All That I Am by Anna FunderMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Oh how I love books that blend truth with mystery, history with imagination, facts with the inventive. They provide a portal to bring past into present and give a voice to a previously unknown hero. Funder's masterpiece has done exactly that. Based on her real-life friend Ruth Wesemann, Funder creates the events in Nazi Germany in the heady days before WWII.
Ruth Wesemann is an old, crusty German woman living in Sydney. One morning she receives a package containing a tattored notebook from Ernst Toller and memories of a long forgotten past come flooding back to her.
With the rise of Nazi's in Germany, many socialist and left-wing activists are targets of violent attacks. Many flee to England where they try to bring the attention of authorities to the threat of Hitler. Ernest's notebook tells their story with particular attention to Ruth's cousin, the petite but fiercely outspoken Dora. There is little known about the German emegre in England and the dangers they faced speaking against the rise of Hitlerism. Pushed to their limits, some fold, others breakdown, none remain unaffected.
All That I am is a richly told tale, with well thought out characters. Immensely satisfying, it holds a moral compass to the reader, challenging with the question: what will you do in the face of injustice or tyranny? Will you turn, will you remain silent or will you speak out?
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