Daughter of the Reich (US) / People Like Us (UK)
This story of star-crossed lovers in Leipzig, Germany during 1929-1939 begins with Hetty Heinrich as a child being rescued from drowning by her brother’s friend, Walter. But Walter is a Jew, and the family is on its way up, thanks to Nazi newspaper connections in Hitler’s Germany. By the time they are teenagers, the families are separated, and Walter is learning that the window of escape for Jews is closing.
Hetty, at first, is devoted to Hitler’s notion of German youth and hears his portrait speak to her with guidance. She even participates in informing on her friend Tomas’s more free-thinking father. But as she gets older, her own wish to become a doctor, her lively mind, sexual awakening, and sense of justice all conspire to get her into trouble. Then she meets Walter again, and they embark on a secret love affair. After Kristallnacht in 1938, his desperate family leans on Hetty’s help, though it means her life will forever change when she dares to defy her powerful father.
Revelatory and harrowing with touches of grace, Daughter of the Reich, after a slow-paced start, soon picks up and becomes a compelling experience. The characterizations are well done, with the lovers and Hetty’s relationship with her beloved brother particularly well rendered. An extraordinary debut novel. Bravo!
