The Taster

I chose V.S.  Andrews' WWII novel The Taster (#1,317) without knowing much about it.  I thought it would be grim, but I didn't quite realize just how far it would go to paint a realistic portrait of the end of the Third Reich.  I did find it hard to put down.

Magda Ritter has grown up in Berlin, more concerned with the effect the war is having on the young men available to date than any interest in politics.  When her parents decide to ship her off to her aunt and uncle in Berchtesgaden in the Alps Magda finds herself an unwanted guest, forced to search for a job to help support the household.  She soon finds herself working at the Berghof, Hitler's Alpine retreat, as one of his tasters.  Her fervently Nazi aunt and uncle are thrilled she is working there; Magda decidedly is not.

What happens to Magda over the course of the book kept me glued to the pages.  Usually WWII novels are presented from the Point of View of the Allies, not the Germans themselves.  That alone made this book different.  Recommended.