Enjoyed this story. Of course I know the history around the Berlin Wall but I had no idea it went up so quickly. Wonder how many people were stick on the wrong side. Great story with plenty of drama although quite sad in places.

I loved reading this book, the history of the Wall and the divide has always fascinated me. Loved the main two characters. Beautifully written and utterly absorbing.

***ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.co.uk ***

A family torn apart by the Berlin Wall. Two sisters, more than sisters, twins, one trapped in the east, the other in the west.

A compelling heartbreaking story of love, hardship and the determination of twins in the 1960's, separated by a wall, but can their connection be maintained whilst apart.

A beautifully written novel which drawers you & keeps you hooked until the last page. A real insight into the very different lives in East & West Germany.

This is the story of identical twins - Jutta and Karin Vogt - growing up, post WW2 in the Western sector of Berlin. After the end of the war, Germany was divided between the allies and the USA, together with France and UK looked after the Western areas, whilst Russia took on the Eastern areas. Berlin was casually divided into East and West and then on 13 August 1961 the Russians, backing the East German authorities, took matters into their own hands. On that day they started construction of the Berlin Wall, which the GDR (German Democratic Republic) dubbed the Anti-Fascist Wall (which the West saw as keeping East Germans corralled), and the ensuing division was set to last until 1989. It sprang up overnight and shocked world leaders. Why did it take almost 40 years for it to come down? Simply put, the Western nations feared the might of Russia, that a confrontation would most likely have had dire consequences, as nuclear proliferation was running high. The Berliners were left to suffer.

Just a couple of days before the Wall was erected, Karin happened to be in the Eastern sector and got struck down with appendicitis and she was admitted to the Charité Hospital. Her process of recuperation took place as the Wall was being built and within no time at all (a matter of hours) no-one could cross either way unless a gap was found. These breaches, however, were closed swiftly, as soon as they were discovered, and anyone using or facilitating them was severely punished. She was stuck on the wrong side of the Wall.

Once the phones lines between the two halves were cut and postal services abrogated, there was no way the Vogt family could make contact with Karin. She was on her own. Two years later and it is clear that lives have changed - both women are in relationships and moving on with their lives.

Jutta finds an abandoned house and a window that appears unguarded, and she is brave enough to drop into the Eastern sector. She formulates a plan to make contact with her twin. It is dangerous, there are spies and Stasi members everywhere, people willing to drop others in the deepest trouble without a second thought. The GDR regime divided and ruled their people with psychological terror and people kowtowed to save their own skins. The threat of a stay at the Hohenschönhausen Stasi prison (which you can visit today) hung over everyone and encouraged citizens to tow the line. Others made it their life's work to help people over the Wall. Between 1961 and 1989 there were at least 140 fatalities of people trying to cross to the West.

The deprivation in the East, married with some degree of optimism that the social agenda was fundamentally good, is laid bare in this novel. Some of the policies in the egalitarian dogma really beggared belief - children in a family, where either/both parents were doctors, were not allowed to follow in their parents' footsteps and had to take on menial work as a balance to their intellectual parents; bananas were not readily available to the general public but were given to the GDR Olympic team candidates on a regular basis. People scoured the city for the latest delivery of oranges. And all the while the bigwigs were feathering their own nests, whilst people grubbed around for basic essentials and food. Everyone was provided with work, job security and healthcare but that certainly came at a price. The paranoia and fear that were inculcated as soon as the Wall went up left a whole generation of people scarred and fearful.

The author captures the real sense of suspicion, paranoia and fear as she drives the story forward. She takes her characters to Cafe Sybille on Karl Marx Allée, and they spend time at the Lake in Rummelsburg, Alexanderplatz is a central meeting point and you can follow the characters as they make their way around the city. She does a very good job of evoking the footsteps of the era and has clearly done her research with a sharp and appraising eye.

A timely reminder that walls are divisive and injurious, whichever side you happen to be on. Lessons from history clearly still have not been learned.

I listened to this as an audiobook and it was well narrated by Hattie Ladbury and Charlie Norfolk.

A quick couple of notes: Germans did not use kettles (they boiled water in pans); tissue boxes were not a thing in Germany at that time; to create authenticity, it would have been useful to use Centigrade and not Fahrenheit. Kurfürstendamm is not shortened to Kuf'damm but Ku'damm. Germans don't have markets on a Sunday (shops still close strictly on a Saturday evening at 5, until Monday morning).

The Girl Behind the Wall is written from the perspective of two sisters: Jutta, who is in West Berlin, and Karin, who happens to be hospitalized in what becomes East Berlin when the wall goes up and is not allowed to return to her family in the West. The sisters' stories unfold along with history, as Berlin settles into life as a split city, one democratic and free; the other, ruled by communism and fear.

Most of the novel takes place between 1961 - 1963 and brings to life the rollercoaster of emotions faced by countless people who lived in East and West Berlin during this time period, personified by Karin and Jutta's stories. It's equal parts unsettling, emotional, and heartbreaking, yet I had to listen to the very end, to see how the sisters' stories are resolved, and Karin and Jutta remained on my mind long after the book ended.

This audiobook has two narrators, which helps differentiate between the sisters, even though each chapter clearly depicts whose story is being told. Charlie Norfolk and Hattie Ladbury are excellent at bringing each woman to life, and I look forward to listening to more books narrated by these talented actresses.

