A View Across The Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman was a painful yet beautiful book to read. The story takes place durning WW2 when parts of the world was divided in the worst way. This story was beautiful in the way of the hope and humanity that it showed with one person risking everything to save another person.
A View Across The Rooftop is a must read! It will remind all that kindness and humanity still can exist even in the darkest times!

It isn't often that I'm still thinking about a book many weeks after having finished it, but this book is one of those rare exceptions. These characters are resilient, and they keep coming back into my mind, especially Josef. This is one of those unputdownable novels that makes you want to read passages out loud to those around you, even if it means they will think you are crazy.

By the end of the first chapter, I knew I was hooked, and read this over the period of two days, even though I knew I had other things to do. I always find it interesting when I am more concerned that there are only a few pages left in a book and start worrying about what I could possibly read next that would be as good than I am ready to celebrate that I am near the end. I still haven't read anything as good as this since.

I'm not sure I would classify this as a romance, in some ways I suppose it is, but in others, it is so much more than that and to classify it that way is to somehow cheapen it. This is a story of an unlikely friendship, an average man becoming a hero he didn't know he could be, and a historical novel that will make you think about the world we came from, the world we live in now and what might happen again in the future.

Simply put, this is a beautiful novel, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

As a fan of WW2 fiction, A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is unlike any other I have read. A touching tale of love, hope, courage and betrayal in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, it is evocative, emotional, unsettling and yet it is hauntingly beautiful.

It's 1941 and the Nazi's have invaded Amsterdam, taking it over and setting up occupation in the name of the Fuhrer. There are German soldiers at every turn making the Dutch town a dangerous place to live. Radios were confiscated, food, clothes and medicine were in short supply and with their city under complete rule of the Nazis, the people were isolated from the outside world.

Professor Josef Held has never gotten over the loss of his beloved wife Sarah who died 20 years ago whilst giving birth to their first child. He has barely lived in the time since, refusing to forgive himself for letting it happen. By day he teaches advanced mathematics at the university and by night he sits at home alone with his cat, eating a plain and simple meal and listening to his neighbour play her piano. He has no intention of letting anyone else into his world...this existence in which he lives until the day he rejoins his beloved Sarah.

A sympathetic and compassionate man, Josef does not think of himself as brave. He has no intention of involving himself in the war around him. He just wants his life to remain as simple as possible. And yet, one night his life is changed forever when the Nazis come for his neighbour, Mrs Epstein, who both delighted and soothed his soul every evening with her beautiful piano. She begs him to help her but is wretched from his arms by the Nazis and shot. Josef is horrified and speechless. But more than that...he feels an incredible guilt as the Nazis thanked him for his good work. He knew then that he had a hand in his neighbour's demise when he told his niece Ingrid of his Jewish neighbour who played the piano, teaching local children how to play. And now Josef must live with what he has done.

Michael Blum is a young Jewish man and a student of Josef's at the university. He is a dreamer, a romantic, a poet and cares nothing for mathematics...but is following his father's aspirations to study numbers in the belief that he would make something of himself. But Michael comes up against adversity when Jews are banned from attending classes and in a final act of defiance completes his last exam with the writings of Josef's late wife's favourite poets, Rilke.

Michael wants nothing more than to live a quiet life on his girlfriend Elke's houseboat, writing poetry and making love. But when his childhood friend David comes knocking frantically, the Gestapo hot on his heels, Michael then attempts to escape the city...but David is killed. With frantic promises to Elke, Michael flees to the one person he feels he can trust.

When Josef hears the insistent banging on his door he worries that the Nazis have returned after shooting his neighbour in cold blood. But upon opening his door he is surprised to find his former student Michael, terrified and shaking...and a Jew on the run for his life. Without thinking twice, Josef offers Michael safe shelter in his attic for the night. But things become far too dangerous and fearing his house is under watch, Josef concedes that Michael must stay if he is to survive. This is especially true with Ingrid working with the Third Reich and dating a high level SS officer - Major Heinrich von Strauss - putting his life at an even greater risk. But after the death of his neighbour, the Major was of the firm belief that Josef was "one of the good Dutch". Indeed he was...just not in the way the Major thought.

