Stella is a really impactful historical novel. Inspired by true events, the extracts from source documents, really did bring the story to life.

Friedrich is a naive young man from Switzerland who travels to Berlin in 1942. He's a truth teller and a gentle soul. So he's horrified by the Nazis and the stories he hears.

His life changes when he meets Kristin. She's uninhibited and unpredictable. He can't imagine ever living without her.

But the war is to impact them in ways that he could never have begun to imagine and their story is truly horrifying and heart-breaking. Stella, I think, makes us all ask ourselves, what would we do in the same circumstances?

This is a translated book that feels like something got lost during the process. I did have to look twice to see if there wasn't some additional parts of the book and it just didn't feel finished! It felt like something was missing!

The book is filled with young love, betrayal, and the horrors of history, but the ending lacks a certain level of resolution.

I enjoyed this book but was sad with what happened.

Friedrich is a Swiss man who decides to come to Berlin to learn how to become an artist. While he is in the class there is a model.

He meets the model later who is called Stella (Kristin) and they later fall in love. She is a model and a dancer. The only problem is she is a Jew but has papers that are forged as she looks like a typical German.

Stella is arrested along with her parents, she is tortured and eventually released but is there a reason behind this. Her parents will never see her again.

This story is based on true events but some of it is fictional.

Stella is inspired by true story to do with the world war 2 . It is about man called Friedrich who wants to go Berlin where he wants to learn how to be artist. This is where he meets a women who does not seem to be who she says she is. The story is about fear, hope , love and betrayal.
I found this story easy to read but at times I did lose the plot of what was going on in the book. I did e joy the story and there was somethings I did not know so I researched it. This story open my eyes with what happened in the war and to Jewish people..
Thank you NetGalley letting me read this book.

I only skimmed the blurb about this book, so didn't really know what to expect.
Being honest, I nearly gave up because the opening third of the novel seemed to jump around, with several characters seeming somewhat surreal.

However I stuck with it and ended up liking it a lot, hence the four star rating.

It was only after completing the book that it became apparent how much of this piece of historical fiction is based on real events. Obviously I won't go into detail for fear of spoiling the story: Suffice to say that everything made much more sense in the end.

It is a narrative which investigates an aspect of life in Germany during World War Two, about which I was completely oblivious.

I will certainly be recommending this book to friends and family.

Finally I give my thanks to Netgalley and Grove Press for a copy in exchange for this review.

There are a number of novels based on true facts from the second world war but this one differs from many as the author provides the facts intermittently as extracted excerpts from war trials in Berlin. On the one hand I found this provided fascinating, although horrific, details but on the other hand it interrupted the flow of the story. The interspersed lists of facts and figures from that era were also really interesting and helped to put this into context but were sometimes too many for me to successfully digest.
This was a really rewarding read but, for the reasons mentioned, it sometimes lacked continuity. I would recommend for those who like second world war novels but also want the gritty facts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stella is a story about fear and hope - and about the decision to betray yourself or your love. It is inspired by the true story of Stella Goldschlag, also known as 'The Blonde Poison', and the loyalty and deceit present in World War II Berlin painting the portrait of a woman caught in the tragic cycle of history. In January 1942, Friedrich, aka Fritz, an even-tempered and unworldly young man of twenty arrives in Berlin from Switzerland in search of the truth about the Nazi war machine, to seek refuge from his alcoholic mother and to try to fulfil his dream of becoming a brilliant and burgeoning artist. Having grown up in a secluded house in Choulex overlooking Lake Geneva in an affluent family comprised of his textile importer father and heavy drinking, anti-Semitic painter mother, he had daydreamed about escaping to a more fruitful life with more opportunity. Through a plethora of stories, literature and newscasts Fritz develops a romantic idea of Berlin resulting in his move there despite it being the centre of the raging wartime efforts. A short time later, at a free figure drawing class at the Feige and Strassburger art school, he is hypnotized by the beautiful and mysterious model, Kristin, who becomes his guide to the bustling and cosmopolitan city, escorting him to secret jazz clubs, sharing with him his first kiss and having fun in each other’s company, however, she refuses to allow him to meet her family or even let him know the location in which she lives. She takes care of him and teaches him to move between the Cenacles of the city's effervescent nightlife, and soon the intensity of their relationship turns into a passionate love story.