This is the first Mandy Robotham novel I've experienced. It won't be the last.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity of listening to this one.

Firstly, I thought the narrator was great! Secondly, I thought the story was wonderful too! Hard hitting and emotional, this was such a great listen. I kept telling myself oh just a few more minutes but I found it hard to stop listening - I just wanted to know what happened next.

Twins, torn apart by the erection of the Berlin Wall - Karin on one side and Jutta on the other. Can they get back to each other? And at what cost?

"The Girl Behind the Wall" didn't really work for me. The way the characters acted didn't really feel natural in any way and the interpersonal relationships weren't well developed enough for me to get invested which made understanding the characters' decisions really difficult.

This is a emotional, emotive & gripping story. Based on true events, it’s got a hauntingly realistic edge to it & a tear inducing ending.
Really enjoyable.

I enjoyed this audiobook, particularly its plot which is based around the historical past events during that led to the divid within a country by its leaders. The story is told from the perspective of the people who loved during this time and their experiences to waking up one morning to find a wall dividing their city. In the case of the main characters, it involves two sisters who become split apart due to one of them receiving hospital treatment in one area and the other being home in the opposite area.

I think the author has done a fab job with their research for this story as I found I was able to really get a feel for the characters and it was almost like I was able to picture myself as though I was there, feeling their emotions, torment and confusion, this new obstacle in their lives has created during such an awful time.

This is definitely a read/listen for those who enjoy historical fiction. I don’t usually go for historical fiction myself but I do have a interest in world war 2 and events surrounding it, so in this case, I couldn’t resist and I wasn’t disappointed!

The narrator told the story clearly and fluently, making it easy to listen to and follow the story. It was very easy to end up listening to hours of the story in one sitting (which I like to do whilst getting on with my housework, or coursework, or sometimes even while relaxing in a bubble bath)

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook to listen to and review. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me this opportunity

The Girl Behind the Wall has been one of my favourite books I’ve read so far this year. In essence it is a simple story based on the separation of twin sisters in Berlin when the wall is put up during the 1960s. For those who know nothing about the history of this period, the idea of a wall physically separating a city, a nation in the western world, seems like a tale of science fiction. Indeed, as you read about the plight of the families effected from our current position of looking back over time, it seems fantastical that such a situation occurred in a well-developed country. This makes the book all the more important and moving. Recommended.

A couple of points to note in addition; I felt that the ending came too abruptly. Yes, there was a prologue but it felt a little inadequate and just the easier way to finish off the book.

In the audio addition, when Jutta is being interrogated, the accent used for the German soldier sounded really Welsh. I and perhaps, others found this rather unnerving and inappropriate.

Wow! This is a wonderful story with tension right through to the very end. I loved the narrator who handled the two narratives really well and kept me hooked.

I requested this story because I have visited Berlin in recent year (pre-Covid!) and was shocked, horrified and in awe of the lengths the GDR went to build this wall and control. I could really imagine the situation occurring as it is described in this book. The difference between life in the West and the East were stark and I think Robotham captures this perfectly.

I loved the idea of a 'secret rabbit hole' and could not predict how the Karin and Ja-Ja's dilemma would be resolved. The epilogue sums up the whole situation:'It's just how it was.' This is a book about love and its strength: would the GDR's wall be stronger than the natural bond between two sisters?

I have read a couple of this author's books and thoroughly enjoyed them. This was a completely different subject matter which I knew very little about.

I thought that it was well written and highlighted the way lives were affected during this awful time.

Well narrated too.

This is the first time I have read a book about the Berlin wall. I loved learning about this time in history. I liked that the story really jump started right at the beginning. I appreciated that it didn't take forever for the sisters to be separated, it made the book very fast-paced. I didn't ever consider that people would be separated by the introduction of the wall overnight. Thinking about how families were separated because they were working or visiting was heartbreaking. I thought this was a great book, and I highly recommend it for historical fiction fans!

Thank you netgalley for the audiobook.

I have to say, I struggled with this one. I found it difficult to focus on. But saying that, it could be me and not the book causing that.

I really enjoyed The Berlin Girl so had high expectations. I do like the authors writing style and the calmness of her books. The author clearly researched a lot and does a good job.

This is the story of two sisters, separated by the Berlin Wall. It’s just an accident of fate that Karin is on the wrong side of the wall when it goes up, leaving her under brutal Soviet rule and her twin Jutta in West Berlin. Karin tries to forge a life in a world where the simplest of pleasures are denied, where people are listening to everything you say. She finds love with Otto and makes the best of her situation, until her sister finds a way through the wall. Now, Karin will have to decide between her sister, and freedom or the man she loves.

A city divided.
When the Berlin Wall goes up, Karin is on the wrong side of the city. Overnight, she’s trapped under Soviet rule in unforgiving East Berlin and separated from her twin sister, Jutta.
Two sisters torn apart.
Karin and Jutta lead parallel lives for years, cut off by the Wall. But Karin finds one reason to keep going: Otto, the man who gives her hope, even amidst the brutal East German regime.
One impossible choice…
When Jutta finds a hidden way through the wall, the twins are reunited. But the Stasi have eyes everywhere, and soon Karin is faced with a terrible decision: to flee to the West and be with her sister, or sacrifice it all to follow her heart?
Gorgeous read and I now have the book copy and the audiobook