Set In Berlin during World War II, CITY OF WOMEN tells the
story of Sigrid Schroder. When her husband is conscripted to
fight in the war, Sigrid is left alone with her overbearing
mother-in-law. But Sigrid is a woman of passion and soon
finds herself in the arms of not one but two lovers. Her
sudden friendship with nineteen year-old Erica implicates
Sigrid in a dangerous game which could make her another
casualty of war.
Kaspar Schroder lived a simple life and worked as a banker
before leaving for Russia to fight in the war. Bored and
disillusioned by her husband's rare and emotionless letters,
Sigrid turns to nights out in the cinema to avoid spending
time with her opinionated mother-in-law at home. At the
cinema, Sigrid meets Egon, a handsome Jew she will have an
ardent affair with. In a war where Jews are slowly losing
their rights as humans, Sigrid realizes that she is playing
with fire. But her passionate attachment to Egon surpasses
any fear.
Sigrid also meets Erica Kohl. Sigrid and Erica are
neighbors, but are awkwardly forced into a friendship when
they are caught alone at the cinema. Sigrid must hide her
involvement with Egon and Erica has her own secrets to
cover. As Sigrid and Erica become friends, Sigrid realizes
that Erica is hiding, she is secretly harboring Jews in
various places in Berlin. As Sigrid begins to fall in love
with Egon, she soon yearns to help Erica's cause. But the
stakes are high when anyone involved with Jews stands to
face a worse fate than those the Germans are eager to
annihilate. When Sigrid finds herself investigated, she
realizes just how much danger she has drawn to herself. But
Sigrid faces an even more shocking surprise: her husband
unexpectedly returns from the war.
While I enjoyed Sigrid and Egon's affair, I found myself
struggling to keep reading the novel from the very
beginning. The characters lacked proper development,
especially Sigrid. I failed to make a connection with any of
the characters in this novel. Sigrid and Erica's secret
involvement in the Jewish community does add a spark to CITY
OF WOMEN. Readers will look forward to Erica and Sigrid's
adventures. I also enjoyed the sparring between Sigrid and
her mother-in-law. CITY OF WOMEN presents the women of
Berlin as courageous and just as eager to fight in the war
as their husbands. But this was a difficult novel to finish.
It is 1943—the height of the Second World War. With the men
taken by the army, Berlin has become a city of women. And
while her husband fights on the Eastern Front, Sigrid
Schröder is, for all intents and purposes, the model
soldier’s wife: She goes to work every day, does as much
with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her
meddling mother-in-law, all the while ignoring the horrific
immoralities of the regime.
But behind this façade is an entirely different Sigrid, a
woman who dreams of her former Jewish lover, who is now lost
in the chaos of the war.
Sigrid’s tedious existence is turned upside down when she
finds herself hiding a mother and her two young
daughters—whom she believes might be her lover’s family—and
she must make terrifying choices that could cost her everything.
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