Stevie‘s review of Berlin Hungers by Justine Saracen
Lesbian Historical Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 17 Apr 18
I greatly enjoyed Justine Saracen’s 2017 release, set during and just after the Second World War, and so I was very excited to see her release another novel, involving a different group of characters and nationalities, but set only slightly later, this year. Political allegiances are shifting, and the Russians have very different ideas as to how Germany should be rebuilt compared with how the British and their allies view the post-war situation. Caught in the middle of all this are the ordinary German citizens, particularly those living in Berlin, who faced deprivation in the latter part of the war and are finding the peace just as difficult to survive.
Erika Brandt is the widow of a Luftwaffe pilot, who lives through rape, starvation, and the threat of disease, as the Russian troops invade Germany’s capital at the end of the conflict. Banding together with other residents of her apartment block, she finds a degree of safety in numbers, and her situation seems to improve slightly when the British arrive and take control of the area in which Erika and her friends live. However, the group can only survive for so long on scavenging and trading their few remaining possessions for food, and Erika soon seeks work on a British airbase.
Also working on the base is Gillian Somerville, a British former ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) pilot, who spent the war flying RAF aircraft to wherever they were needed. When the ATA is disbanded at the end of the war, Gillian discovers that women can continue to serve alongside the RAF, but are no longer able to pilot planes. Hoping that situation will eventually change, she retrains as an air-traffic controller, working with the new RADAR systems, and accepts a posting to Germany, in spite of holding a massive grudge against the country’s inhabitants, all of whom she blames for the deaths of her parents in the Blitz.
Once Gillian and Erika meet, they discover that both their preconceptions of the former enemy nation were not entirely accurate. Becoming friends and eventually would-be lovers, their attempts to spend more time together are constantly thwarted by the authorities, as well as by the misguided actions of those they consider friends. As boundaries are redrawn, it seems that the political situation will separate them forever, but an unexpected connection may turn out to be their salvation.
I really wanted to like this book, in spite of some of the grim situations that Erika in particular is subjected to; however, I felt that some of the resolutions to the worst scenarios relied too much on coincidence. A well-researched and well-written book, that just wasn’t the right novel for my state of mind at the time of reading. I’m still a great fan of Justine’s writing, but next time I’ll read something of hers set in a different era.
Grade: C
Summary:
In the years after World War II, the alliance that saved Europe is breaking down as the Soviet Union and the West compete for control of Germany. When Russia blockades Berlin, everyone, it seems, is hungry: Russian soldiers for German women, the Soviet leaders for territory, the Berliners themselves for food. But the hardest hunger of all is between a Royal Air Force woman and the wife of a Luftwaffe pilot who helped set fire to half of London.
Read an excerpt.
