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-Review-

*Trigger Warnings: since this is a WWII novel, you can expect the usual content such as racism, antisemitism, physical assault, attempted murder, murder, death, and bombings. There are mentions of off-page genocide, rape, torture, political murder. As far as the romance goes there are intimate scenes but the detail is very minimal and are mostly fade-to-black, extra-marital affair, and lude comments.*

I would like to thank John Mutter and Jana Nelson from PRBytheBook for writing and bringing this ARC version of Fortune and Glass to my attention in exchange for my honest review. Thank yall!

Wow. I have read several WWII historical fiction novels recently and Fortune and Glass honestly stands out from the crowd. To be honest, this was a tough book for me to rate properly. Hands down, I loved the historical and espionage side to this story. The suspense and volatile state of the country was personified amazingly. The romance on the other other hand became difficult for me to enjoy after a certain point that I will elaborate further into this review.

Fortune and Glass is set mainly within Germany’s capital of Berlin before, during and after the worst of the Nazi takeover. The story is written through the sole perspective of Rudi who is employed within the Foreign Ministry. Being of German nationality, the cancerous spread of Hitler’s reign is witnessed from an almost insider’s perspective, while the worst atrocities like the Holocaust are mentioned mainly in passing. Everyone is very much aware of the probable fates of the “undesirables” but because we are not given a front row seat to these horrors, there is a consistent feeling of dread and unease throughout the book.

The timeline of Fortune and Glass is non-linear. By that I mean, the chapters jump around between certain notable years of the war. Being somebody less knowledgeable of the specific years of these events, I did find it a bit difficult to keep up. There were times in which I had to reread the title of the chapter to gauge where we were all at. That being said, the knowledge I gained from this book overshadowed this momentary confusion. It would help to have a basic timeline in your head if you do decide to read this book but it is completely not necessary.

The fact Berlin itself was the epicenter of WWII, the downward spiral that occurs once Hitler takes over the reigns, felt quite dramatic. It felt as though in a blink of an eye, the country and world went off the rails and this all consuming hatred spread seemingly quicker than a wild fire. All of a sudden, there were parades of brown shirts giving the Nazi salute while burning down homes and businesses of the Jewish citizens who were held in high regard just short moments before. How quickly national pride can possess the people to the point where they turn on their neighbors and friends, was probably the most terrifying aspect this book captured perfectly. It can make one wary of the political unrest we find ourselves in today.

Basically Fortune and Glass has the political intrigue and stage similar to Schindler’s List while portraying the high suspense and tension of The Pianist. That being said, that level of graphic nature is not directly present in this book so it is much more palatable if that content is difficult to swallow for some readers.

As far as the characters themselves are concerned, I struggled to fully align myself with a single one of them. John wrote these morally ambiguous characters for a reason and I could feel that throughout the book. It begged the question of how each of us would have truly acted and reacted to what was going on around us at such a chaotic time as this. If we were Jewish would we have abandoned our birthplace and livelihoods for the sake of survival? Or would we have cared more about sticking it to machine if it meant being true to ourselves? If we were German, would we have caved to social pressure and join the Nazis? Or would we have risked a treasonous death for protecting the Jews and participating in espionage? These are the moral dilemmas showcased in this book.

As something of a side note, there is a certain individual who makes an appearance as a character in this book that directly interacts with Rudi. Their first scene face-to-face actually made me gasp out loud since I was not expecting it. This person being physically present on page, added a whole new layer to this story that no other historical WWII fiction I have read has explored before. I found this so incredibly fascinating!

Circling back to what I mentioned previously about the characters being morally ambiguous, brings me to the romantic aspect of this book. Rudi and Sara (a Jew) meet and engage in a very passionate romance at the beginning of the story. As I mentioned in the trigger warning, the intimate scenes are not highly detailed and read more similarly to Songs of Solomon in the Bible than smut, if that makes sense. The love I could feel through Rudi was very beautiful and poetic. He clearly loves Sara, no arguments about that.

Sara on the other hand, was less obvious about her true intentions and feelings towards Rudi. She is refusing to marry or have children due to not wanting to be held back and not wanting to hold Rudi back. Very free-spirited way of thinking. Rudi is clearly a bit put out about this since he clearly wants to do those things with her. It was pretty sad for him honestly. Eventually they do end up breaking off once Hitler takes office and outward antisemitism leads to some violence in the street. Sara eventually leaves with her family to Switzerland.

During that time, Rudi marries a German woman and it takes a while for him to acknowledge that they have children and when it is mentioned, it is more of an afterthought. Not to mention, there is an obvious lack of intimacy between them, showing the reader who actually holds his heart.

In context I understand why Rudi decided to marry someone who he clearly did not have as deep of feelings for as Sara. Historically, the German people along with many other cultures in the world, have their own nationalistic pride. People are pushed to marry within the same race and ethnicity. Particularly at this time in history where the whole belief of a superior Aryan race dominated the regime, it was a society obligation to marry and have strong German children. At this time, Rudi believed his love story with Sara was over and done with, plus there was no conceivable way they could have had an open relationship anyways.

Fate played an interesting role in this book as Sara finds her way back to Berlin. I will say, her seemingly lack of self preservation is mind blowing throughout the book. Anyways, Rudi takes it upon himself to protect them both and what follows made me feel a certain way for his wife and children.

Fortunately the romance takes a back seat in the overall story the second half of the story, which is why I am still rating this book highly at four stars.

To draw this review to a close, I would HIGHLY recommend Fortune and Glass by John Mutter to everyone who enjoys a political birds eye view of WWII. I am shocked that this was his first official publication and look forward to any works he may complete in the future.

Once again, I would like to thank John Mutter for this amazing piece of work and Jana from PRBytheBook for directly sending me this ARC for review. Thank you both so much!

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