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West of the Wall: 1 (MIRA)
 
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West of the Wall: 1 (MIRA) (Paperback)

by Marcia Preston (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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  • This item: West of the Wall: 1 (MIRA) by Marcia Preston

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

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    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Mira (20 Jun 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0778302040
  • ISBN-13: 978-0778302049
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 120,346 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
'...incredibly evocative, devastatingly moving depiction of a family torn apart by brick, politics and fear.' --Daily Record

'heart-rending tale of family, love and supreme courage and their abilities to conquer the worst and most hopeless of circumstances.' --People's Friend

'A tragic tale that will stay with you long after you've finished it. 5 stars.' --Cosmopolitan on The Butterfly House

Product Description
An act of desperation divides a mother and her child. Only an act of faith can reunite them. Trudy Hulst has no idea if her husband survived his attempted escape past the newly constructed Berlin Wall, but she knows too well the consequences of his actions. Now branded the wife of a defector, she faces a life in prison. With no real choice, she is forced to follow, praying she can find a way to claim their child once she's in West Berlin. Surviving her harrowing break for freedom, Trudy learns the terrible truth about her husband. Left to wander the wall like a ghost, she lives for brief glimpses of her son, stranded behind barbed wire and surrounded by armed soldiers. And Trudy knows she will do anything to get him back.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A good read that resists reverting to stereotypes, 14 Jul 2008
By Mr. B. Gray "downhill-ray" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Marcia Preston has an engaging and fluid writing style which made this an enjoyable read. Without being overly sentimental or politicising, the author captured the austerity of East Berlin and the suffocating influence of communist government at the time. The reader was engaged by sustained passages of genuine tension throughout the book. My only two criticisms were firstly, the frankly implausable journey to the US which felt hurried and uncomfortably shoe-horned into the middle of the narrative. Secondly, despite strong characterisation of even minor individuals throughout the book, I felt a lack of empathy for the main protagonist, Trudy, who seemed of indeterminate character; selfish and distant from the implausible amount of people risking life and limb to help her. Make your own mind up though - a good read all the same.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, 9 April 2009
By Mrs. P. A. Drury "Pip Drury" (Kent, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
lovely story explaining a raw period in German history, beautifully written easy to follow but full of historical facts
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars West Of The Wall, 30 Jan 2009
This, Marcia Prestons latest novel, is set in the time of The Berlin Wall and is all about the struggles of people on either side of it. I haven't read anything around the Berlin Wall, and it has made me research that in depth, so full marks for an original subject. I was also really looking forward to reading a new author; you are hoping you find a new voice that you want to have the whole collection of.

The story follows Trudy; her husband has been helping people flee from East to West Berlin and has had to make the switch as his `secret' work has meant he has endangered himself and his family. So he flees only once he cannot be caught Trudy herself falls under scrutiny and rumour and she too must escape. In doing so she leaves behind her mother in law and most heartbreakingly for her, her son. How can she get him to her side of the wall safely when she is destitute and has no contacts?

Oh throwing herself in front of the President's car when he visits Berlin, being flown by a diplomat to America where he buys her a fabulous new wardrobe, makes her into some sort of celebrity before hitting her and blackmailing her, she flees and becomes Jackie Kennedy's best friend. She comes back to Germany and you can guess the rest, or can you?

Until the American part of the book started I must admit that despite my first reservations of Marcia Preston's novel she had hooked me in, I was really enjoying the novel until then. Also the final part back in Germany is very good too and she almost redeemed herself, but sadly not quite. Oh I haven't mentioned my original reservations have I? From the cover and blurb I thought this was going to be a big granny romance, you know Mills & Boon but much, much longer and actually not as good. I was half write as it ended up like Pretty Woman with guns, regimes and some vicious American Politician. For some this will be the perfect read, sadly for me it was two thirds of a good novel, not a great one.
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2.0 out of 5 stars West of the mark
In her notes included with this book, Preston states that the embryo of this book was a short story. It should have stayed that way. Read more
Published 7 months ago by isis 1958

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