Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Todd debuts with a stirring chronicle of trans and gay trailblazers in Weimar Germany who were persecuted by the Nazis. In 1933 Berlin, Berthold "Bertie" Durchdenwald, an assistant at the progressive Institute for Sexual Science, is proud to receive his purple "transvestite card," which lets him live openly as a trans man. But his rights rapidly erode as the Nazis rise to power, raiding the city's gay clubs and torching the Institute. Bertie and his lover, Sofie Hönig, flee to a farm in Ulm, where they hide for the duration of the war. During the Allied occupation, they find a trans man named Karl Fuchs collapsed in their field. He tells them that he was imprisoned at Dachau and is now fleeing from the Allies who are jailing gay and trans people. Facing continued discrimination, the trio decide to immigrate to the U.S. To do so, however, Bertie and Karl must hide their hard-earned identities. In one particularly poignant scene, Bertie burns their photo albums and transvestite cards, while bitterly reflecting on the Nazis' book burning and destruction of evidence pertaining to the Holocaust. In Todd's hands, this vital chapter of LGBTQ+ history comes to life, as the characters find a means to survive through found family. This timely historical drama hits hard. Agent: Sarah Bedingfield, Levine Greenberg Rostan. (Apr.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
DEBUT Short-story writer and Lambda Literary Fellow Todd's first novel begins in 1945 in rural Germany; the Allies have just freed the country from the Nazis. Protagonists Bertie and Sofie are a trans couple who have been living under assumed identities to evade persecution. They discover a young trans man, Karl, on their property, and decide they must protect him. The story then jumps back to 1932, when Bertie, a trans man, was working for the Institute of Sexual Science, and there was a thriving LGBTQIA+ community in Berlin. This all changes when Hitler comes to power. In 1945, Karl tells Bertie and Sofie stories of the torture and humiliation he endured when at Dachau. When they discover that the Allied forces are looking for queer citizens to arrest, they decide to escape to the U.S. to live in peace. Todd explains the backgrounds of the characters and puts their struggles in the context of their time, writing particularly movingly of their immigration to the States. VERDICT A well-written, engrossing story full of suspense; a good addition to literature on the history of LGBTQIA+ Germans during World War II.--Susan Cox
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A trans man and his chosen family struggle for survival during World War II (and after). Bertie, a trans man, spends his days working at Berlin's Institute for Sexual Science and his evenings enjoying the relative social freedom that prevails in the waning days of the Weimar Republic. When Hitler ascends to power, the trans community, along with others in Berlin's vibrant gay community, are threatened by a loss of rights and burgeoning waves of street violence. Bertie and his girlfriend, Sofie, flee the city to eke out a subsistence living for the duration of World War II on a rural farm near Ulm. Originally owned by the grandparents of Bertie's close friend Gert, the farm eventually falls to Bertie and Sofie after the welcoming, sheltering older couple dies. Shortly after Allied forces occupy the area, Karl, a frail trans man who's escaped from Dachau, seeks shelter with Bertie and Sofie and reports the terrifying news that Allied forces are continuing--postwar--to penalize members of the "third sex" community with imprisonment under Third Reich codes of public conduct. Rather than enjoying relief from the horrors and privations of war, the close-knit trio must find ways to shield the men's trans identities while making their way to safety in a more tolerant environment. Todd's detailed narrative conveys the terrors and uncertainties of life during wartime: the inability to trust even close neighbors or loved ones' true identity; the fear of attack; the wrenching horror of trying to make sense of who lived and died. The ambitions and joys of Berlin's queer community are equally well drawn. The book is populated with historical figures, notably Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, pioneering sexologist and founder of the Institute for Sexual Science. Todd vividly illustrates the power of love and community in the face of oppression. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
