From the Dark We Rise: Storyline and Book Review
From the Dark We Rise, by Marion Kummerow, is the story of a Jewish maid, Margarete Rosenbaum, who, after the death of her former employers, The Hubers- an important senior Nazi officer, his wife, two sons and daughter- assumes the identity of the dead daughter. Taking advantage of the fact that the dead daughter, Annegret, looked quite like her, Margerete gets hold of Annegret’s papers and fakes her identity. In the process, she inherits the Hubers’ properties —a manor, a farm, and even a factory.
To reduce the chances of being caught, Margaret decides to move into the family’s country house in Plau am See. She imagines that this way, she would be able to avoid encountering people known to the Hubers. Margaret enlists the help of Horst Richter, the head of the Gestapo and a dear friend of the Hubers, who is unaware of Margaret’s true identity, in moving to Plau am See.
Although Margaret decides to use deception to save herself from being persecuted, she is unsure how long she has before her true identity is revealed and she is forced into an extermination camp. However, she tries her best and takes help from her aunt, who is a non jew married to a Jew and prepares herself.
After reaching Plau am See, Margaret realises that her life in the countryside wouldn’t be as simple as she had imagined. With SS officers visiting the manor, employees who had seen Annagret when she was ten years old, still on the job, expected a social presence and a corrupt estate manager swindling money under her nose, Margaret realises she has quite a few challenges to face. Amidst her fears and anxieties, she also learns that the factory that her family owns employs Jewish workers, who are subjected to abuse and tortured as a regular practice.
Margaret’s heart goes out to them, and she constantly seeks to put the money she has inherited to good use and make life for the factory workers better. But she has to tread carefully. In a country where a person who doesn’t openly support Hitler and his ideologies is considered a traitor and punished severely, Margaret must learn to balance her act and ensure that she avoids any suspicion. For that, she needs partners and allies, but Margaret doesn’t know whom to trust.
From the Dark We Rise is the journey of Margaret in her new role as the mistress of the manor, and her own little resistance movement in Germany during the Second World War. It is a quick and easy read suitable for young readers.
Although the book may not be entirely historically accurate, and some situations in the story may seem unbelievable, it remains interesting and has a good flow. This book is the second in the trilogy, following A Light in the Window and preceding The Girl in the Shadows.
Overall, it is an engaging read.
- Publisher : Bookouture
- Publication date : 12 Nov. 2021
- Language : English
- Print length : 250 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1800192886
- ISBN-13 : 978-1800192881
- Dimensions : 12.85 x 1.6 x 19.84 cm
Learn about other exciting books here.
I always read my books on Kindle. That way, I can carry all my books wherever I go.
Leave a Reply