All That I Am

Nov 09, 2011 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, history-smishtory

"None of us - teacher or taught- realised how an imagined life can sustain you as a possibility, a hope, and remain just that. Like parallel train tracks, it runs alongside, but will never meet the life you are living."

This book took me absolutely ages to get into and I have no idea why. You know when you know a book is going to be good and the writing is fantastic and the story is brilliant but there is just something stopping you from tearing through it?
I think the main problem that I had was...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, historical-fiction, war, 2011, miles-franklin-award

I wanted to read this book before the Mile’s Franklin award for 2012 is announced as I’m predicting this book will win. All That I Am by Anna Funder is told from the perspective of Ruth Becker and Ernst Toller in alternate chapters. Both Ruth and Toller are remembering life in 1930’s Germany as political activists. Both characters, along with Ruth’s husband Hans and Toller’s lover Dora, publically speak out against Hitler and everything he stands for, advocating independence and freedom of speec...more I wanted to read this book before the Mile’s Franklin award for 2012 is announced as I’m predicting this book will win. All That I Am by Anna Funder is told from the perspective of Ruth Becker and Ernst Toller in alternate chapters. Both Ruth and Toller are remembering life in 1930’s Germany as political activists. Both characters, along with Ruth’s husband Hans and Toller’s lover Dora, publically speak out against Hitler and everything he stands for, advocating independence and freedom of speech for Germany.

This book starts out very heavy; trying to cover all the relevant back story of Germany in the 1930’s while still trying to drive the story along. This is a delicate balance to manage but I think Anna Funder did a good job at managing this. I know people may disagree with me but I think with the subject matter and the back story that needs to be covered, the author still manages to keep the reader turning the page, and for me, that never felt boring. I love the fact that this story is more about the politics and the effect Hitler’s rise to power will have on the German people rather than dealing with the holocaust.

The simple fact that this book tries to deal with the social impacts of the changing Germany has been the biggest contributing factor to my enjoyment of the book. I couldn’t care less about Toller who is writing his autobiography or Ruth, who after reading Toller’s writing, is remembering her side of the story. I know they risk a lot to speak out and I knew Hitler’s regime were actively trying to stop political opposition so I probably should care more for the characters, but the fictionalised German history was more interesting for me.

All That I Am would be a tough book to write and while at times it was heavy and at other time I might not have cared too much of the story; Anna Funder did do an excellent job at writing this novel. The book reminded me of the 2002 movie Max for some weird reason; mainly because it also was a fictionalised account of Hitler rising to power and how he dealt with the political opposition. For those who don’t know the movie Max starred John Cusack as a fictional Jewish art dealer and a young Austrian painter, Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor). The interesting thing about the movie was it explores Hitler and the view’s that shaped Nazi ideology, while also taking a look at the artistic designs of the Third Reich.

Anna Funder must have done a lot of research in preparing to write this book. I know she has a non-fiction book called Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall but I think that was more about East Germany, but in the course of researching that book she might have gotten all the information needed for All That I Am. I’m glad to have read this novel; I think it offers an interesting insight into a world I was never a part of. It is an interesting piece of history and sociology. Anna Funder has won the Australian Independent Booksellers Indie Book Award for Literary Fiction and has been shortlisted for Miles Franklin Award for this book. I’d be interested to see if this book will stand the test of time.(less)

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Dec 07, 2011 Mish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Mish by: Kaylene

Shelves: australian-authors, fiction, historical, library-friends-books, 2011

All That I Am is a story told by Ruth and Toller and their recollection of memories of a time as a political activist, in the 1930, before and during Hitler’s ruling. Joined with two other members, Hans and Dora, they risked their lives by speaking publically against Hitler and his policies, and warning people of their loss of rights, independence and freedom of speech should Hitler come to power. It was quite interesting to see Hitler’s reaction to the group, and the deceitful ways it took him...more

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May 29, 2012 Sabina added it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, historical-fiction, winter-reading-challenge, could-have-been-better, dnf

I'm not going to give this a rating as that would be unfair based on how much of it I read.
However, it would be a 1 star rating for what I have read.

This book was totally not for me. I picked it for a reading challenge and because it was based in Germany.

Let me say, Ms Funder writes very nice. That isn't that problem with the book for me.

I had two main problems:

One: The changing from character to character and present to past per character was annoying for me. It was bad enough keeping track...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-mt-bookpile

There are three timelines in this book, which made it a little confusing to track who was where when. In one timeline, Ruth is living in modern day Australia at the end of a long life, but her memories of what happened in the 1920s-30s in Germany and London are starting to overtake her daily life. In another timeline, Ermst Toller is in 1939 New York, reflecting on the past decade or so in Germany and London. And finally you have what happened in Germany and London in the 20s-30s in Germany and...more There are three timelines in this book, which made it a little confusing to track who was where when. In one timeline, Ruth is living in modern day Australia at the end of a long life, but her memories of what happened in the 1920s-30s in Germany and London are starting to overtake her daily life. In another timeline, Ermst Toller is in 1939 New York, reflecting on the past decade or so in Germany and London. And finally you have what happened in Germany and London in the 20s-30s in Germany and London.

