The American Wife
The American Wife is the tumultuous tale of Kitty Larsson, the privileged daughter of an American senator and aspiring foreign service worker in the late 1930s. Her whirlwind romance with Dr. Edgar Ragatz, a wealthy Austrian bureaucrat, propels her to Vienna on the eve of the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, testing her loyalties to both her husband and friends.
Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is an accomplished writer who excels at creating nuanced, likeable characters. Kitty is at once worldly and sheltered, spoiled yet aware of her privilege and eager to help to others as a result. The plot is fast-paced and not overburdened by extraneous details. Unfortunately, the pace of the novel renders many of the relationships somewhat superficial. Kitty impulsively plunges headlong into a relationship with Edgar based on one magical night; while not an unlikely scenario, their interactions have little depth beyond signaling to Kitty that Edgar may not be the person she thinks he is. It comes as no surprise that after their hasty marriage, he is basically a stranger. Similarly, Kitty’s relationship with “The Gang,” a motley group of social outcasts, does not have much substance. She becomes deeply invested in helping them flee the Nazis, and yet her interactions with them are limited. Despite this drawback, Kitty’s willingness to take risks to save both friends and strangers alike makes her a true heroine and keeps the reader engaged.
The American Wife is a welcome entry to the crowded field of World War II fiction and will appeal to readers who love a good plot filled with action, suspense, and mystery.
