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The German Boy [Paperback]

Tricia Wastvedt
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Book Description

26 May 2011

In 1947, Elisabeth Mander's German nephew comes to stay: Stefan Landau, her dead sister's teenage son, whom she hates and loves before she's even set eyes on him.

Orphaned by the war and traumatised by the last, vicious battles of the Hitler Youth, Stefan brings with him to England only a few meagre possessions. Among them a portrait of a girl with long copper hair by a young painter called Michael Ross - and with it the memory, both painful and precious, of her life and that time between the wars.

Spanning decades and generations, The German Boy tells the moving story of two families entangled by love and friendship, divided by prejudice and war, and of a brief encounter between a woman and a man that touched each of their lives forever.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Viking (26 May 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 067091942X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0670919420
  • Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 2.6 x 21.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 408,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Product Description

Review

[An] asorbing literary saga... sophisticated and subtly woven --The Daily Mail

A readable and dramatic scoot through the first half of the 20th century, trailing wounded lives [and] ugly secrets
--The Guardian

About the Author

Patricia Wastvedt was born in London in 1954 and lives in northern France. She is the author of The River, which as Longlisted for the Orange Prize. This is her second novel.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended! 30 May 2011
Format:Paperback
Tricia Wastvedt has taken some time to follow up on her successful debut novel 'The River', but her second book is worth the wait. 'The German Boy' is a thoughtful and beautifully crafted novel, set in the years between 1927 and 1947, when the tragedy of the Great War still lingers, and new threats and challenges impact the lives of the characters.
This is the story of three women - all connected in some way with Michael Ross, a painter of Jewish descent - and the strengths and limitations of the affection that binds them. Tricia Wastvedt writes with insight about the choices and compromises people make, and those seemingly insignificant decisions which can resonate for the rest of their lives. Despite the dramatic times, the dilemma for her characters lies in the gap between their hopes and the reality of their day to day lives. This is, in part, a novel about unfulfilled potential and those life stories that will never happen; an artist who cannot paint as he would wish, a woman who cannot be a mother, and a love affair which can never blossom.
Set largely in Kent, London and Germany, the story is wonderfully visual. A busy railway platform, a derelict house in Germany, the sea and great shingle bank at Dungeness are all vividly imagined. This is a writer with the eye and the heart of a painter.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, what tangled webs we weave. 1 Aug 2011
By Jodi Dougan VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
When I picked up The German Boy I was expecting to read the story of Stefan Landau and his struggle to return to some kind of normality in Britain following the end of World War II - instead what I got was a really wonderful tale of family, love and sacrifice, spanning over several decades.
Stefan Landau isn't the star of this book at all, the real star is Michael Ross, the artist whose mysterious painting Stefan brings with him from Germany.
The book is set during a very well documented period of history, and Wastvedt does a fantastic job of weaving the trials and tribulations of each of the characters round the times they were living in. Every character in the book feels exceptionally real, and they all somehow become victims of their circumstance. Sisters Elisabeth and Karen find their lives taking very different courses, in 2 very different countries on a one way track to war. Yet their lives remain constantly linked by Michael, who they have both known since childhood.
The story was a little slow to start, but once it got going I found it hard to put down. The German Boy is a fantastic book that I highly recommend.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A magical story, beautifully written 30 May 2011
Format:Paperback
The German Boy tells the stories of kith and kin, the connections, dislocations, choices and unforseen consequences of lives lived in an era punctuated by world war.

Wastvedt captures the minutiae of people's ordinary worlds: the making of a hearty supper, the feeling of starvation, a devastated city, the beauty of a landscape. This is interwoven with the experiences of a people who seem to be caught up in a mystery, where significant events are half known, sometimes spoken about, or perhaps kept secret.

There are some beautiful descriptive passages in the book:

"The sand is full of colours. Elisabeth digs her fingers down and scoops a cool damp handful. She pokes through the grains and they're spangled black and purple, white and pink. The mystery is there's no yellow although the beach that stretches in both directions is the colour of straw."

I read slowly, drinking in all the wonderful imagery that must have been so carefully crafted, and yet all through the book I was wanting to go forward to discover how Wastvedt woudl draw this complex web to a conclusion. I was not disappointed!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars The German Boy
Well written and interesting. Non linear style became frustrating after a time and I just kept thinking "get on with it. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Pegasus
5.0 out of 5 stars Attentive Read
Tense and finely written, the plot reveals itself neatly, involving several individuals. A very satisfying read, involving mind and feelings.
Published 1 month ago by absbee
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, melancholy,absorbing read
I read this after reading The River by the same author, which slightly disappointed me. This novel draws you in from the start and the characters are extremely well drawn. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Milly Molly
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read.
I wouldn't put this up with the "Best Sellers" as the advertising claims, but it is worth a read. Different, yet in some parts predictable. Read more
Published 5 months ago by L P Bilton
5.0 out of 5 stars A very good book
I love the stlye of writing, the story is very original and well written

The style is very descriptive and creates good atmosphere

I am two thirds through the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Janie Oblomov
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant author
I am lucky enough to be taught by the author, Tricia, at Bath Spa University. This is for the MA Creative Writing in the beautiful Corsham Court where the peacocks wander ! Read more
Published 6 months ago by KNM
5.0 out of 5 stars A feast for the senses. Beautiful
Tricia Wastvedt has a unique writing style that leads you gently by the hand into exquisitely told stories full of beautifully descriptive prose. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Miss Olive
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written novel
The German Boy is a wonderfully written novel about families, tragedy, friendship and love. Evocative, touching and moving, the immensely engaging story follows the lives of three... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Bingo Gardener
4.0 out of 5 stars Alternate title please?
I bought this book on a whim, intrigued by the thought of a German orphan trying to integrate into English culture post-war and the impact such an integration would have on his new... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Heather Willis
3.0 out of 5 stars A plodding plot, but the wonderful writing makes up for it
I only really enjoyed this book because of the quality of the writing which was very descriptive and evocative. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Hannah Dexter
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