Finding good, local, historical fiction was the pleasure of our book club. Many of us enjoy these books, but to find one that shared stories of the Mississippi in Minneapolis truly brought this story to life for us. Fourteen members were present for this discussion at the Library.
One member said this is one of the top books we have read, a heartwarming historical fiction that left us as all historical fiction do: learning more. Another said it was easy to get into -- the characters were so believable and had such depth, they became very familiar. Again, another person said I learned something that I knew NOTHING about in the Twin Cities, didn't know about "Bohemian Flats." There wasn't a lot of humor in the story someone shared, but the bananas floating down the river made some chuckle!
One person said they felt the characters and the people of the Flats were like a melting pot, something they grew up with, in her local town, liked how food was shared, and like her town, the richer lived on the other side of town. Another said the characters were well-investigated and another said well researched. A member brought up how the characters left everything they knew when they came here. The characters felt far safer and loved than what people feel coming here now, a member stated. Everyone has a story, something pushing them to leave their country. "Hatred was a luxury that none of us could afford because at some point, every neighbor was needed, every skill contributed." The novel was rich with history, including artwork discussion of Caravaggio's Raising of Lazarus.
We talked about the two families in Germany -- the Richters and the Kaufman's. Annalies becomes a nun after Heinrich dies and two of the three sons go to America, one remains. Heinrich wouldn't allow the girls in the family to go to school, but the boys could and the two, Raymond & Albert went to the Richters for help. They were a much more "open family" someone said. In the Flats, women were the head of the household. In Germany, Annalies was not the head of the household, but her husband Heinrich was. He was hard, someone said, but he did have a conscience unlike his son, Otto.
Magdalena's story line was interesting, as she came from wealth, went through so much change and struggle. She was welcomed in the Bohemian Flats by the community. The community there supported each other, and so different than what she felt in Germany. Here she was looked at in regards for her wisdom and there she was thought of as a "witch." Talked about her daughter's "gift" and someone said, "why have a gift if you couldn't do anything about it."
We also talked about Albert & Magdalena's move from the Flats to WI and how they made their home there.
The question was asked who you would like to meet in the book. Some said Alzbeta as she was the salt of the Earth, another said Magdalena, as she was a helper, was down to earth, even though she grew up rich.
We felt the ending was very hard with Eberhard and then Raymond. Talked about why Raymond kept that a secret - didn't want anyone to know Eberhard was a deserter. It left some with much sadness and disappointment.
A very good review was written by Mary Ann Grossman -- click here for the review. Another article that was found is here titled: The Bohemian Flats: "A quaint little village" or den of iniquity. One more review by Peter Geye was found here
The real Bohemian Flats
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