Wow! My first five star audio! Admittedly I was intimidated by the length of this audio and the fact that it was historical fiction. At over 15 hrs it’s an investment, but an investment definitely worth making.

Rachel is a young woman who survived Nazi Germany and is living in New York City in the 1950s, where she meets Aaron her husband. We learn about her past and the guilt and shame she possesses and how it forms who she is as a person.

The narrator for this one did such an amazing job! I just couldn’t stop listening to this story unfold. She does the voices of multiple characters with different accents with what seems like impeccable ease.

3.5 challenging stars, rounded up to 4

Shadows of Berlin gives a unique perspective to the plethora of WWII historical fiction novels currently crowding the shelves. Gillham deep dives into survivor’s guilt, family relationships, belonging, and racial prejudice in this novel covering WWII Berlin and 1950s New York. It is not a light or fun read but offers many perspectives to ponder. (Discussion worthy for book groups!)

Rachel, the female protagonist, is a multi-faceted character with traumatic experiences having lived as a “underground” Jew in Berlin during WWII. Hunger and the loss of her family came across the ocean with her. Adjusting to life as a New York City housewife in the 1950s adds in a whole new set of issues. She struggles to fit in and understand post-was life and to resume her work as a talented artist. Aaron, her husband, puts in lots of hours running a restaurant. He is a bit dull and can’t understand her trauma. Plot moved along quickly, alternating between the Berlin and New York settings about a decade apart.

The narrator’s voice was not the easiest to listen to. Characters were easy to differentiate, but the overly strong Jewish accent, especially of husband Aaron, was off-putting.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shadows of Berlin by David R. Gillham is a story of a survivor. Rachel Perlman is the main character in the book, and it focuses on her life after leaving Berlin during WWII and flashbacks to her time in Berlin. The author wrote the story of this young jewish woman who is a married housewife trying to live normally. Many aspects of the book were eye opening to me, and the narrator, Suzanne Toren was fantastic. She really brought the characters to life with her voice. I want to thank #NetGalley and #RB Media for allowing me to listen to this book.

I've read a lot of WW2 historical fiction but as I read this one I realized how few I have read that had AFTER the war as the main focus. In Shadows of Berlin we meet Rachel who has moved to the states after surviving the war as a Jew in Europe. She has married a Jew from Flatbush and is struggling to deal with her survivor's guilt as well as guilt stemming from her life in Europe. She is in therapy as a result of a breakdown that required a short stint in a mental facility.
Her only living relative, Feter Fritz is a bit of a slick character with whom she has a complex relationship. When he approaches her for favor tying back to her famous mother she is forced to face this part of her history and her past. As we progress through her current story we see flashbacks to life before and during the war. We also see from other key individuals in her life's story.

While Rachel's story was a heavy one, I appreciated how the relationship with her husband and his family was written. It is not that their relationship was light and airy, but it felt like a real, complicated marriage relationship. I also liked the look at the 50s married life with the pop culture type references to advertisements and meals.

I alternated between reading and listening to this book. I loved the narration and it helped bring the story alive to have the narrator reading the story in an authentic voice. I would not hesitate to recommend the audio version to those considering it.

This was a solid historical fiction read, while it did feel a bit slow and long, it was interesting and intriguing. The narrator did an amazing job with this. She really made the characters and stories really come to life.

The story follows a Jewish woman Rachel who lives with her American husband, Aaron, in NY.

It was interesting how the story when back and forth between Rachel’s life now and during WW2. What it was like to live while humans were being exterminated and how she was able to escape. How she met her husband, how she is dealing with the past. It touches on mental health and survivors guilt.

If your a historical fiction, and enjoy WW2 and post WW2 reads I think you will enjoy this one. I definitely recommend the narration as well.