The World That We Knew
by Alice Hoffman
due 9-24-2019
Simon and Schuster
5.0 / 5.0

#netgalley. #TheWorldThatWeKnow

Alice Hoffman has shared a very essential and harrowing story of the Nazi invasion in Berlin, in the 1940s, and of The Resistance that helped Jewish people to hide and escape. Not since reading 'Night' by Wiesel, have I been so taken and consumed with emotion by a story about the humiliation and torture of Jewish people, forced upon them by the heartless Germans. The detail is richly developed, the emotion so deep, the story flows at a perfect pace for so much emotion.
I was drawn into the lives of Julien, Hanni, Lea, Ettie and Victor...I wanted to know their story. I wanted them to be successful, I wanted them to stay alive.
The abuse and deprivation and lack of common decency.
The glory and happiness when a loved one or friend received word by post, then, when it became to dangerous, by heron, that they were safe and alive.
The Resistance helped forged vistas, drivers license, ration cards, to help Jews survive and move to safe havens in Spain and Switzerland, many hiding them at great risk to their own safety.
This book made me: cry... Laugh..Get pissed off.. Get happy..get angry...get excited. This book made me feel. I was completely taken by the emotional story of humanity, decency, self-respect and escape. And also the lack of humanity, decency and self-respect.
This should be on everyones must read list...its fantastic...its important...especially in this time of out history when personal ambivalence and deceit are more important than people.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for sending this e-book ARC for review.

This story by Alice Hoffman is WWII historical fiction peppered with a dash of magical realism. The story starts in Germany at the time of the war, but mostly takes place in France. The angel of death appears to several characters in the story who continually either fear or fight off its presence. A desperate mother seeks the creation of a golem - a creature thought to be only in Jewish folklore - a creature that could be invincible in it's mission to get Hanni's daughter out of Germany safely and protect her throughout the war. The rabbi's wife is incensed by this request, exclaiming, "All over the city daughters are being murdered." She is doubtful that such a creature is even possible to create and furthermore, that it may be a sin to even speak of it. The rabbi's wife turns Hanni away but Ettie, the rabbi's daughter, escorting out Hanni, decides that she will create the golem. She will take the payment. She will get herself and her sister out of Germany, even if her father decides the family will stay.
The story is beautifully written, with alternating points of view, and themes to ponder about humanity, desperation, faith, longing, pared with resistance and triumph over the enemy.
I like to read WWII stories, because all fantastical elements aside, so I *never forget* that you can NEVER take your rights or your country's laws for granted! The Jewish communities during the war tried to tough it out when they experienced anti-semitism. But slowly and surely every right was taken away - the right to education - the right to do business - the right to exercise freedom of religion - until even their citizenship and right to life were taken away. These things slip away and must never be allowed to happen again. (But it has, and time and again, the world community allows it).
The creature, which they name Ava, is a marvel to Ettie. Creation of an intelligent, devoted being, one who's sole purpose is to protect, it begins to evolve into something more humane than humanity. Ettie wonders how Ava can be without a soul. How can Ava continue to be so devoted, even after learning that the "fate" of golems are to serve and then to end at the hand of their maker?
This story's overall message, in my opinion, among other things, is that strong-minded girls make for strong women, always fight for your survival at all costs, and that love conquers all, it just takes time.

I had a hard time coming to terms with magical realism and the Holocaust coming together in a book. I almost didn’t finish it. However, it turned out beautifully. The story is sad, beautiful, appalling, and exciting, all wrapped in one. I’m glad I finished it. There really are some beautiful passages. I received a free digital copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wish to thank Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for allowing me the pleasure of reading The World that We Knew, by Alice Hoffman. She has always been one of my favorite authors. That being said, I never thought that my enjoyment would ever surpass that which I felt reading The Dovekeepers, and her Marriage of Opposites. I was wrong. The World That We Knew blew me away. The story and the characters were mesmerizing. The story opened in Berlin, 1941. Hitler was successfully demolishing any sense of decency and morality for millions of people, particularly Jewish people. The story that evolved was very complex. It was about love, and loss, despair; and in the end, I even felt a sense of hopefulness for the human condition.. This story taught me many things. One of the most interesting was the concept of a Golem, a mystical Jewish creature. It would ruin the story to go into too much detail, I only hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

There are no words to describe how much this book moved me, and how much I loved it. My heart hurts, those fucking nazi's. All I can say for now is Alice Hoffman, the Holocaust, a golem, and love. 'Nuff said.

Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 4
Plot development: 4
Characters: 5
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of Reading: 5

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

What a beautiful book! I have been a fan of Alice Hoffman for a long time, but O was skeptical of how much I would like magical realism mixed with historical fiction. I shouldn’t have been! The book was well researched and beautifully executed. There were a few too many characters to keep up with and the ending was a little confusing. Otherwise, I adored this read.

“In Berlin evil came to them slowly and then all at once. The rules changed by the hour, the punishments grew worse, and the angel in the black coat wrote down so many names in his Book of Death there was no room for the newly departed.”

I’ve always been drawn to stories about the Holocaust, the dichotomy of the pure evil that led to so many being persecuted and murdered and the courage, love, and strength shown by those who defied the evil and struggled to survive and/or help others survive. As a long time fan of Alice Hoffman, I was excited to read about this time through her mystical lens. Thankfully, The World that we Knew lived up to my expectations. This is a powerful novel about a terrible time in our history and I highly recommend reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Schuster for giving me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Alice Hoffman so much. I love all of her books, and the characters and stories that she creates are amazing. I have read a lot of her more recent work, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Publishing for an honest review.

That being said, I’m truly between a 4 and 5 star rating. I really enjoyed Hoffman’s writing style, it’s very magical and it drew me in right from the beginning.

This truly is a story of a mother’s love and the many forms it can take. Hanni is desperate to get her daughter, Lea, safely out of Berlin, realizing that the Jewish people will face great loss and hardship. She turns to a local rabbi for help, but ends up meeting his fierce and brace daughter, Ettie, who creates a mystical Jewish creature called a Golem. This Golem, Ava, has the sole responsibility of keeping Lea safe no matter the cost to herself or others.

I found Ava’s character to be quite remarkable and I haven’t read much about the Jewish religion, but the whole Golem topic is now very interesting to me.

Oh and the heron... what a beautiful character! I found myself so drawn to the bits that included descriptions and plot action that included that majestic bird!

I have started to write this about 10 times and simply cannot express the blend of tragedy and joy you will find in this book. Hoffman has taken the horrifying historical context of the Holocaust and distilled it into the stories of four women. It‘s about survival, disbelief, love, courage, and humanity. It takes a writer as skilled as Hoffman to take these heart-wrenching stories and tell them with such grace and beauty.

The story begins and ends with love - the undying, monumental love of a mother for her child. Hoffman’s trademark magical realism is here in the form of Ava, the golem created to keep Lea safe who performs her job to perfection. In the face of unimaginable horror, ordinary people find strength, courage, and yes, love.

The best of the year for me.

I think I'm going to have to just give up on Ms. Hoffman. I want to love her work. I should love her work. It is right up my alley. Magical realism set in some far off point in time. Win win. Except, when it's not. This is her take on WWII and the magical realism aspect of it just doesn't seem plausible. I know- it's "magical" realism. But, it just doesn't work here. Even if it is by magic!

That her works also usually include a love story don't seem to do it for me either. The characters were flat. Each and every one of them. I understand the need to be stoic and as mere children they would be shell shocked during this horrible time. However, as characters, they just weren't well developed or likable. 30% in and was bored. I kept going along and it overall remained slow and not very captivating.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Some of the most amazing and touching authors are those that are able to transcend space and time and create a narrative that reaches to the heart of the reader, no matter the setting. Alice Hoffman is one of those people. This book revolves around the story of a young woman in Germany at the height of the second World War. She is saved entirely by her mother's ingenuity in finding a way to have a golem created to protect her daughter. However, what transpires after this is not in the least bit science fiction. At the heart of it, this is a tale of the love between a mother and daughter, between two lovers, and between an activist and their cause. The story was so passionately written that it pained me to have finished it today. However, I know that it will live on in book form soon and I will be eagerly awaiting its delivery in physical form.
I think this book would appeal to anyone who appreciates a well formed fiction novel of any sort and urge EVERYONE to pick it up.

As always Alice Hoffman draws you in and grabs your attention from the start. Her blend of history and magic in the book ties together perfectly.

