Shadows of Berlin, David R. Gillham
Shadows of Berlin, David R. Gillham
2 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Shadows of Berlin

Author: David R. Gillham

Narrator: Suzanne Toren

Unabridged: 16 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/05/2022


Synopsis

A captivating novel of a Berlin girl on the run from the guilt of her past and the boy from Brooklyn who loves her

1955 in New York City: the city of instant coffee, bagels at Katz’s Deli, and ultramodern TVs. But in a certain walk-up in Chelsea, the past is as close as the present. Rashka Morgenstern, now Rachel Perlman, came to Manhattan with her
uncle Fritz in a wave of displaced Jews who had managed to survive the horrors of war. She had hoped to find freedom from pain, in New York and in the arms of her new American husband, Aaron.

But this child of Berlin cannot outrun her guilt simply by assuming the role of American housewife, not until she can shake off the ghosts of her past. And when Uncle Fritz discovers the most shocking portrait her mother had ever painted,
sitting in a dreary midtown pawnshop, Rachel’s memories begin to terrorize her, forcing her to face the choices she made to stay alive—choices that might be her undoing.

From the cafés of war-torn Germany to the frantic drumbeat of 1950s Manhattan, Shadows of Berlin dramatically explores survival, guilt, redemption, and the ways in which we attempt to love and forgive across impossible divides.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosh

In a Nutshell: An excellent piece of literary fiction with well-carved characters and well-thought-out themes. It covers the post-WWII period, with some flashbacks set during the war itself. The audiobook enhances the experience. Story: New York, 1955. Rachel is married to a young Jewish hotel manage......more

Never have I read such a believable and haunting book about the guilt of surviving the Holocaust as in Shadows of Berlin by David R. Gillham. He was able to capture the essence of survival guilt along with the haunting memories that lingered in daytime thoughts and reoccurred over and over in nightm......more

Goodreads review by Karren

Rachel moved to Manhattan with her uncle Fritz after WW II ended, like many Jewish people they found themselves displaced and wanted to escape Europe. After a quick courtship, Rachel marries Aaron Perlman, he works in a restaurant and they live in Chelsea. Five years later all their friends are havi......more

The trauma, horror, and survivor guilt never leave you...Rachel knows it all very well. Rachel is now in America and married to Aaron, but her time during the war haunts her, and she can't be happy. We follow Rachel as she can’t help re-living the horror and tries to be a good American wife. She resent......more