But the Nazis are increasingly taking control over the intimate lives of German residents, the Gestapo arresting and killing anyone who shows opposition to their ideology. Kristin is targeted by the Gestapo, tortured and battered, and despite her seemingly carefree life, she has good reason to be afraid: her real name is Stella Goldschlag, and she is Jewish, passing, or masquerading, as Aryan. In order to protect her parents, who have been imprisoned, Stella agrees to inform on other Jews for the Gestapo and denounce those who have fled or gone into hiding, leaving Friedrich out of his depth and torn between preserving his own moral integrity and the intensity of first love. Stella is an enthralling and captivating 1940s love story set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime and their atrocities; it highlights perfectly that the heart wants what the heart wants and that it is difficult to withdraw from someone you adore. It asks you, the reader, to consider the question: How guilty are you if you do everything you can to protect the lives of your loved ones, even if it means precipitating the death of many others? Wartime Berlin is described in rich, vivid detail and it's clear extensive research went into crafting the most authentic narrative possible. It's a fact-based historical novel that is difficult to put down and I appreciated the excerpts from witness statements documented at a postwar trial of the real-life Stella Goldschlag, a terrifying yet fascinating and self-confident woman, who continued to inform for the Gestapo throughout the war. It's a subtle yet powerful, affecting and melancholy story that I know I'm not likely to forget any time soon. Highly recommended.

The book centres on Friedrich, a Swiss young man who decides, much to his families dismay, to visit Berlin during the war to study art. He has an encounter with a stunning women who introduces herself as Kristin and draws him into her world of art, forbidden jazz clubs and her dubious friend, Tristan, Friedrich is clearly smitten with Kristen from the start and the story revolves around their growing relationship and the almost hypnotic power she has over him.

The novel is told in first person from Friedrich's point of view and is punctuated with italic paragraphs denoting where a different Jewish family had been discovered and what became of them. There are also periodic pages detailing key world events of the time, which put things much more into perspective from a readers point of view. I feel I must be a bit slow on the uptake, as it wasn't until way through the book I realised that the Jewish family references showed that Kristin/Stella was a collaborator and these were the people she had betrayed. The Author's Note at the end actually confirmed this, along with the fact that apart from Friedrich and Tristan, Kristin/Stella and other characters mentioned were all real people. which gave me the chills. I enjoyed the atmospheric scenes described in the novel and I commend the translator on a great job - I have endured some shockers in the past!

Intriguingly structured novel, following a Swiss young man with sufficient means to become an artist in Berlin during the war, with a suite at an upmarket hotel . As one does. To this initially surprising set up is added a mysterious woman, a slightly homoerotic attraction with a well-placed German and an increasingly complex balance of morals and opportunity.

Quite beautifully written / translated and packing a lot into a short novel, Stella tells a story based on reality, exploring what it takes to survive and the moral and real sacrifices this can require. Passingly Reminiscent of goodbye to Berlin in a way, Stella explores old ground in a new and interesting approach.

Not one for me: it’s just too depressing.

Really deep and thought provoking novel, of loneliness, love, betrayal and the sufferings of the Jewish people in Germany in the latter part of WW2.

Friedrich is a weak and naive character. It is not clear, but he could possibly be portrayed as bisexual. Swiss born of a drunken mother and international salesman father, brought up in Choulex, Switzerland , he travels to Berlin on vacation and becomes infatuated with a Jewish girl (Stella aka Kristin), initially hiding her identity, but ultimately it becomes clear that she was working for the Gestapo. There are unexplained gaps in the story, which stall the flow of the narrative.

Between Friedrich’s story, the novel is date-stamped with international events of the time, painting a horrifying picture of the ravages and persecution of the Jews. Although the witness statements are linked and relevant to the main text, I found these irritating as it was like reading two separate books.

