All That I Am audiobook

My story “is reconstructed from fossil fragments, much as you might draw skin and feathers over an assembly of dinosaur bones, to fully see the beast."So says Ann Funder in the afterword of her novel. I’m not sure it matters if you read this novel as pure fiction or fictionalised biography. I went into this book knowing nothing about the real life characters portrayed and found it worked equally well as elegant literary fiction and page turning thriller. All That I Am is about a group of German dissidents who are forced to leave Hitler’s Germany and take up residence in London where they are impoverished and hunted. It soon becomes clear London offers no guarantee of safety, especially when it’s known they have at least one traitor in their midst. The novel has two narrators – Ernst Toller, the playwright and Ruth Blatt, whom Funder got to know late in her life and no doubt sparked the inspiration for this novel – but the character who fascinates Funder and who this novel is essentially about is Dora Fabien. To both Tiller and Ruth, the passionate and independent Dora is an indispensable flame of their wellbeing. A few times I questioned why Funder needed two narrators, especially because there’s an unevenness about their narratives – mostly it’s Ruth who tells the story with Toller appearing briefly in interludes and sometimes you wonder why Toller is there at all as a voice, especially as Funder takes liberties with what Ruth could know – when necessary Ruth will provide information she could not have known at the time. And also because as voices Funder makes no effort to distinguish them stylistically. But this was a minor misgiving and what the dual narrative lacks in artistry it makes up for in supplying dramatic tension. It’s certainly refreshing to read about female heroism in a more everyday and therefore more moving guise. WW2 heroines have begun to be turned by novelists into super powered comic book characters –The Nightingale springs to mind. For example, when you read accounts of female SOE agents it’s not any facility with weapons you admire, it’s the extraordinary grace under pressure they often show when passing through a Gestapo check with something fatally incriminating on their person. Funder, though perhaps guilty of romanticising Dora for added dramatic effect, evokes this courage brilliantly through Dora. Dora doesn’t perform a single showy courageous act and yet one is moved by her steadfast mental courage throughout the course of the novel. Basically, though sometimes lacking in exciting artistry, Funder gets all the basics right in this novel – it’s pacey, it’s exciting, it’s moving and it’s also a novel written with lots of heart.

The main effect this book had on me was a deep sense of my own lack of similar courage. I was moved almost to tears by the fate of Ruth Blatt/Becker, and the knowledge that this is basically a true story made it all the more gripping. This book is an excellent example of how best true stories can be converted into novels, without sacrificing either authenticity or readability. All too often I've seen obviously autobiography simply relabelled as "a novel", when in truth the writer has not made an attempt to create a narrative arc or to develop characters so that we can identify with them and follow them on a journey that has a beginning, a middle and an end.This book made me realise in what privileged and easy times we live today -- and how little we are challenged to face the real life-and-death issues which are still there, even though they are invisible. I have no desire to live through a time of war, but reading this book showed me how hard times can challenge us to the very edge of our endurance -- and we are better humans for it. A devastating book -- for all the right reasons.

This novel was a book club choice that I’d never heard of but which gave me some new and interesting insights into a period of German (and ultimately European) history that I knew little about, namely that leading up to World War II when the world was refusing to listen to German refugees who tried to warn everyone about the dangers of the new regime. Most of the characters in the novel were real people at the time, and we hear the story from two characters’ points of view, Ruth and Toller, who are looking back upon their lives, Ruth as an old woman in Australia, Toller, also much older, in New York. The story is structured around their reminiscing and was for a long time confusing to me, partly because they take turns narrating from a first person perspective, and I had to go back and check the chapter headings to figure out who was who. It took me quite a while to really get into the story; the first 80-100 pages were a mediocre 3-star read to me.Then the real main character of the story, Dora Fabian, began to stand out more clearly, and the plot thickened as regards pre-war Germany. Dora – based on a real woman - was feisty, opinionated, smart and part of a group of free-speaking Socialists who saw the writing on the wall long before anyone else thought that Hitler was anything but a charismatic leader. She was a feminist at a time when few women were. She was the love of Ernst Toller’s life and the most important person in her cousin Ruth’s life. Little by little the group had to flee Germany as the Nazi hold of the country tightened. But the tendrils of the Nazi regime reached into other European countries without leaving a trace, and so the group’s warnings went largely unheeded by e.g. the British; assassinations were treated as suicides or accidents.Embedded in the political story are a number of complex love stories, a deep friendship and the ultimate betrayal – also based on facts. I was almost in tears when some of these events unraveled. I became increasingly enamored with Anna Funder’s style and deeply humanistic insights. To some extent the universality of them is what convinced me to give the novel four stars. A selection of phrases: I am now near enough to one hundred years old, which means it is only twenty times my life span since Christ walked the earth.I know it’s possible to fall in love with someone by falling in love with their writing, because I already had.None of us – teacher or taught realised how an imagined romantic life can sustain you as a possibility, a hope, and remain just that. Like parallel train tracks it runs alongside, but will never meet, the life you are living. When seeing a guy dressed as an ape, and someone makes a remark about our supposed inner beast, Ruth disagrees and has a thought that flies in the face of the forthcoming ethnic cleansing: I wondered whether it wasn’t the other way around; whether inside all of us there might just be a cleaner, purer, more hairless version too naked for the world. Later, she has this thought, which is beginning to dawn on me at this stage of my life: We don’t understand one another, we may not ever give each other just what we need. All that remains is kindness. A disturbing and ultimately moving novel about the capacity of human beings to fight for what is right – and about the power of political regimes to squash that clean, pure, hairless and innate part of our beings. (The truthfulness of these contradictory facts in what came to be the DDR can be experienced in the absolutely amazing movie Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), which I happened to watch last night after finishing this novel. If you haven’t seen it already, be sure you do).

