Stella’s past revealed

Stella by Takis Wurger, Allen & Unwin, $32.99

Once again I visited one of the eras to which

I am attracted in Stella. The story is based in war-torn Berlin during 1942 where life under the Nazi Germans is really starting to become difficult as they initiate and enact their move to eliminate the Jews. Frederich arrives fresh from his closeknit family life in Switzerland. Being Swiss he is very privileged and able to move freely around the badly bombed city. Because of his family wealth he is able to live in a luxurious hotel and is not short on money to live the life he so chooses.

Frederich meets a beautiful model Kristin when she is a nude model at a drawing class he attends. He becomes hypnotised by her beauty although at first she seems distant and unapproachable. Over time that changes and they become a couple although the relationship always seems complicated. Eventually the truth is out. Kristin is in fact not of Aryan descent but is actually a Jewess named Stella. Their tortured life becomes even more complicated, even more so when Kristin returns to Frederich after a savage beating by the Gestapo.

The emotional aspect of Stella is the underlying aspect which carries the story with remarkable intensity. For Frederich his future becomes something he is now grappling with on a daily basis. At under 200 pages this book packs a punch way above its weight.