This Terrible Beauty

by Katrin Schumann

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of The Forgotten Hours comes an unforgettable story of one woman's journey to reclaim what she lost in a country torn apart by the devastating legacy of WWII.

On the windswept shores of an East German island, Bettina Heilstrom struggles to build a life from the ashes. World War II has ended, and her country is torn apart. Longing for a family, she marries Werner, an older bureaucrat who adores her...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1542000068
• ISBN13: 9781542000062
• Release Date: March 2020
• Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
• Length: 382 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Berlin After world war ll

A deeply moving story, which is layered in love, sacrifices, motherhood, and history. The background story is about a young girl in Berlin, whose lost both her father and mother, lives alone, though she has a married sister, they are not very close.Bettina winds up accepting a marriage proposal from a long time family acquaintance, a man named Werner. Bettina thinks she loves him enough for marriage, but as time goes by she finds, he's not what she thought him to be ...or for that fact..her marriage is not anything she expected. Does she even really love him? She feels, stifled, and alone, not connected to Werner. By chance ...one day at the beach, she meets a stranger as she pretends to be snapping pictures of different images, though no film to be had, though the war is ended, all supplies are scarce. She befriends this gentleman and they exchange a brief conversation. Then she just happens to be on a walk to a secluded part of town visiting an old church, and meets him again ....in the Cemetery grounds, they remember each other from the beach..and talk for some time, about lives, his and hers, politics, Russian policies ( who now govern their country) and she starts to develop feelings for him. Then she sees him again at a school play that her neighbors daughter invited her to see, she follows him after the play to a rec center for children, it's late, they are alone, they had danced to American Jazz music, and they have a physical connection that leads her into an affair with Peter Brenner. She is crazy for Brenner, as he is with her, they sneak to be together as much as they could..she thinks of him morning, noon and night, he's always in her mind, her dreams, even when she's with her husband, she thinks of nothing but Brenner, and when they will be together again. He has pretty much the same feelings for her, if not more.As time goes on, her husband starts to be suspicious and eventually learns of the affair. At the same time, Bettina learns she is pregnant..and is not sure who the father of her baby even is, Werner or Brenner. In her heart she feels its Brenner, but how can she really know. As her husband is in a high rank of the secret police it becomes his mission to hurt her, the way she has hurt him, and gives her a choice, spend her life in prison or leave their home and child forever. Whatever she chooses..she will lose...her baby daughter, and Peter Brenner..It's the most heartbreaking time of Bettina's life and what happens next and over the next ten years builds the story into a Captivating and compelling read. It is a fast moving plot, the characters personalities make this an additive read.You'll be surprised by the ending..and the strength they all carry in the end .Absolutely loved the story and the writing. Excellent!