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    The Luck of the Weissensteiners
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    The Luck of the Weissensteiners
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    The Luck of the Weissensteiners
    Ebook544 pages7 hours

    The Luck of the Weissensteiners

    By Christoph Fischer

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In the sleepy town of Bratislava in 1933 a romantic girl falls for a bookseller from Berlin. Greta Weissensteiner, daughter of a Jewish weaver, slowly settles in with the Winkelmeier clan just as the developments in Germany start to make waves in Europe. The political climate in the multifaceted cultural jigsaw puzzle of disintegrating Czechoslovakia becomes more complex and affects relations between the couple and the families.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChristoph Fischer
    Release dateMar 15, 2015
    ISBN9781310958816
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Luck of the Weissensteiners

    4.5/5

    15 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Stories entertaining the lives of Jews in Eastern Europe prior to the advancement of Hitler have always fascinated me. You find yourself wondering if they had some inkling that something was coming. In the case of Fischer's "The Luck of the Weissensteiners". some of those questions are answered.

      Greta Weissensteiner, in particular, is charmingly naive. Her love for Wilhelm, a German, is forthright. It takes her father asking her what Wilhelm thinks about her being a Jew for her to even address the thought.

      Fischer's tale weaves around Greta and Wilhelm's trials and tribulations with their love affair doomed by both time and circumstance. I do not want to spoil the story, but I will say that Fischer has constructed a heck of a story.

      I'll be looking forward to reading his other books.

    • 5/5
      Amazing book!! This book is amazing! The author Christoph Fischer is incredibly talented. He has a magical way of telling a story that keeps you drawn to the pages like a magnet. I could not put the book down, and when I had to walk away, the characters stayed with me until I picked the book back up.
      I fell in love with Greta and Willhelm. Their romance was heartwarming. Fischer lets you see the power of love and what it can do for a human being. I could see that the author did extensive research in order to provide such an amazing detail on things that you would never find in a history book. I know it was an eye opener for me.
      The suffering of the people during that horrid period of time was heart wrenching. It brought tears to my eyes and made me wonder how people can be so cruel. The author did a remarkable job in intertwining a lot of emotions in such a smart way, love, suffering, romance, survival, fear, distress, horror and kindness.
      This book is worth 5 stars, and a must read. I have recommended it to all my friends. Please consider this book if you want to spend time with a story that will grab your attention from the very first page. I have become a true fan of Christoph Fischer.A
    • 4/5
      Christoph Fischer tells a tale of World War 2 that hooks you from the beginning.

      The story is well written and the characters are compelling and believable. I was fascinated by their shifting attitudes when choices were made over family and loyalty. It is difficult to know how you would react in similar situations, we'd all know how we'd like to think we'd react.

