Sigrid MacRae

I ordered and read A World Elsewhere because its author was a college classmate - a striking, gorgeous, intelligent girl who really stood out, with her German beauty, height, and poise. But I love the book because it was so interesting and so well written. My husband has read it too, and we both kept commenting on how it held our interest and how beautifully written it was, how each word seemingly chosen with care. It certainly communicated what being a single mom with six children to raise in a war-ravaged country not her own was like. Sigrid's mother Aimee Ellis was a child of privilege though the survivor of a very lonely childhood. She certainly rose to the occasion of making a good life for her family in the face of great danger and lack of resources, by unbelievably hard work, perseverance, creativity and courage, and with the help of several women friends. Really an inspiring book, and a good read.… (plus d'informations)

The daughter of an American socialite and a titled German has written this memoir of her parent's love story. The problem with this read was that I could not get interested in the complex history of many of their family members from long, long ago. I am sure this was a fruitful and meaningful telling of the chronology of this family tree for the author, but I just could not stay attentive through much of the first hundred pages or so. When the couple finally sets up home in Germany and he leaves for the war front, then, the story get rolling. Her mother struggles to keep family together, sans husband, in a foreign country. They must all pack up and run from the advance of the Russian military and slowly begin to reassemble in the U.S. As a chronicle of the terrible conditions of civilians in Germany during WWII, this is valuable if you can make it through the beginning. My thanks to the Penguin First to Read program for a complimentary copy of this book.… (plus d'informations)

But this crazy life has one thing to be said for it: one has so much to worry about that one ceases to worry at all.

I requested this book from NetGalley because I am always interested in reading about people who lived through WWII. This book stuck out for me because I hadn't yet read about an American living in Germany during the war. While this family did experience horrible hardships, this book doesn't really stand out from the other memoirs and biographies I've read because at times the book could be dry or very slow paced, it felt a bit disjointed with the excerpts of all the letters, and the ending felt rushed.

I really loved reading about Sigrid's mother and father's childhood. That, and the parts about Aimee taking care of the children in Germany, was one of the most interesting parts of the book. I did have a hard time with this book when it started to include more excerpts from Aimee and Heinrich's letters as the writing styles differed greatly between the letters and Sigrid's writing, so it felt a bit disjointed. The parts involving Heinrich serving during WWII could be very dry and very slow. It was hard to get through.

It was heartbreaking to read about what Aimee and her children went through after Heinrich's death. Those parts were fascinating and so well written that it felt like I was there with the family. Once they made it to America I felt like the ending came out of nowhere and felt rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley.… (plus d'informations)