In 1942, despite the raging war, would-be artist Friedrich leaves the relative safety of his native Switzerland for Berlin, a city which haunts his imagination. Friedrich has barely started his art classes when he falls for the model, Kristin. Kristin appears to Friedrich to be whatever he is not – confident, worldly, enigmatic, glamorous. Despite Friedrich being something of an introvert, the two soon become lovers, sharing his rooms at the Grand Hotel and seemingly oblivious to the cataclysmic world events going on around them. Kristin, however, has her secrets. When, one day, she comes back battered, bruised and abused, Friedrich starts to realise that there is more to his lover than he realised at first – for a start, the fact that her real name is Stella and that she is a Jew, notwithstanding her surprising friendship with members of the Gestapo.

Stella is hardly the first novel inspired by the tragic situation of the Jews under the Nazi regime. Certainly, it will not be the last. Würger’s approach, however, is both original and sensitive. In choosing as his subject a real historical figure who chose to hide her Jewish identity, he confronts the reader with a moral dilemma which ultimately lies at the heart of the book – is all fair in love and war?

What also struck me about this novel is the narrative voice. This is a book full of extremes of passion – love, hate, lust, tears and laughter, life, death. Yet Friedrich, who acts as the narrator, is often detached and matter of fact. The chapters of the novel are set in consecutive months in 1942 – each starts with historical snippets, as if we’re reading a history book. This deliberate attempt to eschew melodrama makes the salient scenes of the novel more effective, shocking and moving. The final paragraphs, in which an older Friedrich abandons himself to nostalgia, are nothing short of heart-breaking.

Stella is a quick read but one which, I suspect, will not be easily forgotten.

Friedrich lives in Choulex near Geneva with his heavy drinker mother and wealthy father who imports velvet. As he grows up he becomes impressed with what he perceives as Nazi strength especially as he sees himself as ‘small’. In January 1942 he goes to Berlin ostensibly to attend art school but in reality to seek ‘truth’ and there he meets Kristin/Stella Goldschlag and Tristan von Appen.

Friedrich is a good, clear narrator capturing Berlin in the 1940’s, in places the language is staccato which matches the scenario of the intensifying Nazi yolk especially on Jews. I really like the round up at the beginning of each month which sets out the demands on the German population alongside world events. One that really resonates is the release of Disney’s Bambi making such a stark contrast to the edicts and wartime events. I like Friedrich's father’s letters from Turkey which records a very colourful life which is at odds with Berlin and Friedrich’s growing feelings of betrayal. It soon becomes apparent that our narrator is naive in his youthfulness as it takes him a while for him to see what Kristin is in reality and the same for von Appen. He appreciates he has been foolish and wrong about everything and acknowledges his initial blindness to reality. Kristin’s truth becomes clear in snippets interspersed with the narrative and it is a shock. There is nothing new in what we learn here as it’s well documented but what is different in this novel is how the characters are portrayed, their openly confessed ideas to Friedrich conflict with their pragmatic actions in a desire for self preservation. The storytelling changes from Friedrich’s intense obsession with Kristin to a very dark tale which is compelling reading. It becomes less his story and more about Kristin/Stella who is complex, complicated and an enigma.

My only negative is that sometimes the dialogue is a bit odd but that may be down to lost in translation and there are a few weird events that I’m not sure what to make of.

Overall, this is a well written and interesting novel with the focus becoming the wartime story of Stella Goldschlag, a singer, artists model, a beauty, a liar, a betrayer and seller of ‘Neschume ‘ - souls. I like the blending of fiction with the unedifying fact of Stella’s actions.

With thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books/Grove Press for the arc for an honest review

Friedrich is an affluent young man with a Swiss passport when he decides to travel to Berlin in the middle of the war. Naive, he comes as a tourist and he thinks that he could live in war time without having anything to do with it. He meets a vivacious and misterious woman, she introduces as Kristin. Fritz falls deeply in love.
But who really is Kristin?

Astonishing and very well written novel that I couldn't put down. I've read it in few hours. The style is brutally sharp, characters and atmosphere are perfect.

Story about Stella Goldschlag, the blond poison as she was called, is really interesting and author asks his readers: "Is it wrong to betray one human being to save another or is it right to betray one human being to save another?"

Must read!