A decade after World War 2, Rachel Perlman may have moved to New York City and gotten married, but she is still haunted by her experiences as a Jewish girl hiding in plain sight in Berlin and the death of her mother.

Despite what the blurb led me to expect, this book is not a World War 2 novel - at least, not exactly. Though Rachel's experiences in Berlin hang over the entirety of the story, we spend most our time with her grappling with survivor's guilt in New York City, which works in some ways but not in others.

Rachel is a complicated lead character, an artist who is afraid of what might come out onto the canvas if she truly unleashes herself. Though her feeling of guilt is evident from the start, the reader only slowly uncovers what her crime is, as she grows strong enough to reveal it to herself. I enjoyed reading about the aftermath of the Holocaust on Rachel and the family she's married into, American Jews who feel survivor's guilt for having been safe thousands of miles away during this terrible time.

I also enjoyed how the author examined prejudices that both Rachel and her husband Aaron hold, and how they learn to overcome them. 1950s New York City is recreated with vivid detail, but that includes all its societal flaws - and the insane amounts of smoking.

However, the style of writing did not really work for me. It's a fast patter, interspersed with lots of commercial jingles and meticulous descriptions of things and their prices - a reflection on the rampant consumerism of the time and Rachel's efforts at assimilation to be sure, but they begin to wear on you. I felt similarly about Aaron's heavy New York accent and frequent use of slang, which made his speech sound almost like a caricature. And while I understood why the book concluded in the way that it did, I felt like it wiped out a lot of the conflict in Rachel's marriage without actually addressing it.

I am dnfing this book. I don’t feel anything compelling me to finish this book and I hate this! Here’s my thoughts on the parts that I read

The main reason I found myself not wanting to finish this was the pacing. I think it’s far too slow for my taste. There’s a lot of just info dumping telling the reader what’s happening rather than showing. I did like the flashbacks and the nonlinear timeline of them but it did become confusing switching back and forth.

Overall, I’m happy I gave it a shot. While historical fiction isn’t my typical genre, I do like to read it every once in a while. This book seems to be getting rave reviews so I think it’s probably just me and not the fault of the book!

Can I just say that Shadows of Berlin is historical fiction at its absolute finest and simply leave it at that? I cannot sing enough high praises about this book. It is one that has sat with me and I’ve thought about often since turning the last page. To me that is a clear sign of an excellent read. Not to mention the feelings and emotions the story evoked that I feel I am still working through myself. What the author accomplished in the pages here, illuminating the very real feelings of survival guilt, was so powerful and well done. Gillham clearly did his research here and I was blown away by his masterful storytelling.

Each and every character here was well developed and memorable, and made their mark in my mind. Their experiences came to life on the pages through this moving and compelling plot surrounding Rachel on the run in NYC from her past and with flashbacks to her time in WW2 Berlin woven in. This story was often heavy and emotional to read, but as for a lighter touch, something I especially enjoyed here were how so many famous and iconic places in New York were included in the story. It really contributed to the atmospheric and vibrant setting.

What the reader gets here is a striking novel about survival, loss, love, trauma, forgiveness, hope, and redemption. It’s a story that pack a punch, is utterly heart-wrenching at times, and explores many difficult yet important themes. It’s a plot that is slow moving in nature and yet so rich that it makes you want to pick it up every chance you get. This is not what I would consider a light historical fiction read to pack along to the beach, and is instead one to be savored and sat with to really take in. I believe what the author did here with this story is so very important and I applaud David for bringing to light the things he did within the pages of this book. Hands down, one do the most remarkable pieces of hist fic I have picked up and one I will be recommending to all fellow lovers of the genre.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy!

Not sure about this book,, started but did not finish. I may try to go back to it another time. #bookstagram

This book!!! It was emotional, complex, and captivating. It was a story about World War II, and the Holocaust, but really about so much more - survivor's guilt, coping mechanisms, mental illness, marriage, art... I could just go on and on. This book covered so much, but was so well written that every part of the storyline flowed together well. I can't think of a single element that could (or should) be taken out. Every character, from Rachel and Aaron, to their family members both in the present and the past was essential to the plot. I was heartbroken as I read, but also rejoiced at the growth/renewal in their marriage and relationship. It was lovely, even though it was tinged by grief and loss. So real, so human. If you like WWII books, please read this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A good historical fiction novel..love the cover. Recommend

Dual timelines between 1950s and flashbacks to the war. This story focuses on the guilt of the survivors from the Holocaust, mental illness, struggles to survive, “submarine Jews”, and more.

