Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada - 4.5 Stars

[Olivermagnus]

Every Man Dies Alone is based on the true story of Otto and Elise Hampel, a working-class couple from Berlin, who began their own campaign against the Nazi regime following Elise's brother's death in action. For more than two years the Hampels wrote and covertly distributed postcards around Berlin, telling the German people there would never be peace under the Nazis. It took Fallada twenty-four days to write this book in 1947. He was a drug/alcohol addict and had just been released from a Nazi insane asylum. It was to be the final year of his life.

When Otto and and Anna Quangel's soldier son is killed in action, they are helpless in their grief. They decide that anonymous postcards can be dropped around the city in what they consider their own act of subversion. They know if they are caught it will mean certain death. They are not the only characters we get to know in this book. The reader will witness the terror imposed by the Nazis on all citizens, an extensive process of physical and emotional violence. The story is divided between the average citizens and the Gestapo's pursuit of them.

This book is difficult to review. Some of the characters are farcical but it also reads like a straightforward novel of suspense. Ultimately I was fascinated by the chilling portrait of everyday Germans and how they tried to do something, even an act that seemed small, in order to have some impact on the horror of their lives. I also want to commend the translator, Michael Hofman. The book was impeccably translated. While not the book for everyone, I highly recommend this to any fan of WWII fiction.

[Regina Lindsey]

I read this a long time ago and them book really left an impression on me

[Hahtoolah]

I loved, loved, loved this book. It is one of the best holocaust/WWII novels I have read. It really gave a view into the lives of civilian Germans during the War.

[Denizen]

I love seeing all of the positive feedback as this has been near the top of the TBR for a long time.