Every Man Dies Alone - Hans Fallada

5 out of 5 stars

What a pleasure it was to read this book! The characters are wonderfully developed and the storylines enthralling.

Otto and Anna Quangel's son dies at war, prompting the two normally discreet parents to start a resistance movement of sorts, writing and leaving postscards against the Hitler regime in various public places in Berlin. We follow these two in their attempt to change Berliners' minds while being pursued by the Gestapo. We encounter other characters, all interesting in their own ways. The narrator chose to be omniscient, allowing us to know what everyone is thinking at all times -which makes this story more touching and, at times, disturbing.

Hans fallada was incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital during the war because of his alcoholism. He wrote this book in 24 days only and killed himself soon after. I wonder whether the story was edited. Often, the author swithces from past to present tenses, which unsettled me a little, but apart from that, I found this story well written and beautiful. Some interrogation scenes are quite disturbing.

This book shows us that not all Germans were in favor of Hitler. The change of heart Otto and Anna go through was revealing and sudden. The other characters -from neighbors to Gestapo officers- help us get a better picture of what it was like for Germans to live through these difficult years of dictatorship. I highly recommend this book for its storyline, its characters, and for its devastating reality.