Then there is Ingrid. As Josef's niece, she was orphaned at a young age when Josef himself was still grieving the loss of his own wife and was unable to take on the care of the little girl. So she was sent to live with relatives and attend boarding school...leaving Josef feeling guilty that he should've been there for Ingrid in her younger years. Now she is an adult and excited about her new job with the Third Reich. Josef is mortified. But Ingrid is naive in her knowledge of the Nazis, believing she is on the path to a better life - a richer life - with Heinrich by her side.

Meanwhile there are elements of romance throughout. While in the shadowy quiet of his secret room, Michael regales Josef with stories of his beautiful fearless girlfriend Elke, with whom he insists that not even the Nazis will come between. But Elke is a non-Jewish Dutch woman and their relationship is strictly forbidden. Furthermore, there is also Hannah Porter who works at the university where Josef teaches. Completely unaware that Hannah is interested in him, Josef surprisingly finds himself also intrigued by her but believes her to be a married woman so refuses to pay any heed to his attraction. But Hannah, who lives with her aging mother Clara, is a widow and tries in vain to capture the attentions of the somewhat aloof and indifferent professor. But given the troubled times in which they live, was it wise to embark on a new relationship?

A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is not a fast paced tale and yet it is so beautifully told that you find yourself so immersed within the story that you devour it all too quickly. I read it in two sittings, staying up till 3.30am until I turned the final page.

A haunting tale, A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is unlike any WW2 historical novel. Every character draws you in as you invest yourself in each of their stories, whether they be good or bad, devouring it all with baited breath. Josef's heroic actions, Michael's strength, Ingrid's naivete, Elke's fearlessness, Hannah's courage, even Heinrich's insidiousness. By the end, I was left both heartbroken and satisfied.

A VIEW ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS is not just another Holocaust or WW2 story. It is something else entirely. Poignant, moving, tragic and heartbreaking but it is also inspiring, beautiful and hopeful. You will need a box of tissues for this one...but you won't regret it.

I would like to thank #SuzanneKelman, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #AViewAcrossTheRooftops in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful story of friendship, love, courage, sacrifice and survival amidst the horrors of occupied Holland during World War 2.

I’m often interested to know what inspires authors in their writing - in this case it was the true story of a man who’d deliberately contracted a deadly disease just to get medicine for the Jewish person he was hiding. Combining this with her own research, the author has successfully penned a novel that I would highly recommend without any hesitation.

Each character was so well depicted and through these character’s lives the reader is able to capture a real sense of the unethical treatment of the Jewish population in Amsterdam throughout the war. It would seem that one of the author’s aims in the writing of this story was to portray the fact that war heroes did not just exist on the battlefield. So many unsung heroes were just ordinary Dutch citizens - and the author has successfully portrayed this through the character of Josef in particular, but also Hannah and Michael.

Whilst Suzanne Kelman is already an established writer, this was the first historical fiction book she has written and I hope she writes more of this genre. Historical fiction is my favourite genre to read and this book was every bit as good as some of the well-known WW2-themed titles published in recent years.

I am grateful to the publisher, Bookouture for an advance digital copy of this book via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

1941 Amsterdam is not a very safe place to be. You need not be a Jew to feel unsafe. Professor Held is a quiet man. He lost his wife years ago and since then leads a solitary life, attending to his university job with care and diligence but not with any great passion.

When he unexpectedly offers shelter to Michael a Jew on the run, it is completely out of character and something he never envisaged. When this hiding of the fugitive continues for years, it becomes a game of deadly hide and seek with the omnipresent Nazis using neighbours, relations and friends to rout out Jew and Resistance sympathizers.

When his own niece, his only relative becomes intimately involved with a Nazi officer and turns informant he knows he is risking it all as everything and the network can be blown sky high. Michael needs to get back to Elke his Dutch partner and to keep Michael alive Josef Held has to use all his powers of serenity and good sense to keep matters on an even keel.

Another excellent story on this turbulent part of all our lives set in Amsterdam highlighting unheard of heroes.

A View Across te Rooftops is set during World War 2. It is a beautiful story that highlights both, the best and worst of humanity during the time period. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC

There seem to be a lot of WWII stories being published at the moment covering all aspects of the War, A View Across the Rooftops is the best I have read so far.
The story is based in Amsterdam and tells us not only of the remarkable bravery and resilience of ordinary people against the Nazi regime, but also how some people were pulled in to the regime.
You feel a connection with all of the characters, even Ingrid who chooses a different path and are willing them to make it safely through the war.
The fact that the basis of this story is a real life act of courage makes this story even more poignant.
A first class read that will take you through every emotion.
I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley and the Publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This book was amazing! The historical fiction regarding WWII in Amsterdam was so well researched. The heart of characters from Elje, to Michael, to Professor to Mrs. Pender was so well crafted. The use of Rilke poetry through the book was very effective. The story has so much emotion that I kept reading far into the night to finish. This novel is definitely going to stay with me as the theme of value of one life resonated to my heart. Well done! 5 stars!!!!