Ruth leaves her wealthy family to live in Berlin and hang out with her older cousin Dora; she meets journalist/satirist Hans and they fall in love and marry. Dora is a free, liberated woman agitating for things like abortion rights, and part of her freedom is to engage in "meaningless" love affairs, including one with Ernst Toller, a WWI hero, a Jew and a renowned playwright and poet. As members of the Independent Socialist Workers Party they are trying to reconcile the Communists and the Socialists to oppose the rise of the Nazis and much of the Berlin memories recount the rise of Hitler and his party: the thuggery, the arrests, the Reichstag fire and Hitler's power grab. They all manage to escape - without papers - to London, where they keep up their attempts to warn the world about what is going on in Germany. Dora is murdered by Nazis, poisoned in her bedroom in what appears to be a suicide; Hans becomes a Nazi informant, ultimately escaping to South America (Ruth thinks); Ernst's despair leads to his suicide in New York after having updated/annotated his memoir I Am A German; and Ruth manages to survive Hans' betrayal, the Nazis, internment in Singapore to make a life for herself before dying a natural death. Sadly, none of this added to my knowledge or understanding of the events leading up to the Nazi takeover, nor did it illuminate the lives of those Germans trying to prevent Hitler's rise.

Adding to the timeline confusion is the blend of fact and fiction. I don't mean just events, but with the exception of Ruth, the main characters are all real (there's a nice bibliography at the back for those interested in learning the real story of these people). So rather than fiction, this is more faction, important to keep in mind.

Copy provided by publisher.(less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Daisy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: germany, australia, england, favorites-2nd-place, berlin-read-summer-2012, around-the-world-challenge-2012

This is an important story, beautifully written, about selflessness, determination, intimacy, collaboration, separation, exile. Told in two voices, it's an interesting juxtaposition of times in history: Ruth's story with her cousin Dora told from the present day and Toller's story of his relationship with Dora told from New York in 1939.
Knowing all we know now, reading about the tense and frightening days when Hitler was new to power, and about the brave intellectuals and exiles who fought agai...more This is an important story, beautifully written, about selflessness, determination, intimacy, collaboration, separation, exile. Told in two voices, it's an interesting juxtaposition of times in history: Ruth's story with her cousin Dora told from the present day and Toller's story of his relationship with Dora told from New York in 1939.
Knowing all we know now, reading about the tense and frightening days when Hitler was new to power, and about the brave intellectuals and exiles who fought against his regime, and attempted to warn the world, even before the very worst happened, makes all the more sickening that Hitler ruled at all. The eve of World War II, the politics, the lawfulness and lawlessness, the Independent Social Democrats who became the Socialist Workers Party, a bridge between the Communists and the Social Democrats. This novel is as taut as a thriller, as detailed as a period piece, and as graceful as a love story. Skilled and unforgettable.

When Hitler came to power I was in the bath. A great first line.

His only mode, with everyone, was intimacy. (abt. Toller)

But I must say it has been, in general, a boon not to have been a beautiful woman. Because I was barely looked at, I was free to do the looking. (Ruth: photographer, observer)

Hugo had no special voice for children. When he spoke to you he made you into your best self.

The camera's shutter... made a long, soft, metal sound, the sound of capture and theft.

There's a lot more going on in this novel than the next sample might offer, but on its own, it's wonderful:
I am not a pitiful old woman hanging on to her mind while her body shuts down. I am a woman on her way to eat cake.

I wonder, now, about interrogation chambers: why do they think bright light brings the truth out of people? They should try the seduction of shadows, where you cannot watch your words hit their target.

There were always points at which we had to decide whether the danger someone was in was worth the work they did for the cause. We became responsible for the peril we let each other assume. There should be a syndrome name for this too.

We could grow to swap stories of pedestrian disorientation and bedroom disappointment and taxidermy and I would never, ever be as safe as she.

And it is exactly the businesslike, professional nature of their thousand tendernesses that is the magical thing... (about nurses)

Though it is the hardest thing, to work out one's weight and heft in the world, to whittle down all that I am and give it a value.(less)

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Aug 16, 2012 Evelyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I took this from my husband's stack when I was in search of something to read before a lengthy airplane trip. Judging it purely by its cover I wondered why my husband had purchased something that appeared to be both a beach read and pure chick lit. Nice surprise, it was neither chick lit nor a beach read.

Based on a number of real life historical figures who all lived during the 30s (and some beyond), the book describes the early days of Hitler's regime, as he takes over Germany and consolidates...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Jillwilson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This deserves 3 and a half. Not in the league of 'Stasiland' - she is on firmer ground with non-fiction and her emotional coolness suits that genre better. Having said that, she writes about an amazing period and real people who I have not heard of previously (feel quite ignorant). It follows the stories of several Germans in the 20s and 30s who were politically active against the Nazis. They are almost all real people - their individual stories are fascinating. I'm not sure that Funder is able...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Kirsty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: purchased-2012, purchased-in-berlin, personal-challenges-2013, readalongs, read-2013

There were some wonderful things about this novel, and some not so wonderful.

