The German Woman

by Paul Griner

Years after she is mistaken for a spy and forced to flee a World War I field hospital, Kate, the English widow of a German surgeon, sparks the curiosity and attraction of Claus, a propaganda filmmaker and World War II British spy who finds himself questioning his loyalties.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Espionage, Germany, War, Novels

308 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an American I always find what the British went through in World War II a bit fantastical. This book reminded me of that. In fact the best part of the book was making those years in Britain come alive. There was constant terror, anticipation of loss...both loss of your own life or your loved ones, the importance of food, of a warm bath. And worst of all, perhaps, not knowing who to trust. Who was loyal to the UK and who wasn't? Even doubting your own motives at times. Trying to do the best thing, act on your higher impulses as things seemed or WERE falling down around you. There were the odd kindnesses, great and small, from strangers, scenes of beauty and hope intermixed with the dismal and hopeless. The swings of emotion alone would be debilitating. Yet in order to survive you had to act. Griner brings together characters that are, perhaps even more than the majority of World War II Brits, isolated and alone, countryless. Just when I had the sensation I was getting a clear sense of who Kate Zweig and Claus Murphy were and what their motivations were the ground would shift again. In the end they seemed only to be staving off hopelessness, barely staying ahead of it. When beauty made an appearance it only served to make the day to day hardships more stark; blood, death, privations, hunger, isolation and the seduction of letting go of hope.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

In his credits, the author thanks his editor. I can’t quote what he says, the book’s gone back to the library, but the idea seemed to be that good editing was what turned a messy ms into a real book. I think more work was needed. The editing seams show. Sections, and even sometimes sentences, jump around in a disconcerting manner. You know, the kind of thing that happens when you move chunks of text around in a word-processing program.

Add to that a plot that is confusing in and of itself and it makes for a confusing trip. I was doing fine until Part I left the English nurse and her husband abruptly and we were dumped again about 20 years for Part II, and an entirely new protagonist, a supposed film writer, entered the scene. I was soon lost, and remained so until the end of the book. Despite Protagonist I being introduced into the life of Protagonist II, I saw little connection between the two parts of the book. In particular, the relationship between the two did not seem real or likely to me.

Despite its having started out with real promise, I have to give this one only 2 stars.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am drawn to nonfiction and fiction about the first half of the twentieth century for some reason, and in particular World War II. "The German Woman" is a well-written haunting novel centered on an English nurse (Kate) married to a German doctor who finds herself in a ragtag hospital in eastern Germany during World War I. She and her husband are accused of being spies for the Russians, so the only choice is to try to get to safety. Some of the most horrific descriptions of warfare and utter cruelty almost had me stop reading at times. As the story moves beyond the escape from the horror to Kate settling in London, it takes a different turn. It is the time of World War II. Kate gradually becomes friends with Claus, a filmmaker and an American with Irish and German roots, who is fascinated by her. Their lives, and their relationship, amidst the Nazi bombings of London, are complex and troubling. Griner places you right inside this world so effectively that for the first time I could imagine the horror felt by Londoners as air raid sirens blasted and the Nazis attacked from the skies. I loved this book, and could not put it down. In fact, I will re-read "The German Woman" in a few years (knowing, the second time, that it is ok to gloss over some of the scenes of gut-wrenching cruelty). I will definitely read more of Griner's works, though not at night right before I go to sleep. "Just saying."

[Christine Rebbert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I spent entirely too much time on this book. The holiday busy-ness didn't help, but besides that, it's like I kept waiting for SOMETHING to happen. I am a big consumer of WWII historical fiction, and this is actually both Wars, but it was way too murky. Was he a spy? Was she a spy? What happened to her first husband? Was his name Charles or Claus? Did the writer get tired and just throw it all away on the last page? There were a few things that I started getting interested in (a former D.W. Griffith film crew member making propaganda films in England; medics on the front lines in Prussia), but those story-lines just faded away never to be revisited. And I still want to know, why is it called "The German Woman". She was not.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ooof. So heavy. I've read a lot of war novels, but rarely do they have the depth of cynicism as the circumstances and characters in this story. The beginning chapters were set in post-WW I Eastern Europe while the bulk of the book contains two ex-pats with sad histories and conflicted loyalties in London. Not happy times, but so dark and dreary.

SPOILER ALERT: The book is well-written (hence the two stars) and so while I forced myself through the first part (we know Kate is to be widowed from the plot summary, so it was somewhat painful to wait for the axe to fall on poor, nobel Horst, if you'll forgive the metaphor), I found the middle section really picked up. But there were flaws in the set-up. Having seen Kate's history, did we really think she'd end up a spy? Then the ending: depressing and unrealistic to boot. . .the British espionage agency is especially effective in a way that only a fictional plot device can be. Despite their dourness, I'd built up some affection for Kate and Claus and felt entirely manipulated. What's the message here? War is miserable? Conflicted people die?

[Allyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lofty ambition but it jumps around too much. They fall in love too quickly. It takes too long to discover his history- not till page 100 or so and it all seemed completely fabricated. I know it is fiction but it seemed implausible, like a bad movie script. Disappointing as so much potential and he has a vivid way of describing war zones, feelings of those affected by war, indirectly and directly, but not very satisfying in the end. And shocking to end it so- lame almost. As if he could not be bothered to construct a more satisfying ending, giving Bertram the upper hand and allowing these 2 characters who persevered through such adversity to just dissolve in the end. If that were his objective from the beginning, why not fabricate an entirely different sort of novel.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty big dud that failed to live up to the book blurbs & hype. Talk about confusion. I still don't know who did what. But, if the book is supposed to relay the confusion felt trying to determine who is a spy and who is not or what information to give, then it succeeds. Otherwise, there is too much ambiguity; Kate who is English was married for 20 years to a German surgeon but she now lives in England where she regrets that Germany lost WWI; Claus who was an American with a German mother is also Irish and a spy for the Germans (but really for the English--most of the time). Confused? Claus was, too. It doesn't get better. On a positive note, there were details of atrocities and horrors of war that were quite specific.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book. I found it very confusing and I was never sure what was going on. Maybe I needed more background into V-1's and spying during WWII. I thought it was poorly written and didn't leave me feeling anything for the characters. Half the time I didn't even know who Claus/Charles was referring to with Madge, Herbert, and many other people involved in his life. I have read a plethora of books on WWII and this was not one I cared for and wouldn't recommend reading.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was different from most WWI/WWII books I've read in that it spans the two wars. In addition, it captures two people caught between allegiance to both "sides." I have a difficult time with spy novels; I always find them confusing. The German Woman is more accessible than most. Very interesting book. Not the ending I expected, but a very believable one.

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

To label this a "spy" novel would be a disservice. The author's descriptions of post-WWI Germany as well as the 1944 V1 bombings of London bring history to the level of the individuals who struggled through those times. It's a rather dark story of a woman who experienced both sides of both wars. The ending is predictable.

[Jill Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this book three stars because it is a well-written, if not totally original, example of its genre - the historical thriller. Kate Zweig and Claus (Charles) Murphy meet up in 1944 London, where Kate is a nurse (and possible spy) and Claus (Charles) is a film maker and air raid warden (and possible spy). The two meet and fall in love (and possibly spy). There's a back story of Kate, who was English born and raised and met a German doctor pre-WW1 in London. They were both forced to emigrate to Germany when Horst (the doctor husband) was kicked out of England in 1914. She returned to England after Horst's death, to live in her birthplace (and possibly spy). Claus (Charles) also has a back story of the son of a German mother and Irish father, who grew up in the US and experienced bigotry in 1917. So, both (possible spies) end up living and meeting in London.

To live in London in 1944 is to live with the ever-present danger of being hit by "doodle-bugs", those innocent-sounding but deeply dangerous bombs launched by the Germans in a new blitz-bomb mode. Claus (Charles) may be giving the Germans coordinates of populated areas to aim the bombs at so as to produce the most damage.

The book is a fairly good look at life in 1944 England. The story is complicated, but, in the end, I was not sufficiently interested in the characters to care much what happened to them. It's not a bad read, it's just not a great read.

The other thing I did not like about the book as marketing line in the book that describes Kate Zweig as "beautiful Kate Zweig, the English widow..." It's really irritating to see the main female character described as "beautiful", as if she'd be not worth writing about (and reading about) if she was not "beautiful"? Are we "average-looking" women worth less than a "beautiful" one? Do readers only want to read about a "beautiful" woman? Just a pet irritant with me.

[Barrie Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this on the shelf at the library and picked it up on a whim. I love stories with Germans and WWII. From the book jacket, I expected a war time romance involving spies and mystery.

Part I was great. I was introduced to Kate, a British nurse during WWI and Horst, her German doctor husband. They were running a field hospital in France when they were suspected of being spies and nearly executed. With the help of a former patient, they are saved. Back in Germany, life is very hard and Kate lives a desperate existence with Horst, who is now blind, Horst’s mother, and a crippled niece.

Part II opens up in England during WWII. Here is where the book falls apart for me. Horst and his mother have died and the niece has married. Kate is living single. We are introduced to Claus/Charles who is not only mysterious in terms of the story but also to the reader. Is he American? German? Irish? Is he a spy? A filmmaker? A patrol officer? This section was so confusing. I had a glimmer of hope when the romance started but there just wasn’t enough. I gave it a good try and I made it halfway through the book until I started skimming. So many characters and double (triple?) lives, dropping in and out of the story.

