The Taster by V.S. Alexander

There are many good novels on the subject of WWII. What makes this book stand out? It is something never told before. 

The idea of this book was prompted by an account of Margot Woelk, a real taster for Adolf Hitler, who revealed her story at the age of ninety-five. This book is not based on her life, although several scenes from her life were incorporated into this story.

“Who killed Adolf Hitler? (…) The circumstances surrounding his death have been disputed since 1945…”

In this story, a fictional character of Magda Ritter answers this question by telling her story. “She is one of the fifteen women who tastes Hitler’s food as he is obsessively concerned about being poisoned by the Allies or traitors.”

In 1943, at the age of 25, Magda’s parents send her to their family in Bavaria to keep her safe from Allied bombs raiding over Berlin. As soon as she arrives in the charming town of Berchtesgaden, her aunt forces her to get a job to pay her share.

She is taken to Berghof Chalet perched on a hillside above her uncle’s town. Here she learns about her job description. As she learns her duties and how to identify poisonous food, she also learns about an underground network operating right under Hitler’s radar. The National Socialism they’ve been fed by Hitler turns out to be full of cruelty proven by photos taken at Auschwitz.

Cut off from the world and fed by Hitler’s propaganda, most of the German people don’t know the truth and the atrocities done in the camps. But as war progresses and as some hope it’s nearing its end, more and more Germans start questioning Hitler’s ideology, if it’s rather madness. More and more attempts are made to kill him, but they all fail. Now they’re hopeful that Operation Valkyrie will work.

The first part of the book is slow in action, but not in pace. It is still an interesting part. The second half has more action and graphic descriptions about brutality of the war.

How did Adolf Hitler die and did most of the Germans not know about atrocities of the WWII? We may never find out the answers to these questions. Nevertheless, this is a very fascinating read.

@Facebook/BestHistoricalFiction