Mslexia

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We now commission our short story and poetry book reviews. If you would like to be considered as a reviewer, please send us a 200-word description of what you would like to review for us and why, plus a brief CV and a published or unpublished sample of your writing. The deadline for possible inclusion in issue 58 is 15 April. Read more »

Mslexia Book Club: the verdict

BLACK ROSES

by Jane Thynne (Simon & Schuster, £12.99)

The book... takes a fascinating look at 1930s Berlin through the eyes of young English actress, Clara Vine, who goes there hoping to become a film star, and ends up modelling German fashion, befriending Magda Goebbels and becoming involved in a dangerous game of espionage.

We loved… Clara’s journey from ingénue, ignorant of politics, to an awareness of shifting public opinion and the dangers of opposing a regime tightening its grip on a frightened populace. While Clara appears a little insipid at first, she grows into a gusty heroine. Having read The Book Thief and Alone in Berlin, we enjoyed reading a story told from a female perspective. We were fascinated by how Hitler inspired the women of that time and interested by the hypocrisy of the women living the high life on the backs of their Nazi lovers, while promoting a dull hausfrau look for the average German woman with whom they had nothing in common.

We hated… its excessive attention to detail, as if the author was showing off her research – and the occasional far-fetched coincidence. Also, we all felt it seemed a little distant, lacking the emotional impact of The Book Thief. And though we liked the book’s many strands, they didn’t always come together very well.

We disagreed... about the espionage angle; some of us thought it didn’t work. And some felt the ending was too open, and would have preferred a resolution of Clara’s affair with Leo.

REVIEWED BY: Lindsay Armitage, Kate Chinn, Karen Lancefield, Joanna Prothero, Sarah Taylor, Adele Rayment, Sunni Rekhi-Smith and Julia Williams. We are a group of (mainly) ex-school run mums who meet in Epsom, Surrey.

This article is taken from the current issue of Mslexia. If you'd be interested in your reading group test-driving a book for the Mslexia Book Group feature please Contact Us. To read the book reviews in full subscribe now.