A stunning family memoir of one woman's search for her German grandmother's history during the Second World War
Svenja O'Donnell is an award-winning political correspondent and commentator whose work regularly features on TV and radio. Before covering Brexit for Bloomberg, she worked as a correspondent in Russia. Half-Irish and half-German, she was born and brought up in Paris, and lives in London. Inge's War is her first book.
It feels increasingly urgent to remember the lessons of World War
II and I cannot think of anyone better than Svenja O'Donnell to
navigate us through this particular slice of history. A lyrical,
engrossing and essential read
*Sathnam Sanghera*
Svenja O'Donnell turns her skills as an investigative journalist to
unearthing a vitally important, powerful, and painful family story
from World War Two. I was gripped as Inge's War revealed secrets
within secrets, and exposed the dark realities of ordinary people's
wartime lives to the light.
*Suzannah Lipscomb*
Inge’s War is a superbly nuanced reclamation of history and family
secrets. With much empathy and skill, Svenja O’Donnell gives us a
long withheld, powerful true story of love and suffering on the
wrong side of the battle lines in World War II. It’s a timely
reminder that a nation’s politics and people are not one and the
same, that the innocent are sometimes punished for collective sins,
and that women, across ages and cultures, have silently borne the
brunt of war in ways we are only beginning to reckon with
*Brian Van Reet, author of SPOILS*
I can't recommend this book highly enough ... a beautifully told
story of tragedy and hope.
*Ed Balls*
O'Donnell beautifully weaves together her family history with
themes of love, guilt and betrayal
*Jack Fairweather, bestselling author of the Costa-prize winning
THE VOLUNTEER*
Too often the most dramatic, fascinating human stories are lost to
history because they are never documented. Thankfully, Svenja
O'Donnell has rescued the extraordinary saga of her grandmother, a
saga filled with love and betrayal and secrets, a saga that
illuminates the nature of war and memory. Using her remarkable
skills as a reporter and writer, O'Donnell has recorded this story
so meticulously and beautifully that it will remain forever in our
consciousness
*David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of KILLERS OF THE
FLOWER MOON and THE LOST CITY OF Z*
Exceptional... It presents a new perspective on the conflict: that
of ordinary Germans who endured terrible suffering under the Nazi
regime, but also that of women caught up on the wrong side of
history. I could not put it down
*Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller (Editor's Choice)*
The author, a graceful, eloquent writer, follows a trail that
sometimes takes her through deeply troubling terrain, and she amply
reveals the cruelty and compassion that characterize times of war.
Haunting family stories that serve as a metaphor for human
suffering everywhere
*Kirkus Starred Review*
This exceptional account transforms a private tragedy into a
universal story of war and survival
*Publisher's Weekly Starred Review*
This compelling testimonial details the deprivations German
citizens faced during the war and reveals a dark part of Danish
history. The perspective is enlightening and the accounts of sexual
abuse are timely to the continuing Me Too discourse. This memoir
deserves a wide audience.
*Booklist Starred Review*
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