- The prologue is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
- This book has one of the best opening lines I've read in a long time.
- I liked Ruth on the whole. She was a complex character and had a lot of depth.
- I liked the retrospective voices used, and the elderly characters looking back on their earlier days.
- I couldn't warm to Toller or Hans at all.
- I found Ruth and Toller's narrative voices were too similar at times. At f...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

The main effect this book had on me was a deep sense of my own lack of similar courage. I was moved almost to tears by the fate of Ruth Blatt/Becker, and the knowledge that this is basically a true story made it all the more gripping. This book is an excellent example of how best true stories can be converted into novels, without sacrificing either authenticity or readability. All too often I've seen obviously autobiography simply relabelled as "a novel", when in truth the writer has not made an...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-isles, historical-novel-society-rec, historical-fiction, kindle, lit-awards, ww2, government, political, possible-book-club

I really enjoyed this book and was a little surprised by some of the one-star reviews.

First, the book is told through two narrators: Ernst Toller, who reminisces about his past as he re-writes his autobiography, and Ruth Becker nee Wasemann, who suffers from a type of dementia like Alzheimer's and slips between the present and past during her narrations. While several commenters have expressed a dislike for Ruth's narration, I found it to have a very realistic tone and feel. I did not find the...more I really enjoyed this book and was a little surprised by some of the one-star reviews.

First, the book is told through two narrators: Ernst Toller, who reminisces about his past as he re-writes his autobiography, and Ruth Becker nee Wasemann, who suffers from a type of dementia like Alzheimer's and slips between the present and past during her narrations. While several commenters have expressed a dislike for Ruth's narration, I found it to have a very realistic tone and feel. I did not find the narration complicated to follow.

Secondly, like some others have commented, I did not know that much about politics in Post-WWI Germany and the relationship between the Nazi movement and it's possible reactionary development against leftist communist and socialist movements. While certainly aware of Hitler's rise to power as Chancellor, I simply didn't know that much about his adversaries. Similarly, I (and many others, apparently) did not know that much about the life that many refugees led between their escape and the outbreak of WWII. I found myself unable to put this book down and eager to read more about this time period, which is always a good sign for historical fiction. As outrageous as some of the facts of their escape and lives appear to seem for other reviewers, the fact remains that some of these characters were real people, and many of the accounts were based on things that happened to real people, which the author stated in interviews: http://www.readings.com.au/news/q-a-w...

Lastly, while I found the author's sentiments about the feelings of isolation and missing cultural nuances and complexities as a new immigrant to be real and painful, I will say that I do agree with one reviewer it didn't quite reach the emotional drive that it should have. However, I appreciated the depiction of how completely frustrating and desperate these refugees must have felt, being prohibited to speak about Hitler and stuck waiting with a sense of dread about what was to come and what would happen to their families. I was glued to this book -- read it in two work days -- and absolutely recommend it to friends, but it didn't move me to tears the way a book about people who literally lose everything they value should have moved me.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Ormond College Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ann Badger wrote...

"I really enjoyed All That I Am by Melbourne writer Anna Funder.

All That I Am is told by Ernst and Ruth chapter about: the ‘I’ of the playwright in New York in 1939 shifting to the ‘I’ of the wise friend Ruth in Bellevue Hill in 2001. At the heart of All That I Am is a little group of friends who campaign in the mid ’20s for the release of the playwright Ernst Toller, imprisoned for his role in Munich’s brief revolution. Amazingly, these are real people with lives that can be...more

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Jan 11, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction

When it is done extraordinarily well, as the justly celebrated Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin series demonstrates, historical fiction can make the past come alive for readers, transporting us back through time via the hearts and minds of compelling, truly memorable, characters. Much has been written already on the early days of Hitler and Nazi Germany, of which one of the more important recent histories is Richard J. Evans's "The Coming of the Third Reich", which Anna Funder cites as an importan...more When it is done extraordinarily well, as the justly celebrated Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin series demonstrates, historical fiction can make the past come alive for readers, transporting us back through time via the hearts and minds of compelling, truly memorable, characters. Much has been written already on the early days of Hitler and Nazi Germany, of which one of the more important recent histories is Richard J. Evans's "The Coming of the Third Reich", which Anna Funder cites as an important reference while writing her debut novel, "All That I Am", that recounts the fates of several German dissidents, refuges from Nazi Germany, in the early and mid 1930s. Told primarily in flashback in New York City in 1939, and also, in Berlin and then later, London, "All That I Am" revolves around eminent German dissident writer Ernst Toller, his friend and lover, Dora Fabian, and Dora's younger cousin Ruth Becker (in real life, Ruth Blatt, whom Funder would befriend decades later), unaware of the looming dangers inherent in their effort in starting a resistance movement inside Germany against Hitler's Nazi dictatorship, just as he and his fellow Nazis are consolidating their power, violently wiping away the last remaining vestiges of the democratic Weimar Republic. While Anna Fulder deserves ample praise for the quality of her prose, the story she tells is better suited in a style more reminiscent of Ian Fleming or John Le Carre, with fictionalized characters as memorable as James Bond or George Smiley; a story that may have been far more compelling if rendered as nonfiction, rather than as fiction. As a heroine, since she is a most passive figure, Ruth Becker is an odd choice, in stark comparison with her more dynamic cousin Dora and Ernst Toller; those chapters which are told primarily from Dora and Toller's perspective are among the most interesting, whereas those of Ruth, especially decades later, in exile, in Australia (presumably Melbourne, Funder's hometown) are among the least. One of the more interesting characters in "All That I Am" might have been Ruth's husband Hans Wesemann, a young journalist, noted for his satirical criticism of the Nazis as they rose to power, who has a change of heart, once they flee to Great Britain. Quite surprisingly, Hans remains a narcissistic, quite enigmatic, figure for most of the novel, whose odd behavior isn't exposed for the treachery that it is until the very end. I wanted to fall in love with the fictionalized versions of Dora Fabian, Ernst Toller and Ruth Blatt (Becker), but Funder's saga made me feel like a spy left out in the cold.
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Jan 03, 2012 liberal sprinkles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, facts

