Toward the end of WWII, Germany’s losses are mounting. Etta is a model German housewife who is preparing for the return of her oldest son, Max, who has been released from duty. Her younger fifteen-year-old son, Georg, is away at an obligatory Hitler Youth camp. Etta’s life revolves around her sons while she worries and grieves for them. Her husband Josef is disconnected from his family. A former school teacher, his mind is sinking into dementia which has forced him to retire. I felt for Etta and understood her trapped life and society’s expectations of her – not only as a wife and mother, but also her daily struggles of shortages and living under the hardships of a declining Germany. When Max comes home emotionally damaged and fighting his demons from the war, she tries to protect him from the gossip and the peril he faces if the authorities become aware of his condition. But she cannot stop the inevitable. When Max is taken away, she doggedly searches for him. When she finds him, she goes to great lengths to visit him regularly, always looking for a way to bring him back home where he belongs. Meanwhile, Georg has fallen in love with another boy in the camp. Desperately short of soldiers, the group of boys are sent to help fight in the war. When Georg’s friend is killed in an air strike, he deserts. Terrible grief continues to haunt Georg as he makes the long, dangerous walk to find his way home and back to his mutti. This was an emotional read. Etta and Georg nearly come together. He sees her on the street, but convinces himself that it really isn’t his mutti. I kept hoping they would find each other. Etta and Max die in an Allied bombing, and Georg never sees his mutti again. The writing is spare with moving descriptions of the beauty of nature juxtaposed with the grimness of the lives of ordinary German people. I was pleased with how much I unexpectedly enjoyed this book for its view through the eyes of Etta and her sons as well as the German people.

Real Rating: 3.25* of five, rounded down because a fascinating viewpoint got hidden behind slow pacing

First, read this:
<blockquote>“You’ve got to do the right thing. You’ve got to use your mind,” she said. “That’s what the real God wants. People should do the right thing but they never do.”

–and–

They should have hung their heads, but people didn’t feel shame anymore. They lied and after a while they believed the lies they told, and this is how it went.

–and–

“He’s not coming back,” Ushi pushed her cup aside. “People leave and they don’t come back. My Jens is gone and my Jürgen, too.” Her voice quavered. “They’ve wrecked the world, these men, and still they’re not done. They’d take the sky if they could. They’d take the air we breathe, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them.”</blockquote>
The Stockholm Syndrome of an entire nation, an entire class of people, is the shocking subject of this novel based on the facts as the author knows them surrounding her own family's WWII experience.

Etta Huber is frantic, as what wife of a dementia-suffering husband (Josef) trying to get into the war wouldn't be; as what mother of a returned soldier (Max) suffering from what we would call PTSD wouldn't be; as what loving, protective mother of a young teenager (Georg) caught up in a vision of glamour obfuscating the war's reality wouldn't be. The situation with Max is, of course, the one she's got the most emotional room for. No sane recruiter would take her retired-schoolteacher husband whose grasp of reality is deficient to wield a weapon, surely? Max, the bright and shining boy who left, is gone forever and here in his place is...a burden, frankly. In a time when the food-growing region the Hubers live in is getting less and less well-fed, another mouth isn't a joy...then Georg is sent to the Eastern front, which destroyed his brother Max, to dig defenses in what everyone knows is a vain effort to stop Allied tanks attacking German troops.

Etta isn't coping well with any of this. What she doesn't know is that she's got a stronger boy in Georg than she thought. He's been unable to believe the nonsense he's been fed in the Hitler Youth. He's fallen in love with one of the other boys, which (since this is simply unthinkable and impossible for Hitler Youths) has formed a strong resistant core in him. He ends up deserting before the boys get to the front, and walks home. Through war-torn Germany. On his own.

Max's horrors are always with him, and his behaviors worry his Mutti. Of course, he was always the odd kid:
<blockquote>Even when he was little Max had a way of fixing his eyes on her and asking questions that had no easy answers or no answers at all. "Mutti?" he'd asked her once when he was only six, "where do birds go to die? I see birds every day and never a dead one. Where do they go then?" and Etta could only shake her head at her boy, who thought of such things.

"They go someplace nice," she told him, "where it's quiet and the cats won't find them and the wolves and foxes neither. That's why we don't see them. They go to bird heaven." He looked at her a long while and then he nodded, satisfied with her response. It made sense that birds could find their way to heaven. They flew beneath it every day. It would only take a breeze to bear them up and through the gates, only a breeze and they were gone.</blockquote>
Much like Max himself disappears, vanishes from his loving mother's ability to care for him...forever. It's one of many heartbreaks in Etta's world.

What a world it was. She, and her other bog-standard German neighbors, have noticed there are people disappearing. Most of them simply note this fact without a lot of interest, but note it they do. The rare German whose instinct is to help in whatever small way she can the disappearing ones, is fighting a losing battle as we-the-readers know. But the fact is no one, inside or outside Germany, knew what was going on in the camps where the disappeared went. It wasn't good...but it was factually unknown until after the war. This novel is set *during* the war, and the author presents the unease of the people with the ever-increasing evidence of their leadership's lies and obfuscations.

In the end, what earned this book a mere shade over three stars was its overly slow pace. Many things were dwelt on that could've been done away with or been less of a focus. The voices of the Germans are, on the other hand, exactly how the German folk I knew in my life sounded: Formal, deliberate, and slightly obscured behind any words they did say. This doesn't mean it was always fun to read their ponderous utterances. But it was the purpose of the author to tell a family story. I expected it to have more of that feel to it. Instead it became a deeply personal historical account of the agonies of your way of life's death.

