If you are interested in German/European history, then get yourself a copy of this book. It seems to be out of print, and no I won't sell mine, but its still worth finding. Leffland took the approach of a historical novel because she felt that this was the best way of making you understand the times and how heroic Germans could be seduced by Nazism and Hitler. Leffland certainly researched her subject well enough to have written a biography of Georing, but this approach had to be more fun for her and her readers. Sure, its kind of a cop out approach when comparing this to Kershaw's biography of Hitler, but then Kershaw does not make me feel like a German caught up in the rush of the early 20's in Germany either.

Leffland brings the complexities of Hermann Goering to life with clarity and vivid detail. Her descriptions of Castle Veldenstein and Carinhall (Goering's estate named after his first wife) are fascinating, and are quite accurate, probably the best ever written. Although this novel is fiction, the bulk of the material is taken from exhaustively researched facts. (Leffland actually went to Germany to visit places in the book firsthand and met with Goering's relatives.) The Knight, Death and the Devil is a wonderfully tragic tale that can be savored like a fine wine.

Leffland is an exquisite writer. This novel explores the humanity of a monster, the banality of evil personified. It is a very rich and enlightening journey that illuminates a life yet can not answer the mystery behind its horrifying outcome. The writing is superb, the character of H.G. richly ambiguous. As with any villain, there are more questions than answers, and Leffland beautifully dramatizes the puzzle of the nature of evil and how it can take root in the human soul.

There were interesting and vital characters. There were three independent plots woven together by a very clever subplot. But something was missing. Theokild, Grethe, and Paula seemed to wander aimlessly for a little too long. I wanted to tell them to get out of their isolated worlds and find each other. Paula came the closest. I'm not asking for time-travel but the book needed a more unifying theme--perhaps their physical home or an animal?

I confess that I am awarding this novel 5 stars in part to counter some of the low ratings given to the book by other customer reviewers.
I was not put off in the least by the three-part structure. Every third chapter is about the same generation. The generations are presented in chronological order and each block of three chapters is prefaced by brief description of the interior of cave, the significance of which is made explicit at the end of the novel. There is absolutely nothing confusing, puzzling or arbitrary about any of this. Quite the opposite: it makes the unfolding of the plot(s) more dramatic and drives home the theme of the novel, which is a meditation on the difficulty of finding truth in your life.

The recent movie "The Hours", based on a Michael Cunningham novel that I have not read, uses much the same technique, but is focussed on a different theme and the geneaological relationships among the characters are not as extensive. Each group of characters in the Leffland novel are members of the same family, one separated from the other by two or three generations. Leffland is quite good at making connections among the generations, some of the physical, such as the flowered rug made by Grete Rosted that has talismanic significance for Paula, although she never finds out that her own grandmother made it. Some of the connections are metaphysical, such as the compulsion to travel extemporaneously shared by Thorkild, his grandson and Philip. She is also quite good about showing us the hazy boundary between the memories of old people and the written historical record. And the varying reliability of both.

Leffland is an excellent plotter. The narratives are each compelling in their own right and while some threads are tied together at the end, the author has the art and good taste to leave some hanging, allowing the reader to imagine, for example the grimness of Thorkild's end. She uses a trick of switching to the present tense at the beginning and ends of each chapter, which makes the action quite immediate and has the effect of repeatedly building a bridge between the generations. One can almost sense the author's growing excitement and engagement as the book progresses. The prose of the initial chapters is a bit halting and the chapters are short. But as the novel progresses, the prose grows more fluid and the chapters stretch out to accomodate the sprawling plot.

If the book has a weakness, it is the failure to bring the theme into more focus. The Rosteds are not world beaters. They are intelligent members of the aristocracy in the nineteenth century and of the upper middle class in the twentieth century, but they are not geniuses or great in any sense. Therefore their struggle to find truth in their lives is constantly doomed to less than complete success. Thorkild wrestles with life's verities in his endless writings, which he eventually burns. Holger and Grethe throw Bohemian parties and Holger paints, but only as a gentleman painter. Paula is a sculptor of no discernible talent and Philip deserted his creative side while still in college and became a businessman.

