A tense historical novel set in East Berlin at two critical periods: the end of the Second World War and the building of the Berlin Wall. The book gives a great insight into these difficult times, especially for women. Highly recommended but not always easy reading.

For the first 100 pages of this book I wasn't sure. As a plot driven reader I couldn't see how the timelines would be relevant to one another... but as we found out how the two were related this book had my heart gripped! The history... the emotion... I felt for these characters on a personal level.

I can see why Josie Ferguson was nominated for the Waterstones debut fiction prize. This book was very well thought out, and beautifully written.

I'm not sure that this book is for everyone; but if you like historical fiction, and you're emotionally in a good place then I would highly recommend giving this a read.

‘Evil demanded little of me - it merely asked me to remain silent, to do nothing. And I complied.’

Lisette, under instruction and reassurance from her doctors goes home to rest, leaving her newborn baby boy in hospital care, but the next day, 13th August 1961, a wall is built slicing Germany in two and preventing her from returning to her son.

Told from two perspectives, in two time zones, we see the impact of trauma pass through generations. Elly, Lisette’s daughter, witnesses her mother’s pain as she is torn from her newborn baby, and we travel back in time with Lisette and see her suffering in the events that led to her daughter’s birth.

Told through first person, you become so invested in the characters you keep the pages turning. I absolutely adored the characters in this book. This book explores the power of bonds formed through love and in friendship, and does it so beautifully.

This is honestly such a stunning debut novel and one of the best historical fictions I’ve read in a while. Thank you so much netgalley for an advanced copy of this book, I loved it so much I bought the hardback. Highly highly recommended.

TW: mental and physical abuse including sexual assault and rape

Wow - what a book!
This is the third book I've read this year with a Cold War Berlin setting and it is by the far best, and most emotional.
I knew that families had been separated when the border (later the Wall) in Berlin went up over night but it never occurred to me that the system was so intransigent that children/babies in hospitals were separated from their parents nor that the state was so unfeeling that they wouldn't let a parent cross to be with the child.

I was more aware of the portion of the story set in 1945, but when retold in fiction it seems to be even more hard hitting than any history book or documentary.

While I also knew about the various escape route from East to West Berlin, and that people in the West tried to help those fleeing the East it had never occurred to me that there were some people who would want to go the other way.

This book packed a real emotional punch, and will stay with me for a long time. Certainly one for a reread in the future - and to be on my best of 2024 list in December.

This novel is based on a young girl from East Berlin, who’s family is torn apart by the closing of the wall.

The book moves between WWII and the divided Berlin. An emotionally charged book, focusing on the experiences of the German women left behind whilst their husbands, fathers and sons were taken for the war, the horrors they faced at the hand of the Russian soldiers. The story is told from the POV of Lisette, a teenager when the war starts; and Elly, who risks her life to collect her younger brother, who is caught up on the other side of the wall, and bring him home.

What brought this closer to home is that my grandmother, who left East Berlin when the Russians came after war, never got to see her brother again, as he remained in East Berlin.

Although I was aware that the Berlin Wall went up overnight, reading about the reality of this was still shocking: people being separated from friends and family and no longer allowed any access to the West. This was a really well researched and written book that I'll be recommending it to other people to read.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. This is an excellent debut for Jodie Ferguson. She has carried out excellent research on the life of German women in Berlin during the 2nd World War and in 1961 when the wall was put up between East and West Berlin. I've not read any stories that have portrayed their personal difficulties. The characters Lisette and Elly are very well written and it is easy to feel sympathy towards them and anger towards others.
A recommended must read for everyone. This history shouldn't be forgotten.

I knew very little about the history of the Berlin Wall, especially not that it literally appeared over night. This book was brilliantly written and left me heartbroken for the characters. Thank you for the opportunity to read it in advance.

The Silence In Between is a great work of historical fiction. It's clearly well researched but the information is only used to build storylines and character development, compared to some novels that feel they have to shoe-horn in every fact they've ever read on the period. I also felt that the era chosen - the building of the Berlin Wall was really fascinating. It is hard to believe that such a thing was allowed to happen in such recent history.

The themes and era covered were incredibly similar to Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan, and I enjoyed both. However, I would say that The Silence In Between is more harrowing and dark and I did feel it to be slightly too depressing in tone at times. But, having said that, it seems to be gaining great accolades so I'm sure that is very much to do with my taste.

1945 and as the war comes closer to Berlin, the women of the city are terrified about the approaching forces. Lisette is forced to become the mistress of a cruel Russian General and is left pregnant. The return from war of her childhood sweetheart allows her some solace and the ability to form a family. 16 years later and Lisette has travelled across Berlin to get treatment for her sick newborn, she leaves him at the hospital and overnight the Wall is constructed separating Lisette from her son. Elly, Lisette's older daughter is determined to rescue her brother but requires the help of both sides to make it happen.
This book is based on true tales of the Fall of Berlin and the building of the Wall in 1961 but is a fictional amalgamation of them. It is a really emotive book and quite harrowing in places, yet it comes across as quite general. The only jarring note for me was the addition of the two strands about homosexuality, they felt like a couple of extras that added nothing and felt superfluous, but that is a minor quibble, it is a really good read.

Everyone should read this book! An incredible fictional story which is based heavily in factual history. The Silence In Between tells the story of Lisette and her daughter Elly, against the background of Berlin in the 1930s and 40s and the early 1960s. Both timelines illustrate the momentous historic events that occurred in Berlin during this time. Lisette's story tells of the rise and fall of the Nazi's- the persecution of the Jews and then the vengeance of the invading Russians. All told from the perspective of the German women living through these horrific events. And then Elly's story begins with the overnight appearance of the Berlin Wall and the segregation of East and West Berlin.
The authors writing really brings these characters to life and I found myself completely gripped by the stories of Lisette and Elly, I could not put the book down. The author's historical research and knowledge shines throughout the story- indeed the women's stories are based on the experiences of real people who lived during these times.
In a world where we appear to be becoming further distanced from each other, and walls are again being built to separate us, this novel has a lot to tell us about the reality of living in a world like that.
Highly recommended!

I was asked to review this book by NetGalley. I am really interested in Word War 2 and the events before, during and after the Berlin Wall went up, I remember the news footage in 1989 when the wall finally came down and people were reunited nealy 30 years later, and although this went up in 1961, the book delves into the second world war.

the author has weaved a dual timeline which is concerned around the Berlin Wall. The story begins in 1961 when Lisette is separated from her baby boy when the Wall is put up overnight. Her son ill in a hospital in West Berlin and she is in East Berlin having left the hospital to get some rest. This is so awful and I have thought briefly about this but not on a human perspective like this.

The story is told from 1961 to the Second World War, following Lisette's story in the earlier years. Will her daughter Elly beable to reunite them.

This is harrowing as civilians went through enough during the war, then later a wall goes up overnight separating friends, relatives and neighbours.

The author writes so well and she has really researched this subject well.

I read Anna Funder's incredible nonfiction book Stasiland last year and the story the broke me the most was that of Frau Paul, whose very ill baby was being treated in a West Berlin hospital when the wall went up and she was separated from her child.
The Silence in Between is a historical fiction novel which starts with this exact premise, Lisette wakes up to discover the Berlin Wall has gone up and her very sick baby Axel is getting medical treatment in a West Berlin hospital while she is trapped on the other side with her husband and teenage daughter Elly. Elly has always struggled to understand the distance between herself and her mother. They have never been close until the birth of Axel so she is driven with a burning desire to help her parents get him back.

The story takes a dual-narrative form moving seamlessly as we go back in time learning about Lisette’s life in Berlin as a young woman during the rise of fascism, then surviving through WW” as Germany goes to War and then as Berlin falls to the Russian army and the impacts it all has on the lives of women. We then flip over to life in 1961 Berlin, as we follow Elly on her quest to reunite her family.
Each story is so well told – we get insights into the lives of East German women as they deal with the impacts and traumas of the historical circumstances that they lived though. Each story was deeply immersive and I was on the each of my seat trying to see what was going to happen each of the characters next. I think what really brought it home to me was that the experiences of these women were so true to real women in history like Frau Paul in Stasiland.
Historical fiction is one of my absolute favourite genres and this debut novel is a brilliant new addition. I was reading way past my bedtime to get through this book and find out what was going to happen Lisette and Elly. I really didn’t have a favourite character, as I really found both of their stories equally moving.
I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves WW2 historical fiction like The Nightengale.

Josie Ferguson’s “The Silence in Between” is a historical fiction masterpiece that deserves a full five stars. The novel weaves together two timelines, transporting you to the heart of a family fractured by the Berlin Wall and its brutal history.

On one hand, we experience the harrowing realities of life in East Berlin, particularly for women, between 1939 and 1945. Ferguson paints a vivid picture of this tumultuous period, from the devastation of war to the complex power dynamics faced by women. The reader is drawn into Lisette’s story, a young woman whose life is forever altered by the events of the war.

The second timeline jumps forward to the chilling atmosphere of East Berlin after the Wall’s construction in 1961-62. Here, we meet Elly, Lisette’s daughter, grappling with the emotional distance between them and a past shrouded in silence. This intergenerational story explores the profound impact of trauma on a family, the unspoken secrets that fester in the absence of communication, and the desperate lengths one will go to for those they love.

Ferguson’s characters are beautifully crafted, each with their own struggles and complexities. We root for Elly as she embarks on a daring mission, and the tension builds as she navigates the dangers of a divided city. The mystery surrounding the family’s past adds another layer of intrigue, keeping you glued to the pages until the very satisfying conclusion.

“The Silence in Between” is more than just a historical novel; it’s a powerful exploration of resilience, the enduring strength of the human spirit, and the lengths we go to for family.

Multiple eras. Multiple perspectives. A clever encapsulation of this novel's unique, fractured setting. Genuinely heartbreaking stuff, told in a gripping style. A fantastic and powerful addition to any Cold War history lover's bookshelf.

Set in two eras, in war torn 1940’s Germany and a city divided in 1961 we follow the lives of Lisette and Elly.
Exhausted mother Lisette has been in hospital with her 4 week old baby Axel, the doctor sends her home saying Axel will be fine and she should get some rest. Lisette travels back to her home in East Berlin to get a change of clothes and to have a power nap, when she awakes her world has changed and the border separating east from west, Lisette from Axel, has closed and there is no way to pass.
Lisette’s daughter Elly, can’t stand seeing her mum so grief stricken and decides that putting her life at risk going away to bring her baby brother back home will bridge the invisible divide she has always felt between her and her mother.

This story was an intense and emotional rollercoaster, it’s just so unimaginable what these people would have gone through. Josie Ferguson captured the intricate details of the lives of the individuals delicately and skill fully. I really felt connected to the characters, I was rooting for them and at times had jaw dropping shock at what they went through.

I really enjoyed reading The Silence In Between, I felt emotionally invested as we moved through the two time zones. I will certainly be recommending this book and look forward, greatly, to reading more from Josie Ferguson in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

Historic fiction at its finest - this debut novel from Josie Ferguson is a masterclass in story-telling.

Told in dual timelines, The Silence In Between is the story of the Berlin teenager Lisette at the end of the Second World War, and of her own teenage daughter Elly in 1961, as the Berlin Wall goes up. In 1961 Elly's baby brother Axel is in hospital in West Berlin, and when the Wall is erected overnight without warning, her family are divided, with Lisette, her husband and their daughter Elly stuck in East Berlin, and baby Axel isolated in hospital. Elly has always felt a lack of love from her mother, and knows that without Axel being returned to the family, her mother will never recover or be happy again. Elly has to find a way to break into West Berlin to try and find her brother and save her family.

Back in 1945 Berlin, Lisette (then a teenager herself) and her own mother Rita are living a hand-to-mouth existence, scraping by on mouldy potatoes and scraps of meat as bombs fall and war rages all around them. Lisette's father has been sent to the front line, as has Julius, the young man that Lisette is in love with. As the Russians conquer Berlin, an already unimaginably hard existence is made infinitely more unbearable by the actions of the Russian soldiers taking their revenge against a broken population.

There's a definite sense of place and the book feels very real -you can almost touch the rundown desolate buildings, feel the cobbled streets under your feet and smell the dankness in the basement cellars. I loved the way that music was used throughout the story-telling as a way of reading someone's personality; it was almost magical in places when Elly could sense someone had bad intentions by the music that she heard in her head.

The two timelines are work wonderfully together; the more we learn about Lisette and her mother in their earlier lives, the more the strained relationship between Lisette and Elly makes sense.

The level of detail within the book was wonderful albeit heart-breaking -hearing about how the border guards were told to 'shoot-to-kill' any potential escapees, let alone the brutality of the incoming soldiers at the end of the war. And I love a book that comes with a recommended reading list - there's so much that I don't know about this time period and I need to know more.

Beautiful writing and captivating characters who stole my heart. This poignant and moving book, set in Berlin in dual timelines of WWII and when the Berlin Wall went up, surpassed all of my expectations and I adored it.

Lisette has struggled to love her teenage daughter, Elly, but is utterly besotted with her newborn son. But when the baby spends the night in hospital for observation, the new wall goes up overnight and Lisette is separated from her son. The trauma causes Lisette to become mute and Elly plots to rescue her brother, putting herself in huge danger.

This brilliant book pulls at all the heart strings and reminds us of some of the terrible situations suffered by innocent people in WWII and the resulting fallout.

A highly recommended read.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Josie Ferguson and Random House Transworld, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I've given this book a deserved 5 stars as it is so moving and brilliantly written and researched. Focusing on the plight of German citizens following Russian occupation the treatment of German women is harrowing and brutal. Imagine you take your baby to hospital and have to leave him there for treatment on the advice of medical staff as there's nowhere for you to wait. You get up the following morning to discover that the Berkin wall has been set up and you cannot get back to get your child. Imagine the emotional damage this inflicts along with having to make difficult choices for your family members just to survive. A superb novel and well worth reading.

This is one of the most beautifully told tales of one of humanity’s many tradegies.

My dear readers.

I can’t even imagine how it would be like to leave your baby at a hospital, being convinced to leave. Then, a wall rises, and the border closes overnight, keeping you from your child.

Reading how Josie describes how Lisette felt leaving her little boy. Her distance to her little boy, with every step, is stretching like a taut rubber band. That… I felt.

With the hospital on one side of the wall and thir home on the other, not all was rosy red in the household to begin with. Reading this book, we get a glimpse into how things have been for the three generations in the flat, one story with the memories tied to it, more haunting than the other. Yet we are given a little hope when someone decides to get to the other side, thrilling as it is as their life is at stake.

Josie takes us effortlessly back and forth in time to follow the members of the family, that my heart kept breaking for over and over for. I adored how this was done, I cannot tell you how, without spoiling it for you.

This is one of those books I actually might not have picked out for myself while browsing the bookstore. However, I am very happy I got the chance to read the stories of this family.

If you see this book in the bookstore, I recommend you consider turning it around, read the back, and see if this is something that might captivate you 😊

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