It is 1945 and the war is ending, but the living conditions in Europe are horrid with Berlin being no exception. The city is being shelled, leaving citizens no other option but to flee to the countryside. It is there on a dairy farm that twelve-year-old Luisa Norff, her mother and older sister Billie are living and depending on the help from Luisa's step-sister's husband, an SS officer. However, his help comes with a price. Luisa's father is still living in the ruins of Kiel as that is where he has found work. The Norff family is a family that is living on the brink of ruin.
THE GOD OF THAT SUMMER, by Ralf Rothmann, is a story that deals with despair amidst a time of defeat. While Luisa is a bookworm, she learns much living on the farm, but this is overshadowed by family dynamics. Her mother, a difficult woman, whines and complains constantly to anyone who will listen. Billie is nothing short of rebellious and marches to her own drummer. As for Mr. Norff one wonders if he is an opportunist or if he is just trying to survive. Through it all, he is the one bright light in Louise's life.
There is blatant evidence of the Nazi's terrorism in the vicinity of the farm. Where is the wig maker getting the hair to make the wigs she sells? Who are the prisoners in the area? Did Luisa's brother-in-law play a part in the murder of a British airman?
The narrative clarifies that Luisa has seen much more than any child should see. What will be the impact of this? The author deftly paints a vivid picture of a troubled time. THE GOD OF THAT SUMMER is a deep and profound story that gives a different perspective of the effects of war.
As the Second World War enters its final stages, millions in Germany are forced from their homes by bombing, compelled to seek shelter in the countryside where there are barely the resources to feed them.
Twelve-year-old Luisa, her mother, and her older sister Billie have escaped the devastation of the city for the relative safety of a dairy farm. But even here the power struggles of the war play out: the family depend on the goodwill of Luisa’s brother-in-law, an SS officer, who in expectation of payment turns his attention away from his wife and towards Billie. Luisa immerses herself in books, but even she notices the Allied bombers flying east above them, the gauntness of the prisoners at the camp nearby, the disappearance of fresh-faced boys from the milk shed – hastily shipped off to a war that’s already lost.
Living on the farm teaches Luisa about life and death, but it’s man’s capacity for violence that provides the ultimate lesson, that robs her of her innocent ignorance. When, at a birthday celebration, her worst fears are realized, Luisa collapses under the weight of the inexplicable.
Ralf Rothmann’s previous novel, To Die in Spring, described the horror of war and the damage done on the battlefield. The God of that Summer tells the devastating story of civilians caught up in the chaos of defeat, of events that might lead a twelve-year-old child to justifiably say: ‘I have experienced everything.’
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