Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Echoes

Echoes
Echoes
Author: Danielle Steel
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
reviewed on + 215 more book reviews


In 1915, the Wiggenstein family was highly prosperous up until the reign of the Third Reich during Hitler's leadership of Germany. The eldest daughter, Beata discovers true love by the glimmering shores of Lake Geneva. The quiet Jewish beauty meets a French aristocrat; they marry against their respective families'wishes. Beata's Orthodox Jewish family "sit Shivah" for her and her father officially declares her dead upon paper. The young couple build a life against all odds, braving trials that shrivel the soul. Under HItler's terror, Beata will lose everything she holds dear. Amadea, Beata's oldest daughter is cloistered in a Carmelite Nunnery, yet not even she is safe from the Gestapo and the Third Reich. Beata's daughter will lead an extraordinary life that will help many and cause you to be captivated by this story, which is also quite historically accurate and breathtaking. From the elegant rituals of Europe's pre-war aristocracy to the brutal desperation of Germany's death camps, the author draws us into these past world events to tell the story of a mother's love, and a daughter's great courage.

A history buff will appreciate the accurate historical detail and mention of the French and English Freedom Fighters.