EXCERPT: As Held walked home that evening, he bought a bottle of wine with his groceries as he dwelled on his day. The loss was acute. He knew it was just a wireless, a thing, an object, but it was what it represented to him. Hadn't the Nazis already taken so much? Their town, their way of life, their hope. Why was one more thing so important? They were already stripped and surrendered. What was the point of taking even more? And what would they do with his wireless? The sting of resentment coursed through him as he imagined it taking pride of place in some Nazi's home or, worse, getting dusty on some German requisition shelf. What harm could come to Germany from a mathematics professor with a wireless tuned to a classical music station?

ABOUT THIS BOOK: 1941, Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. An unforgettable story of love, hope and betrayal, and a testament to the courage of humanity in history’s darkest days.

As Nazis occupy his beloved city, Professor Josef Held feels helpless. So when he discovers his former pupil Michael Blum is trying to escape the Gestapo, he offers Michael a place to hide in his attic.

In the quiet gloom of the secret room, Michael talks of his beautiful, fearless girlfriend, Elke. Michael insists that not even the Nazis will come between them. But Elke is a non-Jewish Dutch girl, and their relationship is strictly forbidden.

Josef sees the passionate determination in his young friend’s eyes. Furious with the rules of the cruel German soldiers and remembering his own heartbreak, Josef feels desperate to give Michael and Elke’s love a chance. But then tragedy strikes, and Josef is faced with an impossible choice.

In the dark days of war, with danger and betrayal at every turn, no-one can be trusted. If Michael is to survive and get back to the woman he loves, it will be down to Josef – to find the hero inside himself, and do whatever it takes to keep Michael alive.

Even if it means putting his own life in mortal danger.

MY THOUGHTS: A View Across the Rooftops never quite drew me in and enveloped me. I found it quite superficial, sanitised, rather than heart-wrenching. It makes oblique references to the atrocities that were inflicted on the Jewish population, but the closest it gets to the real thing is a brief description of the rounding up and trucking out of the Jews from the ghetto. And even that is dealt with rather gently.

This is a gentle book. A light, easy read that stirred no emotions in me whatsoever. And to be truthful, I began to lose interest in the middle. It picked up again at about 80% through, but at no point did I feel the raw emotion I have experienced with some other books dealing with the same subject.

More than a story of a man surviving German occupation and sheltering a Jew in his attic for most of the duration of the war, it is more a story of a man coming to terms with himself and his past, enabled by the war, and learning to live again.

My favourite quote from A View Across the Rooftops: 'It's hard for anyone to breathe in all of that, so much sadness in the air.'

#AViewAcrossThe Rooftops #NetGalley

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Born in the United Kingdom, Suzanne now resides in Washington State.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on my webpage sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Amazon, Twitter and my webpage

4.5 stars
This is an emotional, thought provoking read which manages to be both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

The author does a great job of setting the scene in this book so the reader feels like they are actually there watching everything unfold. I loved the sense of community spirit that existed with the characters showing strength and determination despite living in abject fear. The characters showed a lot of courage as they were willing to risk their lives to try and help others. I can’t imagine living through such a scary time and the fact that some of these stories are true adds a lot of emotion to the story as the events on the book probably did happen.

The story progresses at a great pace and all the storylines came together very well. The author manage to mix historical facts with fiction to make a truly compelling read which held my attention. I enjoyed following all the characters personal stories whilst learning more about Amsterdam and the holocaust during the war.

This is unbelievably the author’s debut novel and I’m very excited to read more from her in the future. If you are a fan of historical fiction set in the second world war then you’ll love this book.

Huge thanks to Sarah Hardy for Inc me onto the blog tour and to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

Historical Romantic Fiction, not my normal genre but boy am I glad I made a exception for this.
A book that will induce a book hangover. A book that will stay with you long after you have finished it.
WW11 in Amsterdam. An insight into the terrible persecutions, the amazing bravery and the sheer determination of a people at war with the Nazis and at times with themselves. Beautifully written and all the more shocking that’s it’s based on true stories.