All That I Am tells the story of anti-Hitler activists who continued their fight overseas after they were forced to flee Germany in the early 1930s when Hitler came to power. While the central figures in the novel work to warn the world about Hitler's nefarious plans (a world which preferred to close a blind eye to what was happening in Germany), they are limited in their political activities by their refugee status and live in constant fear of discovery and reprisal.

The strength - and perhaps...more All That I Am tells the story of anti-Hitler activists who continued their fight overseas after they were forced to flee Germany in the early 1930s when Hitler came to power. While the central figures in the novel work to warn the world about Hitler's nefarious plans (a world which preferred to close a blind eye to what was happening in Germany), they are limited in their political activities by their refugee status and live in constant fear of discovery and reprisal.

The strength - and perhaps also the weakness - of Anna Funder's book is the fact that it is a historical fiction inspired by real people and events. That the characters really lived and the events recounted (betrayal, assasinations abroad by Gestapo spies...) really happened made the book a compelling read; but the blurry line between truth and fiction left me sometimes confused and dissatisfied. I imagine most of the dialogues were made up, but to what extent were the details of the relationships, the psyche and emotions of the characters real? When I felt the characters' fear, panic and paranoia, and felt outrage at the world community's refusal to act against Hitler, was I emphatizing with the real-life sufferings of the persecuted or reacting to the strength of Funder's prose? There is no question All That I Am made me examine my own moral values and I learned much that I hadn't known earlier, particularly about the lives of anti-Hitler refugees and the activities of the Gestapo outside Germany in the early days of his rule. But Funder's book left me hungry for truth rather than fiction.

As a literary work, I thought All That I Am fell short of Funder's powerful debut book Stasiland. It took me a while to get into All That I Am, which for me came together better in the second half. The story is told from two perspectives: that of Ruth Becker (Ruth Wesemann/Blatt in real life) as she nears death in 2001 in Australia and that of socialist playwright Ernst Toller in 1939 as he lives in exile in New York. The account of Toller's dictation of his memoirs and his recounting of the activities of his lover Dora Fabian, Ruth's cousin, gels well with the story about the exiles' lives some 5-6 years earlier. I found somewhat jarring the constant injections about Becker's daily life and medical condition as she fights memory loss in the last days of her life in 2001. But it was a clever tool to weave the (fictional?) present with the past. Among the trinkets found in her kitchen are mementos from her childhood and "a magnet with a Crime Stoppers number to call if she sees anyone she doesn't like the look of" (a reminder to speak out against evil?). Becker's memory of long ago events improves even as her short-term memory fades. Her neurologist tells her this sometimes happens to people who are in danger of losing their sight. "I had very good eyes once. Though it's another thing to say what I saw. In my eyes, it is entirely possible to watch something happen and not to see it at all," Becker says. It's an indictment against those who chose not to act, but also of her own character's failure to acknowledge until too late her husband turning into a Gestapo informant.

To always do the right thing: that was the strongest message I got from the book. The title is apt: we can be as much, or as little, as we can. It's a choice we all get to make, hopefully never in similar circumstances.(less)

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May 11, 2013 Sarahr rated it 4 of 5 stars

The title says it all - this is a novel which explores how we as humans create identity for ourselves; and how we either survive its destruction or are destroyed with it. I don't agree that it would have worked better as non fiction - I felt that that the best writing in it explored the inner lives of the characters while the expository parts explaining the historical context seemed clunky in comparison.

Throughout the story the characters reflect on who they are as individuals and how they have...more The title says it all - this is a novel which explores how we as humans create identity for ourselves; and how we either survive its destruction or are destroyed with it. I don't agree that it would have worked better as non fiction - I felt that that the best writing in it explored the inner lives of the characters while the expository parts explaining the historical context seemed clunky in comparison.

