This book does a lot of things right. In fact, it was a five star read for me up until the last quarter.

It tells the tale of Anna, a German who finds herself a single mother in the midst of WWII Germany. Anna's tale is told in both the present day and the past in separate, alternating sections. I loved the structure of this book as it doled out tidbits of insight all along the way, and it made it very clear how Anna's past impacted her present in American. Anna's relationship with her daughter is very interesting as well, and the daughter's tale becomes more prominent as the story progresses.

I felt that as historical fiction, Those Who Save Us was different as it looked at WWII mostly through German eyes. It also isn't for the faint of heart - - many scenes are graphic, both in violence and sexual content. At times, I thought some of the graphic-ness was gratuitous. Mostly not, but some.

I also didn't really love the characters wholeheartedly. They were by and large quite flawed, and some had fewer redeeming qualities than others. But at the same time, I did think they were very interesting and the interplay amongst them was riveting.

Blum is just a great story teller. I read the book in a few days, and I didn't want to put it down. I definitely would recommend it to certain readers. My only quibble was some portions of the ending just struck me as a tad too convenient. Not ridiculously unlikely, but enough to make me go, "really?" ( )

Ugh. Didn’t draw me in. DNF ( )

Durante cincuenta años, Anna Schlemmer ha rehusado hablar de su vida en Alemania durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Su hija, Trudy, tenía sólo tres años cuando fueron liberadas por el ejército americano y fueron a vivir a Minnesota. El único recuerdo que tiene Trudy de ese pasado es una vieja fotografía que muestra a Anna, a Trudy y a un oficial nazi.
Acosada por los fantasmas de ese pasado, y con cierto sentimiento de culpabilidad, Trudy empieza a investigar hasta descubrir la dramática y desgarradora verdad de la vida de su madre.

This wonderful book illustrates how even those who survived Nazi Germany and the Holocaust were forever changed by their experiences. And, how in turn, the next generation was affected as well. ( )

Well written, engaging, good story - but not great, and a little too predictable maybe. ( )