Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons

We discussed Mr Rosenblum's List by Natasha Solomons on Monday 7 February. It was almost a full house with 15 members present.

From the author's website:

"Jack is compiling a list: a comprehensive guide to the manners, customs and habits of England. He knows that marmalade must be bought from Fortnum & Mason, he’s memorised every British monarch back to 913 A.D. and the highlight of his day is the BBC weather forecast. And he never speaks German, apart from the occasional curse.

From the moment he disembarked at Harwich in 1937 he understood that assimilation was the key. But the war’s been over for eight years and despite his best efforts, his bid to blend in remains fraught with unexpected hurdles. Including his wife. "

This was the author's first book. Her grandfather received a pamphlet on how to assimillate to British society when he arrived from Germany before the war. This was the inspiration for a story of a man trying to assimilate. The author wasn't interested in writing a holocaust book, more interested in writing about the edges of history.

What did we think?

Score range: 7.5 - 8.5

Average: 8 out of 10