Throughout the story the characters reflect on who they are as individuals and how they have defined their selves and their place in the world. Many scenes, particularly brief flashbacks, explore the symbolism of this quest for identity; it should feel heavy handed but it's perfectly done and gives a satisfying unity to the story. The diversity of the characters' experiences and choices gives a depth and scope to this theme.

Reading reviews, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who found the two narrative voices confusingly similar. Even though I registered the change of narrator at the start of each chapter, I'd sometimes forget who it was and find myself thinking things like, "When did Ruth and Dora become lovers?!" I wouldn't have wanted to lose Toller's perspective on Dora (and I loved his memories of the sanatorium) but his navel-gazing with Clara in New York seemed superfluous, and I was glad that these sections got shorter and shorter as the novel gained momentum.

Yes, the prologue is wonderful, but I think Funder's writing gains confidence as the tension gets cranked up in the later parts of the story. There are several edge-of the seat scenes, particularly when Dora is trying to smuggle Toller's manuscripts out of Germany, and a chilling atmosphere of fear builds to what you know, from hints earlier in the story, will be a tragic climax.

I cared about these characters so much - even Hans. Dora is unforgettable in her heroism and Ruth's quiet adaptability makes her the perfect narrator - like Nick in the Great Gatsby. It is significant that these are people who, for the most part, choose not to have children and instead create a legacy through writing or political action. The implications of this choice resonate through the book. Does it matter if they are true portrayals of real people? I think not - what I will carry away from this book is a glimpse into the possibilities of what their lives may have been and an insight into the price paid by the intellectuals who dared to stand up to the Nazi regime. (less)

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May 08, 2013 Julia Steele Scott rated it 2 of 5 stars

I probably rated this one a little lower than I should have because it's not that I didn't enjoy it. It's just that it was surrounded by all the hype and I'm conscious not to let that sway my opinion. The fact is, I didn't LOVE this book although I loved so much about the idea of it.

The fact that it was set pre-war, with middle class German characters really stood out for me as a pleasant change from the usual gut wrenching pain of reading about the war, the persecution, the trauma - my God the...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Ruth Bonetti rated it 3 of 5 stars

When an author has won so many awards for a book it sets high expectations. I wanted to like this book but have to say I was disappointed. Yes, it's an interesting aspect of Nazi Germany. The depictions of Berlin, London and Sydney are, well, OK but not as engrossing as expected.

Why didn't I like it more?
There's an excellent first paragraph (how we authors labour over our hook!) which seems to have paid off. Then its flashbacks seem to lose momentum. At least I finished this book, unlike 'Stas...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Sharon Marchingo rated it 4 of 5 stars

All That I Am
By Anna Funder
I have to say that it took me a little while to get into this book but I followed my 100 page rule, (I won’t give up on a book until I have read at least 100 pages and if I am not into it by then I never will be) and I was rewarded immensely. Funder took me to pre-war 1930’s Germany and London and I loved the journey. The story is about four academic and writer friends, Ruth, her husband Hans, her cousin Dora and the writer Ernst Toller. They flee Germany in the 1930’s...more All That I Am
By Anna Funder
I have to say that it took me a little while to get into this book but I followed my 100 page rule, (I won’t give up on a book until I have read at least 100 pages and if I am not into it by then I never will be) and I was rewarded immensely. Funder took me to pre-war 1930’s Germany and London and I loved the journey. The story is about four academic and writer friends, Ruth, her husband Hans, her cousin Dora and the writer Ernst Toller. They flee Germany in the 1930’s to surreptitiously carry out political activism in London and try to reveal the truth about Hitler’s rise to power and his reign of terror on dissidents. The story is told through the eyes of Ruth and Toller, one living in Sydney (modern times) and the other in New York (late 1930’s). Each chapter weaves a story of the events of the years when they were all living in London and attempting to raise awareness of their campaign. The chapters flash forward and backwards and the jigsaw pieces of the times are put together.
The main character Dora evolves through the eyes of Ruth and Toller. Dora’s strength and singular ambition and her selfless and dogged pursuit of truth, is admirable and inspiring. In this state of flux the characters never know who to trust and who may betray them and there is always the constant fear of being hunted down by Hitler’s followers and murdered in their beds.
The characters are based on real life people which makes their experiences plausible and all that more meaningful. When I finished the novel I almost felt exhausted by their struggle and what they had to endure to save their friends, sadly with little success. This was a time of upheaval, a time to live in the moment when love could be intense and fleeting and death was always beckoning.
Anna Funder gained much of her knowledge from her dear friend Ruth who became one of the narrators of the story. All That I Am won the Miles Franklin award this year and is the final book for discussion for the

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Mar 23, 2013 Alexis Villery rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ruth and Ernst Toller take turns telling the story of Dora, a political activist in the days before the start of WWII. Ruth, her husband Hans, Dora, and Ernst have all escaped Germany and are living as refugees with the English. There they plot to warn the world of Hitler's treatment of people and of his future plans. Dora is Ruth's cousin and Ernst's love. The story starts in the present and both Ruth and Ernst flashback to the tumultuous time when they fled Germany because of their political l...more Ruth and Ernst Toller take turns telling the story of Dora, a political activist in the days before the start of WWII. Ruth, her husband Hans, Dora, and Ernst have all escaped Germany and are living as refugees with the English. There they plot to warn the world of Hitler's treatment of people and of his future plans. Dora is Ruth's cousin and Ernst's love. The story starts in the present and both Ruth and Ernst flashback to the tumultuous time when they fled Germany because of their political leanings and activity. All That I Am is uncommon in that it doesn't focus on the plight of the Jews per se but rather focuses on the political climate and the hardships many faced once the regime slowly changed under Nazi control. Well-written and poignant, many will love this well-researched read.