      At the and I was thankful that the struggles the characters have gone through most of us will have never had to deal with in our lifetime.
    • 5/5
      **I was given this book in return for an honest review.**I?m not usually one for sad stories, or historical fiction. I?m even, not really one for family sagas. However, I enjoyed this book. At the beginning of the book I felt sorry for Greta, who is stuck with Wilhelm after he got her pregnant. She?s Jewish and he?s a German, but when they meet, a love of literature brings them together and he assures her that her nationality means nothing to him, even though it would to some others. After getting pregnant, Wilhelm promises to stick by her and they get married. Overtime, Greta continues to love him, but he doesn?t love anything other than her looks. He used to love her intelligence, but not anymore. They bonded over books and literature and as soon as she got pregnant, that was taken from her. As was her family.I find Wilhelm a total cad and a scoundrel. I hate his family and how they treat Greta and I feel sorry for Greta?s family that they?re losing her to such morons. To be honest, I was immediately quite worried about Karl?s upbringing as well. I think what happens to Greta, concerning Wilhelm and Karl, is so sad but it?s nice to see that she copes well with the vast change that?s thrust upon her.Normally, I don?t like long breaks in the story, or long history/background lessons during a story, but here it really works. It?s not a lecture or boring, it?s intriguing and captivating. I studied Germany and the war in high school and again in an OU course, Humanities, and never knew most of what Fischer is telling me through this story. I never knew that large factions of Jewish people say it coming, that the writing was on the wall from as early as 1938. It?s a real eye opener, and it really gives a strong sense of anticipation, foreboding and ?luck? to the story.I do love the characters in this book. I love Johan and although Johanna is a bit of a nightmare and a cow, you do get rare moments of light. When she does something, it?s always for the ?greater good? of her family, even if someone gets hurt or she has to feel remorse later. That?s her payment. I also like that you get to see both sides of the argument, and how easily a person who had once had no problem with Jews could have their mind changed. Wilhelm showed this well, and Johanna is constantly battling conflicting feelings against the Jewish people. I know someone, a German, who was conscripted into the army back then, even though he, like Egon and Gunter, had no issues with the Jews, and how, like Gunter, it wasn?t possible to say no without some ill effect.I also like how Egon and Gunter are considered inferior and weak by their families but its their intellect that gains them pride and praise in the army. It?s nice to see them getting some attention and approval after being practically abandoned and neglected by their families. I especially love little Wilma. She?s so fragile and you just want to wrap her up and protect her from life. I think it?s sweet that the steward was attracted to her, but even better was the just desserts he got from the girls. The rat incident was hilarious. I particularly enjoy Edith and Esther, they?re so much fun.I enjoy the characters that we meet in the camps, Freddie and even the old German women who are complete cows. They are real and honest and brutal sometimes, but believable. I especially loved Joschka. He was so sweet and lonely. You tend to forget that non Jewish people got caught up in the camps and that, besides hating Jews, the Nazis hated anyone who was different, whether that be religiously, politically, geographically or through sexual orientation. Edith, Esther and Joschka were both in danger for their sexuality, and it?s heartbreaking to hear Joschka?s story.For me, the real luck of the Weissensteiners, was that Greta married Wilhelm. Although I hate him and he was a total ? I can?t even find a word to describe him but he was cruel, and I?m glad no-one had to suffer him much, it was their marriage that saved the Weissensteiner family. Without that, they might never have had so much success. Wilhelm took Greta to the farm, leaving Jonah one less mouth to feed, and Johanna would allow ?care? packages to go back from the farm to the Weissensteiners. Without Johanna, things would have been a lot worse for the family. Jonah could never have safely attended the Countess? ball, without knowing that he had Johanna?s barn to sleep in so that he didn?t get caught out after curfew. And without the Countess, nothing would have gone right, as she continued to keep their family name off the list of Jews. Although Egon was saved by his army officer, who recognised his talent, the rest of the family could still have been taken as Jews, with minimal damage or risk to exposing Egon. Only the Countess saved them.And I think that?s the real moral of the story, that the Weissensteiners, though Jewish, were saved by the people who loved them. Johanna, a German with conflicting views on Jews, and a Hungarian Countess who felt overly privileged and loved art. Without these friends, the family would surely have been found out at some point. I think the fact that they were sheltered and saved by these people is a true testament to how people are people, humans are humans and it doesn?t matter about the colour of their skin, their accent, or their religious beliefs. Family are family. Friends are friends no matter what.I really loved the Epilogue, and getting to find out how the story really ended. It?s so sad that it took so many years for Greta and her family to find out the truth of what had happened to Alma, Jonah, the Countess and Egon. But that was how it really was. Some families still never know what happened to their relatives, even now, and it?s gut wrenching. Needless to say that I cried at the end. I held out hope enough to stop myself until it was over. I find it completely perfect that Ernst found his family, even the lost ones, and got a conclusion to the story. We never found out what happened to Roswinth, who ran into the woods when the Soviets came, Gunter who was lost in the war, and Sarah, who was deported. Sadly, I think they died. But the sad truth is, that far too many people died, of any nationality and any proclivity.I really look forward to reading more from this author.