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
I requested a free e-book copy of this novel from NetGalley because I have loved everything I have read by Alice Hoffman. I haven’t read all of her works, but the ones I have read have gutted me deeply, made me love and feel and hurt. This one proved to be no exception. The cultural practices and beliefs that are explained, the symbolism of the heron, the history that comes to life…this book could easily become a modern classic for college lit class reading lists, but it’s also approachable enough for non-academic book clubs to enjoy.
What I liked:
The plot structure with the interwoven stories of Lea, Ettie, Julien, Marianne, and Victor worked better than I thought it would in the beginning. At first, I didn’t care for the way the plot seemed to hop around, but it quickly became evident that these stories would make sense and come back together.
I can’t fill my reading diet with books like this because I need to read for pleasure and escape, but reading fiction that makes me understand history on a far more personal level is always valuable. This book affected me much like Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Tatiana de Rosnay’s Sarah’s Key did. I always appreciate reading a historical novel that introduces a new aspect of the history to me that I had not previously encountered.
What I didn’t love:
The sense of place, beyond the general France in World War II designation, was lost on me. Each chapter states at the beginning when and specifically where it is taking place, but all of those places ran together for me and disrupted the flow of my reading. Setting takes a backseat to plot in this novel.
Because Hoffman’s story focuses on so many character’s inner thoughts and feelings, even into minor characters beyond the primarily ones whose stories comprise the interwoven plot, none of them seem thoroughly developed. Maybe it’s because I read so much YA and am used to 1-2 well-developed characters, but this approach isn’t my favorite. I can deal with it, though, because a single book cannot be everything to every reader, and I can let this element go to gain the positives I listed in the section above.
Overall verdict: I’ll definitely recommend this one to adult readers, but only when they’re ready for a book that will make them think and maybe even cry. It’s not light reading, but it’s valuable reading.

The World That We Knew was an amazing book set in 1940s Germany. The story echos the horror of that time and place but Alice Hoffman writes such a beautiful and powerful story.

I feel that this book should be read by all to make everyone remember what hate does to the world and how love and kindness is always the right choice to make.

The other part I must share about this book is that fact that I can not wait for my daughter to read it. She is still a little to young but in a year or two she can def read this and learn so much

Thanks to NetGalley for the ArC of this book. A tale of magic and love. A tale that gives you hope. This was a beautiful story with hints of magical realism.

I received a complimentary e-book copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Alice Hoffman, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was ANOTHER beautiful book by Alice Hoffman who is one of my favorite authors! I started reading this book over a week ago and was HOARDING it because her writing is just so delicate, lovely, colorful, and gorgeous - it is EVERYTHING. This book, as have all of this author's books that I have read, has an incredible plot and detailed character development. I can visualize in color all of the locations, characters, and plot activities as I am reading. The writing is beyond anything else that I have ever encountered. Pure beauty!

I keep reading books about WWII and most especially about the atrocities that happened to the Jewish people. These books move me. But, I most especially wonder what would I have done during those horrible times and what am I doing TODAY to ensure that this never happens again. Very convicting.

This book is not a light reading to inhale by the beach - it is like a beautiful Cabernet to be savored and enjoyed slowly. I highly and definitely recommend this incredible book. Read this book!!

Alice Hoffman is by far one of my favorite storytellers and she didn't disappoint with The World That We Knew. This is a story of strong women, motherly love, heartbreak and of course a little bit of magic. I don't know if I can do it justice with my own words. This book left me with all the feels and I deeply enjoyed it.

Alice Hoffman takes a deep commitment to Jewish history, and blends it with her signature magical/mystical atmosphere, and brings us another angle on the Holocaust. Told from the perspective of Resistance fighters, women attempting to flee, much of the setting of the book is outside Paris, outside Germany, in the small mountain villages and chateaus that did what they could for humanity.

To me, there's a style to Hoffman's writing, that seems instantly recognizable. The World That We Knew isn't as quickly identified as her writing, yet there is that certain something... that uncanny ability to write sparely, yet give perfect imagery of a person/personality, a setting, an emotion. I love that I can "see" everything she describes, yet no point is belabored or excessively described. What a gift!

This is an achingly beautiful story of love, loss, nature, and the horrors brought forth by the Nazis. It's a memory, and a reminder. Timely.