All That I Am was not the read for me though it had so many powerful moments. For me the switch between characters and time periods was just too confusing. It created a disconnect to Ruth and Ernst's past selves. I found myself most connected to present day Ruth and Ernst Toller despite the small amount of time spent during this period. I'm glad that the point of view was displayed clearly at the start of each chapter. But the transition to the past and back was often abrupt and disconcerting. The two point of views were also jolting. I also expected a little more romance and perhaps a lighter storyline within a tough historical period and topic. There were few light moments and at times I felt that it read like nonfiction. This wasn't the story I expected but I think I would get more out of this book by rereading it. The details are thoughtful and meaningful. I feel every sentence on the page had a point and was connected to another moment. Unfortunately, I don't prefer to reread books. Part III of the novel was riveting and I was completely captivated. I wish Part I and Part II would have sped by a bit quicker. For all the focus on Dora, I didn't connect with her much and didn't care as much about her as I should have. Though, there were moments where my heart really went out to her.

Ultimately, I think this is a great book for those who are looking for a well-researched , thoughtful perspective on the political turmoil during this time in history. I recommend you slow down to this one in. Many have said that they avoid WWII books because they can be sad and depressing. This one is probably the saddest one I've read and I've read tons of WWII books. Just a heads up there. Though I have lukewarm feelings about this novel, the twist at the end makes me glad I read it. I won't ever forget this one.(less)

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Mar 02, 2013 Kendra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookmania-2013, historical-fiction

When I think of what I have learned over the years about Hitler’s rein over Germany, stories of dictators and victims come to mind. The heroes are those who either worked to get people out and away from Germany safely or are the victims themselves who somehow managed to survive the terror with both their life and their sanity intact. I don’t think of the people who were brave enough to get involved and take action and bring about world-wide awareness of what was really happening in Germany in th...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel has inspired in me a sudden and intense interest in German history. We hear and read so rarely about the "good Germans" that we often forget that they ever existed, or that there was a native resistance movement to Hitler even as he took office, and that many of his most stalwart, brave, and politically active opponents were Jewish. We also tend to forget how isolated these people were, even or especially in the international community (which still wanted to avoid war at all costs), a...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Kristine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pre-war-war-post-was, germany, london

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. (maybe three and a half, but more four than three)

What I like about this book:

1. The prologue is absolutely fantastic. The author tells you all the little details you want to know, and at the same time Anna Funder gets right to it. Ruth and Hans are introduced, the storyline is laid out, and it sets you in a mood.

2. While reading you get the story from two perspectives and I really like this, though it at times is a bit confusing and dragging. Getting two perspectives is especially important for...more (maybe three and a half, but more four than three)

What I like about this book:

1. The prologue is absolutely fantastic. The author tells you all the little details you want to know, and at the same time Anna Funder gets right to it. Ruth and Hans are introduced, the storyline is laid out, and it sets you in a mood.

2. While reading you get the story from two perspectives and I really like this, though it at times is a bit confusing and dragging. Getting two perspectives is especially important for the character Dora. As a reader you need the two sides of her. The author could of course have made Ruth tell everything, but I do think that Toller was the only one who could get the story about her right.

3. The most important thing about this book is that it showed how impossible it was for anyone to do anything about the situation they saw coming in Germany. Dora, Toller, Ruth, they all tried, but no one would open their eyes and see what was actually going on.

4. I grew to love the characters and I could feel their pain. I felt the hopelessness and the sadness. All in all this book made me feel and it made me think. Should Ruth, and myself, have seen it coming with Hans? Could Ruth have saved anyone?

Some things I did not like quite as much:

1. It was a bit confusing and difficult for me to read this book at times because I don't know very much about Germany in the years before WWII. There were of course some facts about it, but there could have been a little bit more. At the same time I feel like I can't really blame the author for this. She wrote a book and should be allowed to demand something from her readers.

2. The book was a little bit slow in the beginning. This might be because I only read a few pages at a time (I had to get of trains and get to classes ; ) ), but I was a little bit disappointed after the marvellous prologue.

