The moving New York Times bestseller for readers of ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE

As others who have reviewed this book, I, too, read historical novels about World War II from the Jewish perspective. This novel is written about 3 German women and how survived during this horrendous time in history. Very different and thought-provoking.

#59. Great novel. Highly recommend! Set following WWII, three widows and children of apparent anti-Hitler resistors, find their ways together and move into the main character’s old Bavarian Castle. These are their individual and group stories. The terrors of war and afterwards.

A riveting book about the lives of people who did know what Hitler's was up to and those who looked the other way and even those who believed in his vision at first and had to live with their choices . Revealing and human a truly gifted sight of a terrible time in history.

This was not an easy read. These women had difficult and dangerous lives. To be married to a man who opposed Adolph Hitler in Nazi Germany was a frightening thing for a woman and a mother. These. Women were courageous but did what they had to do. Some were not the heroines they were believed to be. Another example of adversity bringing out the best and the worst in people.

I have read many books regarding the rise and fall of Germany during Hitler's dictatorship. I intentionally have not read books in the last few years on this subject because it became redundant, and I want to hold the reality of that era with respect. This book is a very well written surprise for me, a different perspective of living through this era and afterwards...I highly recommend it as an important read.

A different perspective on What wII as we meet the three women who Are the main characters in the book. The story is mesmerizing as we follow each one of these women and their children through the horrors of war from a German woman’s story. This was an excellent read.

I loved reading the different historical perspective on the war. I am of German heritage and had family there during WWII so my family was fighting on both sides. It was also a great reminder that many of the German people did not believe in what Hitler was doing and were part of the resistance.

I love historical fiction. I wanted this to be engaging and parts of this were. I started to lose interest in the last 1/3 of the book. I think it is because the end of the book tried to cover too much territory to resolve the characters. Still, I read it in just a couple of days and didn't find it a waste of my summer time reading.

Good story told from a different perspective. I feel like Shattuck got into the psyche of the "good German" collaborator in a way I hadn't seen very often. I also always appreciate a war story told about noncombatants.

The back and forth between times was a bit overdone. Nonetheless I really liked the book,the characters, and the strong women who inhabit the story. Moral choices in impossible times. This one will stay with you.

What a great read! The statutory line was entangled with history. Eerily though this book was started by throughout seven years ago, the parallels to today's society makes it like reading some aspects of what is happening today

I have been so stuck reading detective thrillers!! SO GRATEFUL I ventured out to read this beautiful and amazingly well written book! Thank you Jessica for this new experience!!! Loved this book!!!!

Thanks to one-click this book was an accidental purchase. Not a book I would have chosen but since I purchased it thought I would give it a go.
I am so glad I did. An amazing book I couldn't put down. I really enjoyed reading a book from this perspective and thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the characters. Some twists along the way to keep it interesting but not confusing. So pleased I read and would highly recommend

For anyone who lived through pre-and post WWII, esp. if one had connections in Germany. Puts a face on how the ordinary German was affected throughout the ordeal of Hitler's domination. A tribute to the resilience of humankind, esp. that of women.

Couldn't put this book down, all the individual stories of the ladies coming for safety in this castle are all woven together and ends close to the present time wrapping all the stories up beautifully.

Interesting book that takes you into the lives of three women who are living in Hitler's Germany during the war years and how each is impacted. Jessica Shattuck has written this book well and done much research on this subject.

Britton Falls Book Club chose "The Women in the Castle" for this month. We agreed it gave us insight into how the Nazi era played out in the minds of some of the German people. The heroine, Marianne, was not always liked by club members, but we all saw she was the backbone that brought the women to a place of safety. It is well written. If you are looking for a Disney Land ending, this is not it. I liked the reality of it, and you won't walk away unaffected.

A wonderful tale of survival and guilt spanning Germany from 1938 to 1991. Every mother will appreciate what sacrifices were made so the children could survive the war and become accomplished adults.

I read many books about the German experience during WWII and this is a believable story with recognizable characters.
This story is about everyday people and how lives were affected for a long period of time.

This book details a slightly different perspective on World War II. The women in this book are all wives of the men who tried to assassinate Adolf Hilter in 1944. Three different women come together, with their secrets and families and try to become one. Anyone who loves historical fiction or World War II will love this book!

"The Women in the Castle" is a sensitively written book about Post World War II in Germany. This is a subject rarely addressed. The book has excellent character development and wonderful insights about a period of history which is often ignore.

This is an engaging novel with complex characters who come to life with all their messy happenings and emotions. It invites the reader to think of the survivors through the lens of all they lived through and felt. Highly recommend.

The story was easy to follow. It was an interesting study in the thinking of a woman who thought only in terms of black and white, but who, very late in life, came to see the shades of gray. I wonder if it really helped the author to deal with the fact that her grandparents were Nazis. I suspect she will always have mixed feelings about that.

Strong complex characters and and an original plot. Apologetic about the holocaust but that seems false. Women with voices that need to be heard. A-worthwhile novel very different from the usual WWII story

Excellent book, learned so much that I did not take into consideration when learning about WWII. This book is an easy read and flows well even though it goes back and forth from past to present day. Loved the book!

Extremely well researched and presented, this is a series of stories within a story, about the trauma of war on those who have to live through it and the measures they must take, physically and mentally, to survive.

I would like to have read the afterward before reading the book. I think it would’ve helped put more things into perspective. It was an interesting read and in reflection after finishing the book I realize how much more impactful it was thinking about these experiences. The author covers a time in history that is rarely ever written about post WWII. Ordinary people but not such ordinary times.

Fascinating look at Germany emerging from the ashes of WW II...as experienced for once by WOMEN. And these women are complex and full of surprises. And grit. Some of the events are chilling, but serve to remind us of the savagery and insanity of Nazi Germany. A very thoughtful narrative about what it takes to survive in a world that has fallen to pieces.

Great characters that come to life and make you sad for their lives. I just heard on the news today that 60% of millennials do not know Auschwitz was a concentration camp and what went on there. Thank you Ms Shattuck for this readable, teachable, story.

Unique points of view from contrasting German women's lives thrown together after WW11 how they became friends, estranged & how they got to their lives during the war & later. Very interesting. Not a thriller or who-done-it but still beckons you to keep reading.