I love the historical fiction books that focus on aspects I wasn’t familiar with before.

have read Mr. Gillham's previous novel, City of Women. I don't want to say enjoyed.
As we are talking about before, and after the war(WW2).

The novel was gut wrenching, emotional, and a hard existence going through trauma as a young teen. Rachel must find anyway for herself, her mother, and her Uncle to survive the horrors during the holocaust. And the actions she was forced to do as a traitor, a Jew, and a survivor.

The guilt she endured surviving alone without her mother. Immigrating to the US with her Uncle, and without her Mother.

How can she go on. Then in Flatbush, NY she meets An American soldier. Who served six years without serving at the frontlines. Rachel eventually marries Aaron. A good man. But, he doesn't understand Rachel's emotion, guilt, and what it meant to survive in Germany. Rachel doesn't confide in her past life with Aaron.

Aaron has he's own guilt as well. He never served overseas. He stayed in the safety of America. He heard the stories what was going on in Europe. He didn't want to hear about the trauma of European Jews. Life in the US was normal as Long as it didn't hit home, in Flatbush.

Rachel living in America feels like an outsider. She didn't feel like she belongs. She becomes emotionally drained, confused. Her husband has no choice. He has to place her in the care of a psychiatric facility, and after discharge under the care of a psychiatrist.

Life goes on... Aaron and her are invited to his sister's house, Naomi to meet her new boyfriend. They learn as they walk in. Tyrell is "negro"( this is the term used in the novel. It is the time period.).

She befriended her brother's sister's black, soon to be lawyer boyfriend, Tyrell.
She wanted to connect to him. To understand his isolation, the treatment of "negroes" in the US. To feel some connection to another person feeling ostracized. Of course being black and being Jewish are two different experiences. As Rachel learns.

How could she understand? All she understood was antisemitism, hatred of Jews, and the annihilation on the streets and the camp. She didn't understand racism in America. Which was new to her.

There are discoveries Rachel learns about later. Rachel is an artist, and her Uncle tries to take advantage of her. You see her Uncle is a schemer, manipulator to his advantage. Her Uncle discovers a painting of her mother's at a pawnshop. Her Uncle tells her. She wanders what is he up to? Is this a scheme? Is he telling the truth?

It is a bit more complicated than than what it appears. The novel takes some time to connect.

It is a satisfying read. I used to read stories about the holocaust. But, this not just about the holocaust. It's about survivors guilt, and how you wrap your head around it.

It is difficult for anyone. And your husband has a difficult being understanding, commforting, and supportive. How two people can love each other and not know and understand their past, and their emotions, and go forward is tough.

There is a mystery of what actually happened to Rachel, and her family throughout the novel. Which you will find out much later. I usually don't read holocaust novels. I'll consider it literary fiction. With a dab of mystery that does keep wanting to turn the pages to the end.

To anyone who loves historical fiction, the sights and sounds of New York City in the early 50's. Automats, deli, taxis, new york culture( I could imagine- couldn't I. ), racism, antisemitism, with a smidgen of art.
It's a wonderful read, and discuss in a book club.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

This book ended up being a DNF for me - I just wasn't connecting to the characters and found it a little slow-moving. I do tend to be pickier about historical fiction because I don't read as much of it, and I'm sure that historical ficiton lovers will enjoy this unique look at WWII.

Excellent Historical Fiction read from one of my favorite time periods to read about - post-WWII with flashbacks to the war. Great character development - I felt like I personally knew these people, and the author managed to capture the swing of emotions felt by the characters throughout the story, especially the unimaginable sense of survivor's guilt lingering after the war. I couldn't stop thinking about this one days after I finished reading it. Highly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

Have been unable to review due to illness. Review coming soon! This novel looks fantastic and I highly recommend this author to everyone! Can't wait to read this one!

Thank you netgally for the free arc of this one.

This was refreshingly well written. None of the characters were bland and flat, all we complex, with faults, inner worlds that made them irreparably human.

This isn't a novel about WWII. It's about guilt, guilt of survival, guilt of secrets, guilt of racism guilt of mental illness and grief. There is guilt of being the average Joe too.

I loved the writers use of the duel timelines...not like many of the other books on the shelves today.

I loved the side story of Tyrell and the complex connection he forms with Rachel. This writer gets relationships and can translate that to the page, and I'm not talking about romance, this is not a romance by any means. Though it is the story of a marriage, that is complicated by the baggage of war and guilt and racism, and differing life experiences.

I personally, really enjoyed this one.

Overall, I was disappointed in this book. I couldn't connect with the main character, Rachel. In addition, I found the story to be rather long and tedious. This one came off as depressing, which I understand based on the subject matter. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with both an advanced reader's copy of the ebook and the audiobook.

Historical fiction from the World War II era is one of my favorite genres and this one did not disappoint! Told from a new perspective, one in which a young female Holocaust survivor emigrates to the US and marries an American, Gillham focuses on the lifelong myriad of feelings the survivors are forced to endure after physically surviving the terror and torture of the Nazi regime.

Shadows of Berlin by David R. Gillham. Pub Date: April 5th, 2022. Rating: 2 stars. Gosh, I really wanted to love this one because I really enjoy reading about this time period and historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but honestly this one was too long and drawn out. Slow paced, more telling than showing, this book felt like a chore to me. I think if the chapters and book would have been shorter then maybe I would feel differently, but alas it was not for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've avoided anything World War 2 related for quite some time, but decided to give this one a try for several reasons: it takes place post war in the 1950's and the primary focus is on PTSD, survivor's guilt, and the power of art, in this case, the power to heal and the power to hurt (and the intriguing cover didn't hurt.) This is a good book, and I think a more patient reader interested in wartime reads will really like this. The author is very detail oriented, so aside from being pretty depressing results in a laboriously slow read.

This is a historical fiction book that takes place after WWII with flashbacks to the war. It was unlike other historical fiction books I have read surrounding WWII. This book follows Rachel who is now in New York and married. It flashes back to her with her mother and how they experienced the war.

I listened and read this one. I am not Jewish, I don't know Yiddish, and I am not from New York. So very thankful for the audio version. There are a lot of things I would have mispronounced.

I really loved Rachel as a character. I loved how she was fighting with her past, she wasn't perfect and she grew throughout the book.

There was also a quote from a speech of Hitler's and I felt like some lady at a school board meeting could have said the same words. So that was a little scary to realize.

Thank you to @sourcebooks for gifting #readspinrepeatbookclub this book. As always thank you to @jennydlovesthebooks for being our liaison!

Also thank you to @netgalley for the audio because I would have been lost without it.

I love historical fiction but I guess I prefer more action than in this story. It's rather depressing but that's how it probably was and is for Holocaust survivors. I was not drawn in by the character of Rachel. It seems too much was missing and I didn't complete the book. I believe it an accurate portrayal of the times, the story just wasn't my cup of tea.

I enjoy Historical Fiction and often look for events and settings that I would like to learn more about. Shadows of Berlin is the story of Rachel Perlman, a German Jew who moved to the US with her only surviving relative, her Feter Fritz. They emigrated to New York from Berlin following the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society aided Rashka, now Rachel, and her uncle, Feter Fritz, find a place to live in New York and attempt to acclimatize to their new circumstances after their harrowing experiences during WW2. The story begins in 1955, when Rachel is now married to Jewish-American Aaron Perlman who works as a manager in a seafood restaurant. Rachel has a lot of scars and issues that she is dealing with. Aaron is a loving man who is patient with his wife, but he really wants to start a family. Then the story loses me. Rachel is an artist who isn't painting. She sees the ghost of her mother often, there is a painting that is one of her mother's pieces that she wants, but someone else buys and on it goes. I am sorry to say that I gave up on this one at 30%. I couldn't connect with the characters at all and at this point, I just wasn't interested anymore.

Rachel has a secret. Living in 1950s New York with her husband, Rachel tries to lead a normal life despite carrying guilt over something that happened when she was a young Jewish girl trying to escape Nazi Germany. That's the "shadow" that hangs over Rachel's everyday life in the new novel Shadows of Berlin.

Rachel is haunted by her mother (who died in a concentration camp) and a mystery crime that Rachel committed. This crime prevents her from wanting anything good for herself - a child, her painting. It causes a rift between Rachel and her American-born husband, who claims that he understands what happened in Germany but he doesn't really know what it was like.

There's a passage toward the end of the novel that I thought was really good: "The grief of a victim, the grief of a betrayer, the grief of one who has survived. She carries all three."

This takes a look at a part of Nazi Germany that maybe you weren't aware of, and it asks the question of what you would do to save your family and save yourself. The book also deals with topics of women's experiences and race, showing how African-Americans are treated in America by people who should know better.

So much of the novel is pure dialogue, and I think this would make a really good play or movie.

Shadows of Berlin is published by Sourcebooks Landmark and is available to purchase now. I received a free e-ARC.