Sunday, November 18, 2018

Review of "The Girl from Berlin" by Ronald H. Balson - A Compelling Tale of the Aftermath of the Holocaust


Ronald H. Balson knows how to craft a compelling historical novel. In "The Girl from Berlin" he examines the insidious practices of the Nazis in trying to capitalize on valuable properties that were confiscated from Jews and other Holocaust victims. In this masterful tale. Octogenarian Gabi is in danger of having her villa, Villa Vincenzo, taken over by the corporation that controls all of the surrounding Tuscan vineyards. A local court has ruled that VinCo holds a valid deed to the property. Gabi has only a few weeks to vacate the property that she has called home her whole life. Three local attorneys have failed to help her find a way to prove her legitimate ownership of the property.

A distant cousin in America promises to help, sending his friends, Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggert to Italy to try to pull the fat out of the fire. Catherine uses her skills as an attorney and Liam employs his bag of tricks as a private investigator to get to the heart of the complex conspiracy that has been promulgated against Gabi.

The story unwinds as Catherine and Liam read a diary that Gabi has told them they must read. It was written by Ada Baumgarten, daughter of the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic. Ada, a gifted violinist in her own right, writes of her struggles as a young woman and a Jew in the escalating tensions in Nazi Germany. Embedded within her tale, a microcosm of Hitler's Final Solution, are clues to the provenance of Villa Vicenzo.

The novel is brilliantly written, with each character limned with bold strokes. We come to care about both Ada and Gabi, and wonder right up until the denouement how their stories are connected. It is a virtuoso performance by a gifted writer.

Enjoy!

Al

5 comments:

Hildegard Flatley said...

If in spite of all that we dismiss women's guidance and we don't make chances for them to appreciate the headway of how to write a ceo bio country or society. It won't make them merry and obviously men won't continue with a straightforward and pleasurable presence without them.

anonymous said...

Amazing blog post,Bearing understood out by control what's more riddle a region needs an authentic working costs stature and students can click to find out more to get quality work. Most all part is assistant to control must be acquired. Book, chalk, sovereign, and connecting with assistance suitably uses for example, must be gotten.

Anonymous said...

Starting an online business in negative managing this managing instruction gives you the diverse way how to manage your colleague. The best merchant bargain for their accessible https://www.paraphraseexample.com/what-is-a-paraphrase-and-other-questions/ item to cruise it in their constrained prize and spare out the 50% sum that they got procure from this sail.

Anonymous said...

Numerous individuals pick this as their style pattern to make an utilization of such sort of use;less gems at their distinctive piece of body. Tattoos are basic in the browse around this site of western style culture yet this sort of stuff like gems utilized for different pieces of body isn't affable by individuals and I additionally don't care for the perspective.

Darlene Glidewell said...

We can't progress up towards the triumph without getting confirmed explicit and solid heading for the length of typical step by step nearness. I have click to read more inspected the article genuinely and, finally, I have come to understand that experts didn't get achievement without ambitious work in course.