    • 5/5
      As an avid history buff, I was excited to read The Luck of the Weissensteiners on the recommendation of a friend. Christoph Fischer delivers a powerful and intense look into the lives of several connected families living in Czechoslovakia before, during, and after WWII. There were several factors that made this novel particularly enjoyable to me. First was the author’s writing style, which presented itself as though it was being told by a great storyteller to its listeners around a fire, much in the same way family stories were passed on from generation to generation in the days before widespread literacy. Fischer wove the stories of each of the story’s characters together seamlessly in such a way that I could truly feel how closely connected their lives became as the narrative progressed. However, what I found most captivating was the beautiful way Fischer told the stories of the people who are never mentioned in a typical Holocaust account. Movies, documentaries, and other novels are quick to share the bold tales of families dragged to concentration camps and soldiers on the front lines. Very rarely have I encountered a story that so poignantly portrays the realities of those people who were simply ordinary citizens attempting to live peacefully in the small rural communities throughout Europe. I found myself wondering how I would have reacted in the characters’ situations as they were forced to live through circumstances that were many times beyond their control. What I would have initially deemed as unforgivable, when perceived from a different perspective, became far more understandable. To initiate this level of self-reflection is a testament to Fischer’s ability as an author. I am looking forward to reading more novels by this author and would highly recommend Luck of the Weisensteiners to anyone who enjoys great historical fiction.
    • 5/5
      The Luck of the Weissensteiner’sBy: Author Christoph FischerAn Authentically Compassionate and Brilliant sense of History and Family……As I sit here mourning the loss of this precious and most beautifully written book and its characters that I couldn’t help but fall in love with as “Author Christoph Fischer” poignantly express with words and the greatest depth of emotional History albeit fictional, but History all the same. I’m reminded that one of my majors in school was history and just like then I passionately devoured each and every word, sentence, paragraph, chapter and page…… I was drawn in and held captivated by the main characters familia “The Weissensteiner’s”. A Jewish family, who at the start of this incredibly amazing read has already experienced a migration from their once known lands and the loss of their mother and for Jonah their father, his wife and companion. Life was hard and meager, but the family which consist of two daughter’s Greta and Wilma, Egon a son and Jonah their father enjoyed and made the best of it.They were Jews in name only. The unfortunate circumstances of their life’s journey to this point has lead them to this decision and made them somewhat outcast amongst their Jewish community. They were Christians by choice but didn’t practice this self made choice of religions either. The Weissensteiner’s were quiet and hardworking and enjoying their life as is. The eldest daughter Greta, an avid reader spent most of her free time outside of her daily responsibilities reading and one day through this met her future destiny. This will begin the story of a life altering and historically epic journey that will test their resolve and expose their lives to many dangers, friends, enemies and eye opening atrocities. Blessed with luck or as I like to see it “The Blessings of God”….. They will endure, accept, let go and live a life of Blessings in the midst of great turmoil. A close knit Jewish family which find themselves in the throes of a war torn Europe. This included Germany, Russia, and Czechoslovakia, Ukrainian, Hungarian and many more countries. “The entire war of the Hitler era” I loved the author’s attention to detail through each and every historic moment, history and background of the characters. You will laugh, love, cry, grieve, embrace, hate and mourn some more. Author Christoph Fischer has taken one of the most horrific atrocities of our life time and put a human face to the families and lives as they could have been and maybe were. I have been truly touched and changed forever. I just want to say gracias to the author for his authentic and compassionately brilliant sense of History, Familia and Story Telling. BRAVO, a true 5 Star Read!!!! {WaAr}Read and Reviewed By: De Ann “Native” Townes Jr. Author of “Peer Inside My Soul and See Me” and “A King Among Prince”
    • 5/5
      The Luck of the Weissensteiners is a portrait of a family is drawn against a backdrop of world gone mad during wartime. The father, Jonah, is a weaver of fine carpets, and so, in a different way, is the author: when thinking about Christoph Fischer, I note that the weaving of this story is done with a hand that is fine, and movements that are wonderfully measured, striving to achieve balance even when events tease the yarn, and jerk the characters way out of their comfort zone. There is drive and intention in the design, and a strong element of luck to the survival of this family.At first, Jonah and his daughters Greta and Wilma, and his son Egon, barely give any thought to their Jewish background and traditions. The story opens in pre WWII Bratislava with a budding love between Greta and Wilhelm, a young German bookseller. A burst of love is a powerful way to hook us to the story, and it is a fiery emotion that will be tested to the limit, forge the hearts of some characters and break others. Later, the story then takes us to Carlsbad, Aschaffenburg and finally to post-war Frankfurt, reviving the era in well-researched detail. It is only when we near the end of this epic story that we notice how the characters—and we—have gained perspective of their lives.“It was not as if Greta felt any more Jewish now than she had before the war or wanted to be included in their company. But she was a victim of the same fascist criminals and had somehow hoped for sympathy or solidarity. Sadly there was too much fear amongst the survivors to allow such openness to outsiders and the Weissensteiner clan was left isolated.”Five stars.