset of a little kid. Plenty of stuff doesn't make sense to children, particularly during wartime, and especially when the entire nation is being fed lies and obfuscation.
It takes a brilliant author to write a book about little kids and war this entertaining and actually funny. Siggi's class trips to factories with her teacher's bombastic propagandizing, and also the ongoing bickering between seeming-frenemies Frau Miller and Frau Müller had me laughing out loud at German personality quirks that remain ingrained today here in Berlin nearly 80 years later!

Firstly, this is definitely not a book to judge by its cover: it's far more robust, intelligent and self-aware than this rather saccharine image implies. It's no mean feat to write a novel set mainly during the war years in Nazi Germany without falling back into all the usual tropes and clichés, but Chidgey has managed it. One of the most perplexing and fundamental questions that continues to be asked is how did 'normal' Germans feel about what was happening: this book deals with that, showing us two families, one in Berlin, one near Leipzig, getting on with family life and bringing up their children - and we see the chilling way in which they internalise Nazi ideology.

Chidgey is often implicit rather than explicit: the Loewenthals who are 'sensible' enough to send their children away; the enthusiastic school visits to factories which manufacture yellow stars and, later, things made from human hair, the auctions of household goods from empty apartments where 'up and down went the arms of the buyers, saluting the acquisition of these new possessions', subtly evoking the Nazi salute.

There are also moments that come close to a kind of magic realism: the dividing walls of the apartments that seem to move so that the German rooms increasingly encroach on the space of the Jewish neighbours, the words cut out by the German censor that take on almost a palpable life of their own. There are touches of <i>1984</i> in the father's occupation, and the way that the term 'mercy' is used towards the end. There's even some use of a mini-chorus of Frau Miller and Frau Müller who comment more widely on what's happening, <spoiler> and perhaps some allegorising as the two children, divided by the post-war partition of Germany, come back together at the end.</spoiler>

This isn't a character-driven novel and, to some extent, all the characters are functions of the book's purpose, even the mysterious and omniscient narrator, the eponymous 'wish child'. The last section set after the war perhaps loses focus and dilutes what has gone before as we jump through to the 1980s and 1990s (hence my dropping of one star), but overall this is beautifully-written and offers a different perspective on a period of European history which continues to both fascinate and bewilder.