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1940s: Which is more dangerous – the enemy from outside or that from within?
My Own Dear Brother
What you need to know before your trail
14 year old Ursula Hildesheim lives in the village of Felddorf as the men leave for war. But for her, life stays the same: she spends her days idly thieving from the village shop, enlisted in endless chores by her mama and sister and running wild with her adored older brother Anton.
But when Russian prisoners escape from the local concentration camp, her mama starts an affair with a married man, her friend goes missing and her brother’s allegiance to the Hitler Youth increases with shocking results
Ursula discovers that danger comes not only from the enemy at the door but from the enemy within.
Travel Guide
Felddorf and Austria
The scenery of the Alps may be a stunning landscape but it can not hide the ugly scars of what is going on in the village of Felddorf
The rumbles of the Russian political and war time juggernaut can be heard on their approach as can the tremors of Nazism – across Vienna
Life in any small community can be claustrophobic and difficult at times, but growing up in so many shadows is both disturbing and almost impossible to imagine. Ursula comes from quite a conservative family and they are even outsiders in their own home when a regular visitor from Vienna starts paying them a visit.
The village starts to turn i on itself and the enemy, the suspicion and fear seem to have come and infiltrated the village just as much as the war itself. Life under fascism is hard enough but here it’s as if a magnifying glass were placed on top of the villagers – any whisper, shake of the head, look in the eyes is captured and interpreted to build and whip up the grey areas between the black and the white.
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
A heartbreaking read. I’d read a lot about Nazism and its affects on the people in Germany and Austria but this was such a unique way of looking at the theme and through the eyes of a young girl. She was an amazing narrator for what is such a heartbreaking read.Having a brother and seeing him change to such a degree is one of the most upsetting reads I think that I’ve read in a while. It’s so unassuming and quietly done yet the effects are horrifying and makes you think just how thin the line is between good and evil sometimes and how the war can change people but that sometimes the real enemy is not who you think. How well do you really know about your family, your nearest and dearest.
I wasn’t surprised to find out that the author is half Austrian herself – it reads like a very personal story and is very brutal and grim in many places. She handles it with care and attention and has made me think of the war in a small village in a whole new light. For a debut, this is even more impressive than ever. I didn’t like any of the characters but I was so ensconced in their world I found it hard to leave them behind.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: My Own Dear Brother
Author/Guide: Holly Müller Destination: Vienna, Austrian Alps, Felddorf (fictional) Departure Time: 1944
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