I usually like WWII books (I’ve read quite a few) but this one was just a little harder to read. It felt a little too descriptive, which took me out of what was happening. This just wasn’t my favorite read.

A little slow and boring for me. Difficult story to read overall, but the writing was beautiful and at times ethereal. Would highly recommend to someone who enjoys historical fiction. I wasn’t really fond of the dad in the story, as he became very withdrawn and almost narcissistic-reminded me too much of my own father.

"The Vanishing Sky" by L. Annette Binder was an interesting take on WWII as it was told from the perspective of a German mother, with her son a soldiers in the war, and a town full of mothers with similar circumstances. This is a family drama, dealing with post traumatic stress disorder, as well as a mentally declining husband. Sad and enlightening. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the e-reader copy for review. All opinions are my own.

This is a book about WWII, but seen thru German eyes. It's about the irreparable damage of war on the home front and one family's participation in it. Binder grew from her own father's memories.

I love WWII books, in fact I look forward to reading them. That said, this one didn't impress me as much as others. Maybe because the characters just seem pathetic to me. Also she in no way discussed one of the most important things to do with WWII - that is the Holocaust and how some 6 million died because of Hitler. The characters did refer to the ones taken away but that was all.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was well-thought-out and well-written. My interest was kept throughout the entire novel and I am thankful for the opportunity to read and review The Vanishing Sky. I look forward to reading more books by L. Annette Binder.

I thought this book was just ok, while the characters were fairly interesting I found the plot tedious and hard to finish

I was actually gifted a copy of this after its published date by a friend and was delighted to be able to own a physical copy. Unfortunately this novel left me depressed and more than a little bit sad for the family involved.

I thought the concept was amazing and it seemed like a story that was going to transcend time and dive into the realities of mental health after a world-wide trauma. In the end, this fell completely flat. It seemed as if the author was more focused on the negatives and harsh realities than finding any sort of positive outcome.

I found the writing to be quite confusing and meandering and often found myself rereading paragraphs to try and better understand what was going on. I really enjoy WWII historical fiction and was sad that this didn't come out on a more positive note for me. Two stars.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read. I was interested in reading a WW II book from a different perspective; however, I could not connect with the book. I found it to be very slow and confusing. Normally I always try to finish a book, but I could not make it through this one.

I absolutely love WW2 books but this book was a bit difficult to get through. The storyline was great but the words just didn't flow very easily. I also would have liked to know what happened to the rest of the family at the end. I was disappointed with the ending.

Seen from the perspective of a German family during the last days of WWII, this is a sensitive and thought provoking book. Etta Huber valiantly tries to hold her family together, with one son fighting in the east, and her younger son training with the Hitler Youth. Recommended reading.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very heartrending story.
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
A very heartrending story set in Germany during the end of WWII. A German family and the things they had to do to survive. Ater finishing this book, it has stayed with me and given me much food for thought. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

It was interesting reading a different perspective of WWII, that of a regular German family. I enjoyed it, but I do wish it went a bit more in-depth as to the experience of the boys especially Georg in the Hitler Youth.

I really tried to read this book because WWII historical fiction is my favorite genre. I was intrigued by a story that was told from the point of view of a German family whose sons are sent to war. Unfortunately, I only read about 25% before giving up. I hate to review a book I didn't finish but I just found this story dry.

This is my first book by L Annette Binder and I loved it!!! The emotions and story pull you into the real life of the people during the war!!! What a page turner!!! Read and enjoy!!!

The Vanishing Sky By L. Annette Binder

Rating 3 / 5 Stars

Publication Date - 7/21/2020

** Thank you to Netgalley, Bloomsbury, and of course, L. Annette Binder, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Hubers - Etta, Joseph, Max and Georg. An average German family trying to survive at the end of World War II. It’s 1945 and Germany is at its final strength of War War II. With one son suffering from PTSD and Schizophrenia after serving on the front line (Max) to the other deep into the culture of the Hitler Youth, Etta and James must put their own struggles aside to help them. It does not help that Joseph is showing signs of Dementia.

While the historical fiction (specifically in regards to World War II) market is incredibly oversaturated, Binder does a good job of making a novel which might stand out on the shelves for its difference. By focusing on a family, this novel echos tones of We Were The Lucky Ones. It had the potential to be a great novel, and I do think it is pretty solid. I believe the reasoning I am giving this book 3 out of 5 is due to that exact oversaturation in the market. I would love to see Binder dive into a different era as I did enjoy her writing! :)

Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, & MacMillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

DNF @ 25%

If pressed to say what it was that I didn't like about this one, I would think it was the characters - but that's not exactly it. It's more so that there wasn't a lot of plot and the characters were more so there to be vehicles of the storytelling rather than characters in and of themselves, and it didn't vibe. The writing itself was haunting and evocative and moving, but I wanted something to be moved towards.

The Vanishing Sky is a heart wrenching tale of one Germany family as they battle to survive the end of WWII. I had a difficult time connecting with the writing style of this book, but it was an okay read overall. I appreciate the story as something different from many other WWII historical fictions that I've read.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a DNF for me. I read about 25% and could not get into the story. The book pacing felt a bit slow for me. I did appreciate the book trying to show how a German family experienced during WWII.