I ADORED this book. It was everything I love in a book and more. What a wonderful story!!! I could not stop reading once I got past the first 2 or 3 chapters.
It did start off a little slow and I wasn’t sure where the story was going but when it took off it was really a page turner. I loved every character!! Susanne Kelmen did a wonderful job with developing each characters story, back story, and really brought them to life. Such a great story about love and friendship, loss and sacrifice. One strives to have a friendship like that of Joseph and Micheal.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book. It's a gem and I truly recommend it.

I cannot describe how I loved this book!! This is a favorite genre of mine and I am always so interested in the different perspectives you can get. This book gave me all sorts of emotions at once. It is written beautifully. I know when I cry hard at the end of a book, it is definitely a 5 star review for me!! Thank you Net Galley and Suzanne. I look forward to seeing more from you!!

Epic. There is no other way to describe this story. It is an incredible journey through occupied Amsterdam, from 1941 to after the war in 1947. The characters are realistic, and the author did an excellent job of creating a representative cross-section of people, from the Nazi sympathizer to the members of the Dutch Resistance. When it comes to books, I am not a crier, but I found myself tearing up several times at both the sheer beauty and the utter despair on the pages. This is one of my favorite books I have read this year, by far. For a detailed review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a complimentary, pre-release, digital ARC of the book.

As well as being a huge book geek, I am also a history nerd. I absolutely love reading books set during the Second World War too. I studied Modern History at A Level and of course the Second World War formed a large part of the course. Anyway enough of my burblings about being a nerd and geek. The synopsis of ‘A View Across The Rooftops’ told me that I had to read it as soon as I could. I became hooked on this story from reading the synopsis and the story sealed the deal as it were. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘A View Across The Rooftops’ but more about that in a bit.
I took to the main character Josef Held from the first time I met him. The prologue to this book details the courtship of Josef and his then girlfriend. The main story finds Josef having lost his wife and he is teaching at the local university. Circumstances have changed a lot and wartime Amsterdam is a lot different to the Amsterdam of Josef’s early years. Josef tries to keep his head down but the truth of war is slowly opening his eyes as to what is really happening. He gets an appalling shock when he hears his neighbour being killed simply for being Jewish. This really brings the brutality of war home to him. Josef has a niece who has embraced the Third Reich much to his displeasure. Josef is one tough cookie but then he has had to be over the years. I think deep down Josef is a bit of a rebel and in his own way, he rebels against the regime in certain ways by helping those who are under threat.
Oh my, ‘A View Across The Rooftops’ was one of those books that really got to me emotionally. It didn’t take me long to immerse myself in the story and I found that I just could not put the book down. I just had to keep reading to find out how the story panned out and what implications that had for Josef. The more I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to be turning. I so immersed myself into the story that I was able to shut out all other distractions just so I could concentrate on this beautifully told story. I binge read the book over the course of a few days.
For me, ‘A View Across The Rooftops’ is superbly written. The author certainly knows her stuff and she has clearly done one hell of a lot of research, which shines through in her writing. Suzanne certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and once she has your attention she won’t let go of it until the moment you read the last word on the last page. Suzanne has a writing style that is easy to take to and easy to get along with. She writes so movingly, so realistically and so emotionally that I really felt that I was part of the story myself. Every emotion that the characters went through I went through. Although I wasn’t alive during the Second World War, I have a pretty vivid imagination and I kept putting myself in the position of the different characters to think about how I would feel if what happened to them happened to me.
Reading ‘A View Across The Rooftops’ certainly took me on one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ride with all the highs and lows, twists and turns and well you get the picture.
Overall I did enjoy reading ‘A View Across The Rooftops’ and I would recommend it to other readers but particularly to those readers who enjoy historical fiction. I will definitely be reading more of Suzanne’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Rating: 3.5 touching stars rounded down to 3 stars

This story set in 1941 German occupied Amsterdam works on many levels. I liked Josef’s backstory that slowly unfolded and helped explain his stoicism. I liked the romance aspect between Michael and Elke who were both students in the University level math class that Josef taught. Complicating the story is the fact that Michael is a Jew. The Germans are trying to hunt him down. They want to send him to a ‘work camp’ or just kill him on the spot when they capture him.

Then there is Ingrid. She is Josef’s adult orphaned niece. She is self-centered, not too principled, and seeking an easy life. She craves approval from all the wrong places. She is a catalyst for one of the harrowing scenes told in the first third of the book. When she sees her uncle after the incident, she does not understand why he is not happy about what had just taken place.

