This powerful novel examines how a German family was torn apart by the rise of Nazism. The two older step brothers are drawn to the cult of the swastika , the agnostic Jewish Professor father remains dangerously oblivious to what’s happening around him, the Austrian born mother wonders about the impact her life choices made on her family, while the central figure of the award winning medical student daughter sees her role in society devalued and her romance with a communist farmer go from disapproval to outright violence.

The remarkable thing about this novel is that it was written in 1938 and doesn’t pull any punches about the growing Nazi threat nor its inhuman practices and potential for atrocity. It’s a remarkably prescient read that, unfortunately, still has resonance today in its look at the effects of fanaticism of all shades.

It is a difficult read at times due to both its subject matter and its verbose 1930s writing style, but it deserves to be more widely read and discussed. ( )

185. The Mortal Storm, by Phyllis Bottome (read 31 Mar 1945) I started reading this on Mar. 27, 1945 and that day said:"So far it's great." When I finished it on Mar. 31 I noted that I had done so but did not express any opinion on the book. ( )

Little known, long forgotten book that inspired an early Hollywood anti-Nazi film of the same title by MGM, 1940. The book is a little more forth right about COmmunism and also the strong effect of Christianity on many people who tried to resist the Nazi juggernaut. Not at all preachy, but a serious attempt to portray a fleeting hsitorical moment. ( )