Welcome to Litsy!

repost for @ChrisBohjalian

I am deeply alarmed by the state of the U.S. Many of you are, too. So, let‘s learn about fascism — a book club, perhaps. But, if nothing else, book suggestions. Let‘s start with WHAT WE KNEW: TERROR, MASS MURDER, AND EVERYDAY LIFE IN NAZI GERMANY.

#BuddyRead

I am deeply alarmed by the state of the U.S. Many of you are, too. So, let‘s learn about fascism — a book club, perhaps. But, if nothing else, book suggestions. Let‘s start with WHAT WE KNEW: TERROR, MASS MURDER, AND EVERYDAY LIFE IN NAZI GERMANY.

Good Girl was a beautifully written reflection on poverty, identity, xenophobia, youth, shame, and abuse of power.

I'd struggle to name many characters I've hated as vitriolically as Marlowe. He is emblematic of the way people exploit the vulnerability of others.

The romanticisation of recreational drug use is tedious, but makes contextual sense.

This book was poetic and brilliant, but also miserable and devoid of much hope.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The last few years I‘ve stepped back from reading about WWII because it felt so overdone. But with the rise of authoritarianism currently happening in the US it has pushed back to reading about that era. The 2 on the left I found at Hachette Books (I signed up for the newsletter & got a 20% off coupon). I have not been able to find “What We Knew” anywhere. The other 2 I found wondering around the bookstore.

From at erinreadstheworld on Instagram. I‘m going to post each page for those of you not on instagram. This is the third page of 6. For those of you on Instagram, here‘s the link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DMuilAfyip4/?img_index=1&igsh=MWxyZDVpZTMyd2hseQ==

Links to books above are tagged below in the comments.

There definitely has been a theme to my reading lately as I grapple with current events and view them through the lens of the past. Friedrich Reck was a conservative in Germany who was vehemently anti-Nazi and Hitler from the very beginning. His observations of Germany as they slid towards tyranny and horror are astute, cutting and incisive.

#OffMyShelf “started before”

A powerful novel about resistance in Nazi Germany based on true events-both depressing and hopeful to read now.

“As it was, we acted alone, we were caught alone, and every one of us will have to die alone. But that doesn‘t mean we are alone, Quangel, or that our deaths will be in vain.Nothing in this world is done in vain, and since we are fighting for justice against brutality, we are bound to prevail in the end.”

Hinrich finds his wife Doro dead at her desk, with an annotated manuscript of his in front of her. She had things to say about his embryonic novel, about him and about their life together, and it's not pleasant. It's also at odds with his view of himself and his own memories (although those are unreliable too). This definitely wasn't a feel-good novella, but it made me think.
#Germany