I think if I buckled down and really read this book closely, it might be a good mystery. How did Claus die? Was Kate really a spy? Were they both spies? I guess I will never know.

[Arlete Tury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro muito bem escrito. Apesar de ter muitas imagens descritas, a leitura nao fica chata ou cansativa, pelo contrário, o autor acerta na medida, deixando uma cena perfeitamente detalhada sem os excessos de minúscias. E a troca de ponto de vista, se apossando da personalidade do personagem é perfeita, não deixa nada bagunçado. Os personagens são tão característicos e originais que os diálogos quase não precisam ser indicados quem é quem que está falando. Fora que todo o roteiro é tão envolvente que, se você pega para ler, não consegue ler menos de 50 páginas e o livro te deixa um bom tempo pensando na história mesmo quando você dá as pausas.
Os capítulos são bem dividos, e os mais longos tem pausas de cena, então se você é aquela pessoa que fica possessa por ter que parar no meio de um capítulo para fazer alguma coisa, não precisa se estressar. Já que a divisão das cenas não são tão grandes e você pode se estender uns minutinhos a mais só para terminar aquele capítulo.
Quanto à história? Simplesmente incrível, sério. Eu passei uns dez minutos olhando para o nada no final. Eu fiquei bem surpresa e querendo mais. Até revirei o livro para ver se não tinha mais nada, nem que fosse um resumo a mais, ou algo do gênero. Por que é tão bom que você não quer que termine.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping tale covering both World Wars, in a way that takes war down to a personal level. The story especially focuses on the privations of post war life and asks questions of loyalty and identity. The main characters are Kate Zweig, English wife of a German surgeon, and Charles 'Claus' Murphy American son of a German mother and Irish father.

The writer's style is very descriptive in an appealing and detailed way that sets scenes well. I felt that the ending was a bit weak, but really enjoyed the read and may look for other books by this author.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out very interesting and captured my attention from the first page. Then it dragged on through so much hardship and tragedy that it was hard to plod through. It seemed unending. Part two was better, enough to keep me reading, anyway. There was still much sadness, but it was broken up by some lighter moments.
Just a note on language- when Kate calls Claus her little German, the correct word is “klein.” “Wenig” means a small amount, not small in size.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this on another review and feel the same way; I wasted too much time waiting for something to happen and am still confused about this book. I love historical fiction and had high hopes for this one and was very disappointed.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of the Great War, and doctor and nurse husband-wife team are caught in Poland between the Russians and Germans.
Fast forward twenty five years to find the nurse, who happens to be English, working at a hospital in London. Is she as spy?

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it to be a rough transition from part 1 to part 2 of this novel. I liked the premise but felt the description of life in Europe during WW2 to be inaccurate.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb book. And a very good mystery. May recommend it to my mystery book clubs.

[Wisteria Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE GERMAN WOMAN[return]Paul Griner, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009, $25.00, hb, 320pp. 9780547055220.[return][return] The German Woman is the story of an English woman, Kate Zwieg, a trained nurse who is married to a German surgeon, Horst Zweig. It is 1919 during WW1 and together they work serving injured soldiers from the battles in East Prussia. Fast forward twenty-five years and Kate is now in London, the summer of 1944, considered the summer that never was. It is now WWII, bombings, air-raids, skeletal framework of once magnificent structures and massive casualties are part of every day life. Kate, is now widowed, when she meets Claus at a political rally. The speaker at the gathering is spewing propaganda falsities to a crowd of onlookers. Kate is incensed by the disinformation and steps forward with a barrage of razor sharp barbs. Claus, or rather Charles, an exiled American with German heritage, works making propaganda films for the Ministry of Information. He is in the crowd and notices Kate, and is attracted to her spirit and he introduces himself to her. Claus is also happens to be a spy supplying valuable information to the German military, although sometimes not as accurate as it should be. He knows his life depends on secrecy and trusting no one, but he meets Kate and romance turns to unexpected love. At some point, he becomes suspicious of Kate and his duality of loyalty will rock his perspicacious resolve. Kate is almost a silent, passive participant as the action is seen through Claus and his struggle. [return] Paul Griner shows a natural talent of subterfuge as he carefully creates a complex mask of mirrors causing a magicians allusion for the audience to solve. There are passages of beautiful lyrical poetic prose that could fit a musical score.

[Peg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel entitled the German Woman is really about an English nurse who married a German surgeon. The book opens toward to end of WWI when Kate Zweig and her husband are moving westward, working in hospitals, as German fortunes are declining. Earlier in their marriage, they lived in England, but were forced to leave when hostilities broke out between England and Germany. The next part of the book unfolds in London during WWII, when Claus (aka Charles), a person of mixed background and loyalties meets Kate. She is now widowed and serving as a nurse in London during the bombings of that city around the time of the Normandy invasion. The love affair that ensues between them is vastly complicated by their pasts, their unclear loyalties and the horrors experienced by the civilian population in that terrible time. Add the fact that Charles is a film maker, who has American, English and German ties and a prison record. Kate's loyalty is questioned by Charles' friend and mentor, Bertram, making him unsure as to who Kate really is and how far to trust her with his own secrets.