I feel somewhat ambivalent when recognising I’m in the process of reading a masterpiece – and make no mistake, Anna Funder’s All That I Am is a masterpiece. The reason for my ambivalence is because, although I'll begin to slow down, take my time with every page, to soak it up, to wallow, call it what you will, the book must still, eventually, come to an end. Just to reiterate: Anna Funder’s All That I Am is such a book.There’s my own, personal story behind it, too. A couple of years ago, I was on the local university campus, Norwich’s UEA to be exact, having just attended a ‘Fiction in Translation’ presentation – it was, indeed, my teacher of German at the UEA who’d recommended her first work, Stasiland, true stories from those who'd worked for the Stasi behind the Berlin wall, and a book for which Anna received great acclaim. Straight after which, with a friend, I called into the campus’ Waterstones; we browsed a few of the studied books in translation and so on. In time, I happened to come across Anna Funder’s “masterpiece”, out on a table. I tapped the book and whispered to my friend: ‘She’s good!’ ‘She’s standing there, at the counter,’ said my friend, muffling a laugh. She meant Anna Funder.‘No time like the present,’ I thought: I bought the book and asked her to sign it. And she was lovely about it, as you’d expect.But what with all the books to read in the world, I’d get round to All That I Am in my own time: two years later.If I could change anything about the above encounter, I’d have it that I’m already two thirds through the book, and am thus enthralled; the book, then, also happens to be in my pocket. I now bump into Anna Funder, and I tell her what it means to me, and what it will mean to me when signed.Either way, it means a lot.The effort to have gone into this work is there for all to see, all is based on mind-blowing fact, what we might call faction. Even so, that’s only one thing. For once the information is compiled, the book must then be written; and to be a success, it must pull us in, be compelling. For that, an author must be a writer, too. And, oh how Anna Funder writes!I don’t want to say too much about the subject matter – please, go and find out for yourselves. What I will say is that it covers love and hate, good and evil, courage and cowardice – life, in other words, or lives, those lived in their extremes, in real, “mind-blowing” circumstances.It’s enough to gain insight into Anna Funder’s erudite world. But to add all this to her literary style is something else.The “masterpiece” lives.There are three reasons why I will reread this book, with or without its personal signature: a, because, for me, Anna’s philosophy of life drips from every other page like amber nectar; I concur with everything she implies – I feel I’ve find a soul sister; b, it’s the kind of book that has you feel that if you do read it again, even when knowing what will be, you might still, somehow, be able to change something; and c, it is just so beautifully written.Thanks, Anna Funder

Ironico come io abbia scelto questo libro mentre, nel corso di letteratura tedesca, ci occupavamo della letteratura “nach Auschwitz” (dopo Auschwitz, ma anche riguardante Auschwitz).Per quanto certi aspetti della vicenda siano volutamente romanzati (di sicuro per giustificare l'inserimento diretto di così tante informazioni), l'ho trovata parecchio vivida, talmente chiara che con facilità potevo figurarmi ogni singola scena. Il libro, senz'ombra di dubbio, getta uno sguardo attento sugli anni più febbrili mai attraversati dalla Germania, quelli antecedenti la seconda guerra mondiale, e lo fa con una sincerità disarmante, tutt'altro che stucchevole.Ho voltato l'ultima pagina con la consapevolezza che la figura di Dora Fabian sarà impossibile da dimenticare.

