My Review
The Berlin Letter is a story about the Voekler family that is torn apart by the cold war and specifically the Berlin wall. The story weaves between the perspective of Luisa in 1980s and her parents in 1960s. It was incrediably deep and heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. I found myself caught up in the characters life. Especially Luisa as she discovers a hard family secret. All the mixed emotions she felt, I could feel it as well. She was determined to do what was needed to be done. I liked learning about secret codes and spying techniques. I could feel the struggle and the bleakness of her parents as they trudged through life behind the Berlin wall. I was alive during the fall of the Berlin wall but was young and don’t remember it. Katherine Reay weaved the two stories so well that the pieces fall into place at the end and you sit back and think. wow. that was an incredible journey. Stories like this make history come to life and makes it relatable.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About the Book
Near the end of the Cold War, a CIA code breaker discovers a symbol she recognizes from her childhood, which launches her across the world to the heart of Berlin just before the wall comes tumbling down. November 1989 —After finding a secret cache of letters with intelligence buried in the text, CIA cryptographer Luisa Voekler learns that not only is her father alive but he is languishing in an East German Stasi jail. After piecing together the letters with a series of articles her grandfather saved, Luisa seeks out journalists Bran Bishop and Daniel Rudd. They send her to the CIA, to Andrew Cademan—her boss. Luisa confronts Cademan and learns that nothing is a coincidence, but he will not help her free her father. So she takes matters into her own hands, empties her bank account, and flies to West Berlin. As the adrenaline wears off and she recognizes she has no idea how to proceed, Luisa is both relieved and surprised when a friend shows up with contacts and a rudimentary plan to sneak her across the wall. Alternating storylines between Luisa and her father, The Berlin Letters shows the tumultuous early days of the wall, bringing Berlin, the epicenter of the Cold War, to life while also sharing one family’s journey through secrets, lies, and division to love, freedom, and reconciliation.
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