This is mainly the story of how Josef Held has to come to terms with whether or not to shelter Michael. Is it worth it to put himself at risk for the sake of another? Josef is a cautious man who has cut himself off from human touch and interaction after the death of his wife. Can he find the courage to extend himself for another? How do you weigh the value of your life against the potential of another’s life?

This book is about a dark subject in world history. It is written in a gentle thoughtful style. For me, the history was a little too glossed over. It minimized some of the aspects of what the Germans did to the Jews in Amsterdam. If you like your WWII stories told with a lighter touch including some romance in addition to historical fiction, this could be just the book for you. I’d recommend it to readers who haven’t read much about WWII yet, or who don’t like to be overwhelmed with too many harrowing scenes directly involving the Holocaust and death camps.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Bookouture; and the author, Suzanne Kelman for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are some books for which a 5-star rating just isn’t sufficient – A View Across the Rooftops is one of those books!

It’s not ‘just another war book’; not ‘just another Holocaust story’. No story about war is ever entirely one of fiction and in that respect, this book too draws heavily on fact, basing itself in Amsterdam and making use of many known incidents and individuals of that time. The story itself developed from one that was told to the author about an act of heroism that was committed in order to save a life. And indeed, the surname of one of the main protagonists is ‘Held’, which translated from the Dutch means ‘hero’.

Josef Held is living his own quiet insular life in Amsterdam during 1941 when the Nazi’s occupy his home town. He’s a Mathematics professor at the local university and is determined to continue as he’s always done since losing his beloved wife Sarah many years before. This is not his war; it has nothing to do with him; he suffers his own pain and doesn’t need to know of anyone else’s. As the number of students attending classes start to dwindle, and as food becomes scarce, Josef reminds himself that if he keeps his head down, all will be right with his world.

But this all ends abruptly when the brutality and ugliness of war arrives, literally, on his doorstep – in more ways than one – and he finds that he can no longer be a bystander to what is happening around him. Much to his surprise, he agrees to hide Michael Blum, one of his students – actually not even one of his favourite students (at all!) And so, Josef’s world that has been so dark for so long, starts to brighten … strangely during one of the darkest times of history.

I can’t even begin to describe all the nuances of this book, the way that it alludes to the many types of relationships required by various people at the different stages of their lives. It also shows how utterly cruel mankind can be and how people use each other and then cast them aside as if they’re mere things.

Ms Kelman’s characterisation is absolutely incredible. I could picture each and every person that she had crafted in those pages. They all came to life. Josef’s niece, Ingrid: desperate to be loved and to fit in somewhere … anywhere; the lovely, understated Hannah, together with her mother Clara, and the young Eva; the brutal, determined Heinrich with his single-minded aim to fulfil his designated task, whatever the cost. Each and every person – even Josef’s pet ‘Kat’ – was so perfectly depicted.

This is a beautiful story. Yes, it’s sad and painful to read. It’s poignant and heartbreaking, moving and tragic. But it is also inspiring and hopeful, leaving readers with a huge sense of optimism and faith that there are most certainly sparks of good to be found in humanity, even in its deepest, gloomiest depths.

Do yourself a favour and click on some of the research links that have been included at the end of the book for even more fascinating insights into Holland in World War II, the Resistance and other related topics.

A wonderful story with some true facts. It was well researched and I thank the author for bringing awareness to yet another country's plight in this awful time of mankind.
The writing was beautifully done, delivered well and it flowed easily so that I was unaware of the time that had passed.
The main character was based on a real character and it shows how much the author admired his bravery.
The explanation and the website references at the end were enlightening.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this story.

A moving and beautiful novel about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during WWII and the strength, character, and perseverance of the Dutch. More than just a historical novel, it demonstrates how everyone can be a hero. The heroes in this novel are normal, everyday people who often through quiet, humble actions positively impact the lives of those around them. Just as importantly, those heroes themselves change and grow as they are impacted by those they help. This is a novel whose characters will live on in the minds of the reader!

A touching story about Nazi occupied Amsterdam , a story of love, friendship and loyalty. This is the tale of a professor who hides one of his students during the occupation, their growing friendship during the war and realising learning about trust during such a turbulent time. An emotional read, a well researched book, well written and again very emotional so be prepared. Highly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion