The Reunion

Thank you to Matador and NetGalley for the arc of the reunion by Geoff Pridmore.

This is the story of an Anglo-German family Hugo whom is an former German POW; his daughter, Hanne whom was born in Cornwall, and Heike his own neice, who leaves to East Germany to live the life of a communist.

It was 1963 in the Summer and Hugo and his wife Rene and rest of the family decide to set out from Cornwall to introduce their children to their Bavarian cousins at a family reunion... His believes that if his children are brought up with theirs they may not be any more wars but the thing in which he hasn't thought of is the wall which is between them...???

This is a very compelling and interesting book, showing about wartime between two familes and their children and about the barriers which are faced their way, it had me hooked right from start to finish!

4 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a very interesting read. Hugo a former POW now living in the U.K. wants to take his family back to Bavaria to meet their German roots with the intention of forming bonds which will be the foundation of good will and peaceful interaction. The journey there bring back many memories of different natures. It is a learning experience and a trip back in time. This book was emotional at times and very interesting. It told a lot about what families endure while their loved ones are away at war as well as how those who are at war suffer. I enjoyed this well researched read.

Thanks to Netgalley for a preview of this book. As a history buff I really enjoyed it. The writer has written a compelling and hard hitting book. It can be a bit tough to read at times but overall a great read.

An interesting but convoluted story.

The final section of the story is written in a completely different style which dies not really fit with the rest of the tale. It also doesn't really add anything to the story, which may have had a stronger ending from finishing after the scene of the two cousin's sharing Heike's story.

Heike's story is by far the best part of the book, an interesting look into the life of a confident yet naive young woman who has to battle for her family and freedom. I think this on its own would have made an incredible story.

The framework on the novel in which it is set, the story of Hanna and her family, and the concept of the reunion, is written well, but isn't particularly interesting, unlike Heike's tale and the story of Hanne's mother and father. The story of the trip to Germany Hanna makes as a child also seems a little redundant given that after this the action jumps by a few decades. Potentially a more brief introduction to the concept of the reunion being started as a tradition in Hanne's childhood could have been used?

Ultimately this book Maxwell written, and it is simply the fact that the more action filled sections are so interesting that make the linking additional parts seem a bit superfluous.

wow. what an impactful and harrowing read. War stories always touch my heart and this one was certainly no different.

it was just the right balance of heartbreaking and hopeful and ended in the most perfect conclusion.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction and wants to learn more about this time in history, I can't wait to buy my own physical copy

This book was strange for me. It took me a while to get into it, and then I set it aside for a while. Picked it back up a couple of weeks later and loved a lot of the middle section of the book.
But then found myself feeling less interested towards the end.

I found I liked the portions talking about the characters experience in the war, to be more interesting that other parts, and it was also enjoyable reading about certain aspects of the Berlin Wall and the way it impacted on people, as this is a time and subjecr in history I would love to read more about.

Overall it was a good book, with a lot of well researched interesting points. But to me, it felt a little slow at times.

I thought this book was very well written. You can tell the author did their research on the topic of families during war and what a POW might experience after. I connected with the main character and you felt what he felt. I would recommend this book to anyone! Fast read