When All That I Am by Anna Funder won the prestigious 2012 Miles Franklin Award, I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. What I discovered was a book to love as both a reader and a writer.There are so many ideas, beautifully observed, that resonated for me in this book, which can stand alone and lose none of their power. Take this example:"At least half of what we call hope, I believe, is simply the sense that something can be done."And this:"This vast life -- the real, interior one in which we remain linked to the dead (because the dream inside us ignores trivialities like breath, or absence) -- this vast life is not under our control. Everything we have seen and everyone we have known goes into us and constitutes us, whether we like it or not..."Then there is the innovative structure, two first-person narrators telling the story in different eras: German playwright Ernst Toller, writing his memoirs in 1939 in exile in New York; and ageing German émigré Ruth Becker in present-day Sydney. What Toller and Ruth have in common is activist Dora Fabian. They are 'the two for whom she was the sun. We moved in her orbit and the force of her kept us going,' as Ruth puts it. Their love for Dora both permeates and motivates their memories of her and the stories they tell.The historical events, the settings, the characters -- most based on real people -- are written with such intimacy I felt transported by the narrative. I knew little of European history between the wars prior to reading All That I Am. I wasn't even all that interested in it. I had no appreciation of the struggle of German exiles who tried to warn the world of Hitler's agenda, nor of the violence and tragedy that befell so many of them.What shines through in this book for me is the time and care Funder has taken with all aspects of the story. There's a breathtaking intimacy to the characters and their relationships to one another: these are people with whom the author has lived for a long time. It comes as no surprise to learn Funder took over five years to write the book.Very highly recommended.

If you are looking for a truly incredible novel Anna Funder’s debut All That I Am is the perfect book for you. All That I Am is the story of a group of young, passionate pacifists that are forced out of Berlin when Hitler comes to power. The novel is told through flashbacks and in alternate voices. Ruth Becker is an old woman when the novel opens, and is being tormented by her past. Ernst Toller finds himself in exile in New York in 1939 as he recounts his time in Berlin. Both narrators had been tied to Dora Fabian, a dedicated and daring woman determined to warn the world about the dangers of Hitler and the Nazi’s. Beautifully written and intelligent, the novel provokes readers to think about the seductive nature of power, political tyranny and resistance movements as well as the motivation of an individual. It is also a grand novel that explores love and betrayal, courage and fear, depression and hope. While the novel is an exceptional example of historical fiction, dutifully researched and authentic in scope, it is also a fine piece of literary fiction that inspires reflection and intelligent discourse. It is also a well told story that reads like a thriller or a great tale of espionage. All That I Am is a novel that deserves wide readership and will disappoint few.

One of my favorite books of the past decade! An original and riveting story of courageous German exiles in Britain and a revelation into the Nazis' terrifying reach beyond Occupied Europe. For lovers of historical fiction, a hidden gem!

People far more eloquent than I have reviewed this book, and given it has already won prizes and is likely to win more, probably many more eloquent people will continue to review it. Given the range I read and write, it’s hard to give ‘numbers’ to books that are meaningful. If I was comparing this to similar books I would give it 4.5 out of 5, but that doesn’t mean I think it is less or indeed in any way comparable to ones in the romance genre I have given 5 out of 5.I was reluctant to buy it initially when I saw it was about the Nazis. I was an avid reader and film watcher of all WWII spy thrillers and holocaust books but I have to say I am little tired of them. So I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong about what it was about in the first instance. Yes it is about Germany and the Nazis, but in the 1920’s and 30’s – pre-war, of which I am far less familiar. The second pleasant surprise was that it was a fictionalisation of a real story, including one character that the author had met and knew. I am an avid fan of ‘real’ stories, and like many ‘real’ stories, after googling, this one is stranger than fiction, and most certainly needed to be told. I wasn’t surprised by the quality of writing. This is a literary book, not fast paced, page turning populist. But the characters are wonderful, the story slowly compelling and working its way under your skin, a story of love and friendship between girlfriends (not sexual), passion for a cause, people’s ability to rise above the circumstances and fight and fall, of betrayal and weakness as much as of strength. Be uplifted, and reminded. We shouldn’t ever forget and it is wonderful that authors like Funder find new ways to keep us reading and remembering.

I took this from my husband's stack when I was in search of something to read before a lengthy airplane trip. Judging it purely by its cover I wondered why my husband had purchased something that appeared to be both a beach read and pure chick lit. Nice surprise, it was neither chick lit nor a beach read.Based on a number of real life historical figures who all lived during the 30s (and some beyond), the book describes the early days of Hitler's regime, as he takes over Germany and consolidates his power--and the effect on a group of friends, some Jewish, some not, who are also 'revolutionaries' and free-thinkers, independent minded citizens who would prefer to see Germany ruled by workers and commoners. The group is forced to flee Germany in 1933/34, and work towards Hitler's downfall from the relative security of between-the-wars London, where the long hand of Hitler's regime still has some reach.The story plays out from the viewpoint of two of its characters, a well known German writer, Toller, who had spent time in prison before the Nazi putsch, and Ruth, the female cousin of the woman who is actually the central character of the piece, the fierce and fearless Dora. It's an interesting, relatively unknown story that takes place during a period that's often overlooked in favor of the years closer to WWII, and the war itself. The back and forth construction of the novel, which shifts between Ruth's recollection of the period and Toller's observations propels the story along at a fast and gripping pace. Though the book reads like pure fiction, I was surprised to discover the background is true. Definitely recommended.