So no one in this novel ever has a sort of 'aha' moment. Rather they all fail to discover the whole truth and must learn to settle for that. While this is the situation that most of us find ourselves in, I thought that perhaps Leffland could have limned the theme a little more clearly. However, it is quite possible that I simply need to read the book again. It is a great temptation in the last third of the novel to read very quickly as many of the climaxes approach. I may well have missed some of the art in order to know the end of a sad and beautiful story.

The nine year wait for Ella Leffland's new novel has been worth its while. This three generations saga of a Danish family is at once unique and mesmerizing. "Take care!" Is the opening line. The words warn the reader--as much as the child clutching the cat, Olaf--to take care! Read this book with care! Nothing is quite what it seems. The leitmotif of the novel is finding continuity, permanence within this world of impermanence. The heroine, Grethe, muses that everything in life is fleeting, all goes somewhere, but where? The existential question of what will survive when we are gone, is repeated throughout this novel. Leffland's novel is provocative and sad, and at the same time strangely uplifting. There is rain and fog, ice and sleet, but there are also midsummer-nights and a plethora of flowers, "...Golden chains and bursts of fiery reds and lakes of blue, of violet, of sparkling white. ...Blooms bursting up everywhere." A little later Grethe thinks with a foreboding pensiveness, that "...these same blooms will only flake and shred and in their seeding decay give rise to more of the same." Leffland weaves order out of chaotic lives spanning three centuries, and leaves the reader to marvel at her ability to braid darkness with light. Sophocles' thought, "Man is but breath and shadow, nothing more," has given rise to Ella Leffland's finest book.

The story of a maturing girl provides many stereotypical events of growing up. The reason I rated this book three stars is because it really isn't a book written for males. I am sure that young women would enjoy this story much more than I did. The story is set in the times of WWII, beginning when Suse is in elementary school. She has a brother who is put in the war and a sister who soon goes away to college. Without her siblings she goes through the adolescent type events involving friendship, puberty, love, and middle school. These stories of maturing related little to me being a male. Still in my view this was a decent book to read as the voice of Suse's feelings captures you regardless of your sex. However, I would still only recommend this book to younger girls.

Yes, if I were stranded on a desert island, I'd certainly want a copy of this book with me. This well written, poignant book tells about Suse, a young girl growing up in the Bay area during WWII. It's particularly memorable for capturing her struggle to understand the war, her family and friends, and the world in general. You'll enjoy this novel very much as you watch Suse try to understand her place among these elements.

I loved this book when I read it nearly 20 years ago and loved it anew when I re-read it this year.

I first read this book in high school on the recommendation of an english teacher. I asked why so many serious books about artistic, intellectual and sexual awakening focused on males (we'd just read James Joyce) and not females, so he suggested that I read this book on my own time, (he had enjoyed it and was considering using it for class at some time in the future). Even though it dealt with the WW-II era, which occurred long before I was born, I really related to this book and enjoyed the characters of Suse and her friends. Too many books about girls deal with the kind of transformation Suse's friend Peggy went through as if it were a good thing...as if all girls want to become cheerleaders and prom queens in high school. The part about friends growing apart was funny and sad. I liked the fact that Suse went through adolescence and awakened sexually without losing her brain or sense of self. I thought there was some nice imagery in the book too, and I enjoyed (and squirmed sympathetically during) the parts where Suse embarassed herself trying to impress her prodigal friend's peers by talking about "Rosa Luxury" the socialist agitator....and about thinking that the "crystal night" pogrom had something to do with Christmas. I can recall going through similar logical but inaccurate thought proceses and embarassing myself in similar ways as a kid! I re-read it recently and enjoyed it as much as I did nearly 20 years ago. I wish there were more similarly intelligent books out there about coming of age in America.