Hannah’s War

“There have been so many books out recently about women in World War II that we might well be seeing the birth of a new genre. It’s one I thoroughly enjoy, but also one that brings with it certain expectations. I opened Hannah’s War thinking that I knew exactly what I was getting into. I’ve never been more glad to be surprised.

Dr. Hannah Weiss fled Germany when she found that even her work as a scientist and her identity as an Austrian weren’t enough to keep being Jewish from putting her in danger. Seven years later, she wound up in Los Alamos, continuing her work on nuclear physics, ever closer to perfecting a bomb. She also wound up with suspicious eyes on her, but this time for being from Germany.

In her first novel, Jan Eliasberg deftly navigates shifting timelines, moving smoothly from New Mexico to Germany, from Dr. Hannah Weiss to Major Jack Delaney, the man investigating her. It’s no exaggeration to say that this book blew me away. I started it thinking I would give it a chance and probably enjoy it well enough; halfway through I was literally gasping at every chapter in amazement.

If you want something stronger than run-of-the-mill World War II historical fiction, this book is a must read.”