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Book Review: The Woman at the Gates, Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

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Title: The Woman at the Gates
Author: Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger
Published: 2nd September 2021, Bookouture
Pages: 343
Source: Netgalley
Format: Kindle
Rating: 3.5/5
"For as long back as Antonia could remember, there had been sliding panels and secret doors to be discovered in her Carpathian village, and the music of their defiance had sustained her."
1944, Germany: Gazing through the barbed wire fence, up to the pale blue sky, Antonia dreams of home: cherry orchards, golden fields, and the man she loves, who she may never see again...
Resistance fighter Antonia is out in the forest behind her family's beloved farm when the Nazi soldiers arrive. As she sees her sister Lena and her young nephews herded towards the trucks, guns pointed at their heads, she faces a split-second, heart-wrenching decision: to stay hidden, stay free and continue the flight. Or give herself up and go with her family to protect them - no matter what lies ahead.
As she clutches her nephew's little hand in hers, her other arm tight around Lena, she knows she has made the right choice. And as the truck rattles towards a brutal labor camp, and they start to wonder what fate has in store for them, Antonia's only thought is how to escape.
Because before they were captured, Antonia worked tirelessly to free her country from those who have turned it into a bloody battleground. By her side had been clever, handsome Victor. The man she was to marry, whose love shone like a light in the darkness of war surrounding them.
Antonia does not know if Victor has been caught or executed. But she knows she must try to find a way back to him and she cannot wait any longer to be saved. Her precious nephews will die without proper food and they could all be killed at any moment. The world outside the camp gates is full of danger, but they have to find a way through them first. Even if it costs Antonia her life. The nazis have taken everything from her, but they can never take away her courage...
A heartbreaking, inspiring and totally unforgettable story of the unbelievable courage and determination of extraordinary people in the darkest days of war. Fans of Kristin Hannah, Fiona Valpy, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will be gripped from the very first page until the final, heart-stopping conclusion.
The Woman at the Gates is the story of Antonia, a Ukrainian resistance fighter captured by the Nazis and sent to a labor camp. It's a very different WWII book from what I've read so far. Being from the UK, I was only taught about the UK/Germany (granted I didn't study this period to exam level). I'm glad I picked up this book as it opened my eyes to learning about the involvement of other countries in the war. (Although, I believe Ukraine wasn't an official country during this time period.)

The Woman at the Gates is set across Ukraine, Poland, and Germany (potentially with a few other Eastern European countries too) in WWII. Although I'm not familiar with this area (I've only been to Krakow), it did feel very real to me. And I did like the characters, although there were so many with similar roles I sometimes got confused. Antonia is such a strong, independent main character who just wants to protect her family and I really felt myself growing to love her.

The story is told in 4 parts which I quite liked as it broke the story up quite nicely. And there was an alternating first-person POV between Antonia and Ivan for the majority of the book. I did find the book quite slow to get into, but once I was past the first part I really began to fly through it. The story is predictable in the sense that we all know how WWII ends, but Antonia's story is just heart-wrenching and poignant and I didn't expect it to end the way it did. 

The ending wrapped the story up nicely, but being WWII it was bittersweet. I really felt the emotion throughout the story and was hoping that Antonia and her family would be okay in the end. Especially when it always seemed that any hope was squashed.

I enjoyed The Woman at the Gates and it's definitely reignited my interest in historical fiction and WWII. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical stories and I'm also going to be keeping my eye out for this author in the future.



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Comments

  1. Awesome review! It sure makes you wonder how people could be so horrible to others. So sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yeah, I can barely comprehend how such atrocities happened. It's was just horrendous.

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