3. The way Hans was written annoyed me a bit. He changes, as the readers know, as the story goes on. I know that he was a real person and that it actually happened, but I do feel like it should have been written another way. I believe Hans was quite a loving person, the way he was portrayed in the beginning of this book anyway, and I do understand that something probably snapped inside of him at one point, which made him change quite a bit. What I did not like was that we suddenly learnt about all the bad things he had ever done. It might just be my reaction to it all though, I liked Hans and maybe I, as a reader, wasn't ready for him to be doing all this...(less)

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Jan 23, 2013 Trak rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, australian, aww-challenge-2013, historical, fiction, literature, politics

I have not read any of Anne Funder’s work before and though this book has won stacks of awards, the only thing I knew about the book was written on the blurb.
This book is written in alternate chapters by Ruth Becker and Ernst Toller reflects on their involvement as German political activists in the 1930s. Well kind of, for me this novel is about two people reminiscing about Dora Fabian.
Dora is what binds everyone and everything together in this story and she is for me the central character in...more I have not read any of Anne Funder’s work before and though this book has won stacks of awards, the only thing I knew about the book was written on the blurb.
This book is written in alternate chapters by Ruth Becker and Ernst Toller reflects on their involvement as German political activists in the 1930s. Well kind of, for me this novel is about two people reminiscing about Dora Fabian.
Dora is what binds everyone and everything together in this story and she is for me the central character in the novel. While Funder paints this marvellous picture of a group of people trying to prevent the rise of Hitler’s Germany, at the heart of the novel is Dora. We come to understand Dora as she built by the memories of Toller and Becker. You come to understand why they loved her so much and why her demise had so much impact on the two of them.
I should admit that I did not know that the book was based on real people. I did suspect that the characters were not wholly fictional but it was only when I read the author’s notes at the end of the book that it was confirmed. I am glad I did not read this book with any notion of what the book was about. That would have taken out the magic of trying to ascertain what was going on.
My only criticism of this book and it is very slight, is that sometimes the voice of Toller and Becker become blurred. If you did not have the chapter heading and sexual references, at times it seemed to be the same person talking. At one point I wondered if that was going to be twist to the novel.
I loved the way Funder has constructed the story of these people and making them lift off the page. They are human because they are less than perfect and it helps you to understand the choices they make and the lack of perception about some of the events that happens around them. It was sad to see a group of people struggle to alert the world that the atrocities have commenced in Germany while the political leaders stuck their heads in the sand.
When I was not reading the book I thought about the characters, I thought about their situations and their decisions that is how drawn into the story I had become. Yet I was never in the story. I am always an outsider, seeing from the recollections of Toller and Becker, never really gaining any insight into how either of these two characters feel. For example Toller tells me of Ruth Becker’s distress in the court room, Becker tells me of Ernst Toller’s removal from the court room and I never really understand what either truly feels about the situation. You are always looking backwards at what has been and perhaps that is why I feel a bit disconnected with story at the end.
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Nov 01, 2012 Linda Ogrowsky rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was a little hard to get into until after the first third of the book. But the characters were fleshed out and very three-dimensional. I didn't realise that all of the characters and what happened to them was all true. But I think the author played a little fast and loose with the interplay of the people. Ruth never married Hans in real life and there is nothing to suggest that Toller ever had a romantic relationship with Dora.
But the heroism of those involved was inspiring and the situation...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Rosemary rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was our October Book Group book. Stasiland was her first book and now 10 years and three children later she has written this excellent novel, or it is creative non-fiction or 'faction'? It is based on real people's lives and the character Ruth, who tells half the story, she actually got to know in Sydney. A group of Jewish socialist intellectuals in the 20s and 30s fight Hitler's rise in Germany and London, where they flee as refugees, after Hitler wins power. She says it is like putting fl...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Gabrielle Trenbath rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is written from the prospective of two of Political Activists (plus close knit group/family) that escape Nazi Germany and live in London.

The narrative is written from when these two Characters are in old age and trying to make peace with their troubled past.

While it centres around a close group of refugees in London who are trying to make a difference in a world in turmoil but not everyone can stand the pressure of fleeing persecution and surviving in a new hostile environment. Towards the e...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Fe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In quale altro modo possiamo conoscere qualcuno, amare qualcuno, se non immaginandoci nella sua vita?

Berlino, 1933. Hitler prende il potere, la città si riempie delle urla cantilenanti della gente. "Vogliamo-il-cancelliere...Vogliamo-il-cancelliere...Vogliamo-il-cancelliere". Ruth Becker appende una bandiera rossa alla finestra del suo appartamento in Schiffbauerdamm. Un piccolo gesto.
New York, 1939. Il drammaturgo tedesco antifascista Ernst Toller, chiuso in una stanza del Mayflower Hotel e os...more In quale altro modo possiamo conoscere qualcuno, amare qualcuno, se non immaginandoci nella sua vita?