As a side note, the author, Paul Griner, is the director of the creative writing program at the University of Louisville. It is well written. Apparently he has written another novel titled Collectors and a short story collection called Follow Me. It is nice to come across an academic who is producing works in the real world. I think it would be interesting to take his class.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kind of has two halves as it follows Kate, a nurse during both of the World Wars. The first half focuses on Kate, an Englishwoman who is married to a German doctor and works in Europe during the First World War and then suffers from the privations in Germany that follow the end of that war. In the second half of the book Kate returns to England in the early period of the Second World War where she meets Claus, a German/American living in exile in England and working as a double agent. The heart of the story is about nationality and a feeling of alienation, even in your native land, and a story about the role of trust in a relationship and the effect a lack of trust can have. Some of the reviews I've read complain about the lack of connection between the first and second halves of the book, and in some ways it does feel each of them could have stood on their own. However, I think without the background of the first half, the events and relationships in the second half would not have been as poignant. Not a perfectly constructed book, but the themes underlying the story make up for it.

[Jackie Sanderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main characters are an American man with an Irish name who had a German mother and a female English nurse whose husband was a German physician. Both have already suffered (from past treatment because they were Germans or thought to be spies) when they meet in England during the blitz bombing, and the question is which one of them is possibly a spy. The novel reveals how Germans-or anyone associated with Germans--was treated in the US or England. In England many were deported or exiled and sent out to Canada on ships that were sunk in the Atlantic by German U boats. In the US, Germans were attacked in their homes and shops and treated as traitors. It's a good mystery which lets us see their inner motives while revealing to us the way they appear to the authorities who judge them and pass sentence.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, which spans both World Wars, begins in a field hospital on the Eastern front. Kate, a young English woman married to a German surgeon, experiences the horrors of war as she serves as nurse and caretaker to the injured soldiers. She and her husband are taken as spies then escape to live through hard times in post-war Germany. The second part of the story takes place in London during the Blitz. We meet Claus, an ex-pat American making propaganda films for the Allies. He meets Kate, now a widow, and they have an affair. Issues of trust arise: is Kate a spy?; does she have ulterior motives? what about Claus' co-workers? Far more than a love story, much more than a recycled war tale, this well-written, unsentimental novel will stay with you long after you finish reading.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book by Paul Griner was a powerful one in many respects. It reminded and indeed, told me more about Worle War II and its results and tragedies in Engand than I remembered. How they survived is almost a miracle in itself. In the midst of all the bombings two people came together with their past histories and created one of their own. We know much more about her background before the meeting. It was ineresting reading though it was not one that left you happy because of the materal it was covering. Well written.

J. Robert Ewbank author "Wesley's Wars" and "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms"

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm entirely disappointed with how the last 50 pages of this story went. When I started to actually tolerate the storyline, the author went and ruined both characters. If I had been the editor, I would have removed pages 1-100 and 250 to 308. I wish, like a DVD, there was an alternate ending option. This book needed one. I would have rather continued reading the schizophrenic outbursts of eating live horses and pissing in the mouths of dead bodies like the first 100 pages, then read about a cry baby male spy and an unrealistic female spy.

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had good bones but the writing was somewhat hard to follow at times and I had to read back at times to pick up the confusing jumps into time and try to pick up the story again. The early part of the book gave a good account of the privations that were suffered post world war 1 in cities in germany where people were starving and making do with very little. It also gave a good view in to London and the fear of Germans who lived in the country at that time and the fallout from constant bombing

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly light and fluffy summer reading, but hey, it was about WWII, what did I expect?! Well researched, especially the descriptions of London during the intense Nazi bombings before the Normandy invasion. This isn't a fun read, and if you like a standard Hollywood happy ending, you'd best pass this one by. If, however, you are interested in historical fiction and like a bit of realism, then you won't be disappointed.

[Lavon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out great. The writer has a very descriptive style that could really make me picture the horrible circumstances of the main characters. The first part of the book was set in WWI and was fantastic. The second part of the book was set in WWII and was good, but I found it a bit confusing and hard to follow. So in the end I was disappointed by a book that got off to such a great start.

[Colette Guerin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It jumped around too much for my liking and Kate's timing, considering her life experiences and purported age when she met Claus just seemed all off. Inconsistencies like these bother me. The movie making didn't seem to work well into the story line. Horst the first beloved husband becomes a forgotten man. I don't like being introduced into characters lives and not feel fully engaged. I think he had a great basic story line to work with and it just got to divided up for me and failed.