The ragged edge of night

No cover — Libbie Hawker: The ragged edge of night (2018)

329 pages

English language

Published Dec. 20, 2018

ISBN:: 978-1-5039-0090-5
OCLC Number:: 1049909631

(1 review)

"Germany, 1942. Franciscan friar Anton Starzmann is stripped of his place in the world when his school is seized by the Nazis. He relocates to a small German hamlet to wed Elisabeth Herter, a widow who seeks a marriage--in name only--to a man who can help raise her three children. Anton seeks something too--atonement for failing to protect his young students from the wrath of the Nazis. But neither he nor Elisabeth expects their lives to be shaken once again by the inescapable rumble of war. As Anton struggles to adapt to the roles of husband and father, he learns of the Red Orchestra, an underground network of resisters plotting to assassinate Hitler. Despite Elisabeth's reservations, Anton joins this army of shadows. But when the SS discovers his schemes, Anton will embark on a final act of defiance that may cost him his life--even if it means saying goodbye to …

"Germany, 1942. Franciscan friar Anton Starzmann is stripped of his place in the world when his school is seized by the Nazis. He relocates to a small German hamlet to wed Elisabeth Herter, a widow who seeks a marriage--in name only--to a man who can help raise her three children. Anton seeks something too--atonement for failing to protect his young students from the wrath of the Nazis. But neither he nor Elisabeth expects their lives to be shaken once again by the inescapable rumble of war. As Anton struggles to adapt to the roles of husband and father, he learns of the Red Orchestra, an underground network of resisters plotting to assassinate Hitler. Despite Elisabeth's reservations, Anton joins this army of shadows. But when the SS discovers his schemes, Anton will embark on a final act of defiance that may cost him his life--even if it means saying goodbye to the family he has come to love more than he ever believed possible." --

1 edition

pithypants reviewed The ragged edge of night by Libbie Hawker

Review of 'The ragged edge of night' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I would've given this book 3 stars for its literary merit, but I'm rounding up to offset all the 1-star reviews that are simply attempts to punish the author for her nod to current US politics in the author's notes at the end of the book.

Also, the author's notes resolved one of my criticisms of this book – the events in the book seemed a bit of a stretch, but learning that they were actually based on a true story made me revise my assessment. The one criticism I couldn't resolve: the pacing. This book had a weird relationship with time for a book set during a war. I expect war-time books to give a sense of slow days and the drag of living through such fear and uncertainty. This book was made up of incidents that took place months apart without much nod to the intervening time. As …

I would've given this book 3 stars for its literary merit, but I'm rounding up to offset all the 1-star reviews that are simply attempts to punish the author for her nod to current US politics in the author's notes at the end of the book.

Also, the author's notes resolved one of my criticisms of this book – the events in the book seemed a bit of a stretch, but learning that they were actually based on a true story made me revise my assessment. The one criticism I couldn't resolve: the pacing. This book had a weird relationship with time for a book set during a war. I expect war-time books to give a sense of slow days and the drag of living through such fear and uncertainty. This book was made up of incidents that took place months apart without much nod to the intervening time. As a result, people seemed to bond faster than they would in real life (didn't they just meet?), to care deeply about things they were just exposed to pages before (oh right – she just said something like "spring turned to summer and the crispness of fall days was just around the corner" so I guess there's been some passage of time?).

To jog my memory:
- a friar, a widow, three children and a convenient marriage
- brass instruments and church bells
- The Red Orchestra

Subjects

Anti-Nazi movement
Fiction
Rote Kapelle (Resistance group)
Underground movements
World War, 1939-1945
Nazis

Places

Germany