All That I Am

I very much enjoyed All That I Am by Anna Funder. This fine writer is the author of the non-fiction Stasiland and this is her first novel which is based on oral histories done with an elderly friend. The story is about real people and events and Funder builds her flesh on the bones of those facts. It is initially set in the early 21st century as an old woman, Ruth, looks back on her past in Nazi Germany. She tells about her cousin Dora and her passion for justice and equality in a country where there was none pre-World War II. In a different time period and voice we learn about playwright Ernst Toller, living in New York shortly before the War who is also looking back on his own relatively short life as he dictates his story to his secretary. It is a suspenseful story as we learn about the events that affected the characters and gain an understanding of the terror the anti-Nazis experienced. Also as many refugees moved to Britain we learn that the British refused to accept what the refugees were telling them about what was happening in Germany, likely because they feared another War and refused to believe it could happen again. This is so well written - highly recommended. 5/5