Review of When Time Stood Still

[Oyedeji Okikioluwa]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "When Time Stood Still" by Gisela Roediger.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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When Time Stood Still by Gisela Roediger is a memoir describing her life during the Second World War while living in Germany. The 35-chapter book explores the themes of love, romance, marriage, family, and war. It is set in various places, from Germany to Russia, which the author covered due to her love for adventure. The events take place between 1942 and 1945.

The story begins in the spring of 1942 at her home in Hamburg, where the Americans bombed their homes as a form of psychological warfare. They always had to run into their bunkers at night when most bombings occurred. She was eager to get away from her dreadful job as a typewriter for a small company and the constant life in fear. She gets her chance by working for the military. She applied to be transferred to Bucharest, Russia, and finally arrived in Nikolajew. She worked at the headquarters for the rest of her time in Russia. She lived her dream of traveling and fell in love with a young soldier named Hermann Roediger. She recounts all this and more in her little memoir. Ultimately, does she get what she wanted the most—love and adventure—by the end of the war?

The book also features other characters, such as her parents, her parents-in-law, her various work colleagues, and the few soldiers she met through the course of her work. Her memoir is written in a beautiful descriptive-narrative style that makes the book enjoyable. The biography is written in an easy-to-read manner so that one can understand and see her story through her eyes. I particularly admire her light-hearted style in describing the horrors of the war. There was a life of fear when she lived in Hamburg that made her want to get away, and we see it clearly through her eyes.

There are many heartwarming scenes that make one forget that the character is living during World War II. I like the scene where she meets her love, Hermann Roediger, for the first time. Their other scenes of interaction are also worthy of note. I also liked the scenes of their evening outings, where they had little get-togethers to unwind from the day's activities.

As the main character of her memoir, I admire her insistence on getting what she wants, and it's beautiful how she thinks of her parents constantly by sending them foodstuffs and household essentials, which were rare during wartime. Her adventurous and free spirit was infectious to me as a reader. Her memoir made one feel like one had visited the locations of her travels through her.

I enjoyed the book, though I'm not fond of reading memoirs; this one is worth reading. This is a well-written and exceptionally well-edited book. There is nothing I dislike in the book. For these reasons, I rate the book 5 out of 5 stars.

I recommend the book to audiences who enjoy reading memoirs and those interested in reading narrations about life in the Second World War.

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When Time Stood Still
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[New Life]

The story "When Time Stood Still" by Gisela Roediger has many important ideas, including survival and exploration of the lives of people living in times of war, the spectacle of romance and love, facing challenges consciousness and emotions in daily life, and most importantly, the rise of people in difficult circumstances. It also depicts the lives of the German people during World War II, the life of a woman trying to find love and adventure, and the connection with family and loved ones during this tumultuous period. fluctuations.

[Shedrack A]

I've heard a lot of stories about the second world war but It still interests me to learn about another person's perspective and story during the war.

[Favour Ugwu Chidinma]

Second world war? Wow! This would really be an interesting narrative book gotten from second world war. Nice review.