Berlino, 1933. Hitler prende il potere, la città si riempie delle urla cantilenanti della gente. "Vogliamo-il-cancelliere...Vogliamo-il-cancelliere...Vogliamo-il-cancelliere". Ruth Becker appende una bandiera rossa alla finestra del suo appartamento in Schiffbauerdamm. Un piccolo gesto.
New York, 1939. Il drammaturgo tedesco antifascista Ernst Toller, chiuso in una stanza del Mayflower Hotel e ossessionato dai suoi demoni interiori, rievoca la sua amante, la coraggiosa Dora Fabian, eroina della Resistenza tedesca.
Australia, 2001. L'anziana Ruth, unica sopravvissuta di un gruppo di rifugiati politici tedeschi, si perde tra sogno e ricordi riportando in vita persone ed eventi del suo passato.
E' questo il sapore del libro, quello di una vecchia fotografia in bianco e nero, come quella bellissima che orna la copertina, quello di un passato lontano ma vivissimo, che prende forma e si dipana nel presente.
Ci ritroviamo nella Germania degli anni trenta. Dopo l'incendio al Reichstag Ruth e i suoi amici sono costretti a fuggire in Gran Bretagna, dove continuano la loro lotta politica per tentare di avvisare il mondo del pericolo costituito dal regime nazista. La frustrazione dell'esilio, del trovarsi in un paese straniero senza soldi, lontani da casa, con il terrore costante di vedersi revocato il passaporto ed essere costretti a rientrare in patria, dove li attende, nella migliore delle ipotesi, la prigionia. L'indifferenza della Gran Bretagna e degli altri paesi a ciò che sta succedendo in Germania, il dolore di vedere gli amici catturati o uccisi dalla Gestapo, l'inadeguatezza e il senso di soffocamento di fronte a qualcosa che non si riesce a fermare, qualcosa che spazza via la vita dei singoli individui con una facilità disarmante. Ma anche l'amore per il proprio paese e il rifiuto di vederlo collassare sotto un regime sanguinario, la forza e il coraggio di chi non si arrende mai e lotta per un'irrinunciabile libertà, l'entusiasmo per ogni battaglia vinta, l'amore incondizionato che si dispiega come una trama dorata sul tessuto nero della Storia, ma che - inevitabilmente - può rendere ciechi. "Credi che se ami qualcuno devi far finta che certe parti di lui non esistano?".
E infine la paura. "La paura è il fondamento psicologico di ogni dittatura". La paura di fare un passo falso, di essere rispediti in Germania e trovarsi alla mercé dei nazisti, la paura della sofferenza e della morte, e, soprattutto, la paura più grande, quella di vedere morire le persone amate.
Il romanzo ci riporta direttamente, tramite i ricordi di Ruth e Toller, nelle cupe atmosfere del periodo nazista, tra gli intrighi della polizia tedesca, i sotterfugi dei rifugiati, il terrore di ebrei e tedeschi dissidenti messi a tacere dai nazisti e dalla connivenza degli altri paesi verso il regime.
Su tutto ciò si staglia la vita di questi esuli, con le loro debolezze, i loro amori, i loro rimorsi, il loro dolore, il loro coraggio.
Il mondo si è accorto della follia di Hitler quando ormai era troppo tardi. "Si può guardar succedere qualcosa senza nemmeno vederlo". Leggere questo libro fa sentire a disagio, si può solo intuire la paura strisciante che contaminava la vita all'epoca, ogni singolo dramma di ogni singolo individuo di fronte alle mostruosità della dittatura nazista, ci si sente minuscoli di fronte al coraggio di chi ha rischiato tutto pur di non rinunciare alla libertà.
Ci si sforza di non dimenticare ciò che è stato, ma resta sempre, almeno per me, un’inquietudine di fondo, la diffidenza verso il genere umano, il dubbio che possa ripetersi. Soprattutto ora che il futuro è più un miraggio che una certezza.
Ruth si domanda: “in quale altro modo possiamo conoscere qualcuno, amare qualcuno, se non immaginandoci nella sua vita?”. Ecco il potere della letteratura, la forza di questo libro che permette di immaginare la loro vita, quella vita che hanno rischiato – e perso – perché volevano un futuro migliore.
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Sep 21, 2012 Simone Sinna rated it 4 of 5 stars

People far more eloquent than I have reviewed this book, and given it has already won prizes and is likely to win more, probably many more eloquent people will continue to review it. Given the range I read and write, it’s hard to give ‘numbers’ to books that are meaningful. If I was comparing this to similar books I would give it 4.5 out of 5, but that doesn’t mean I think it is less or indeed in any way comparable to ones in the romance genre I have given 5 out of 5.
I was reluctant to buy it in...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Jan Hemphill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Based around the life of one lesser character, Ruth, who survives (despite personal and political betrayal) into a life in Australia, this is a dark story of German emigres in the 1930s, struggling to warn the indifferent English against the Nazis. It is based on real people, Ernst Toller, a writer and Dora Fabian, political activist. An engrossing combination of great plot and structure, perceptive character development and deep understanding of emotional life, love, relationships, and heroism....more

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Aug 31, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This novel certainly opened my eyes to the brutal reign of terror imposed on the German people by Hitler and his brown-shirted Nazi army. Although a work of fiction, the characters are historical figures who have been forced to flee Germany because of their resistance to the Nazi regime. Their struggle to warn the world about what is happening inside Germany is thwarted by the unwillingness of the world to listen. Their moral and physical courage in continuing their resistance is continually tes...more

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