The Berlin Apartment
A Novel
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
“Wholly immersive and impeccably researched, Bryn Turnbull’s tale brings the time vividly to life.” —Toronto Star on The Paris Deception
For fans of Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah, this sweeping love story follows a young couple whose lives are irrevocably changed when they’re separated overnight by the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Berlin 1961: When Uli Neumann proposes to Lise Bauer, she has every reason to accept. He offers her love, respect, and a life beyond the strict bounds of the East German society in which she was raised — which she longs to leave more than anything. But only two short days after their engagement, Lise and Uli are torn violently apart when barbed wire is rolled across Berlin, splitting the city into two hostile halves: capitalist West Berlin, an island of western influence isolated far beyond the iron curtain; and the socialist East, a country determined to control its citizens by any means necessary.
Soon, Uli and his friends in West Berlin hatch a plan to get Lise and her unborn child out of East Germany, but as distance and suspicion bleed into their lives and as weeks turn to months, how long can true love survive in the divided city?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The Cold War freezes over in this heartbreaking historical romance, forcing two young lovers to struggle to save their future. Berliners Uli and Lise are newly engaged university students looking forward to life together in the apartment Uli just found for them, a block from the east-west border. It might as well be a million miles when August 13, 1961, arrives and the border is officially sealed, with Uli on the west side and Lise on the east. Author Bryn Turnbull’s untraditional narrative (built in part with letters between Uli and Lise, which are often intercepted by the East German secret police) bounces back and forth between the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Turnbull’s eagle eye for period detail is equaled by how she builds compassionate and well-rounded characters. Nothing develops quite the way you’d expect as Turnbull dances between desire, disaster, and deliverance. It’s a history lesson with a lot of heart.
