Uta Christensen's new novel BED OF ROSES BED OF THORNS is an absorbing, beautifully wrought family saga set in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century. Told mainly from the point of view of Ursula Meister, an insatiably curious child who comes of age after the end of WWII, it reveals the histories of various family members and how they were affected by events in Germany, as well as important relationships in their lives. For Ursula herself, the most important formative relationship is with her mother, Zara, a beautiful but repressive woman who imposes her will harshly on her daughter. Ursula is privy to her mother's intimate history through an account by her Aunt Lidia, who also relates the tragic story of her grandmother. From another aunt, Erna, she learns about her sophisticated cousins, Ruth and Laura, who live full, interesting lives and enjoy the devoted attention of male friends and admirers. All the while she is coming of age, Ursuala yearns for her father, a soldier in the German army, who is absent during her formative years and unable to return to his family until long after the war is over. When he finally returns, Ursula's relationship with him is strained by her knowledge of the Holocaust and his attitude of denial. Against the backdrop of two world wars that shape the face of Germany, we see how three generations of women are impacted psychologically by their loves, losses, and joys. While all of the characters are vividly delineated, it is Ursula whose growth to young womanhood holds our interest. She must cope initially with her mother's tyranny and the stresses of life in a country at war. Then, as she matures, she faces the challenge of defining herself and discovering her true beliefs and worth, which enable her finally to assert her freedom and choose independence. Altogether, BED OF ROSES BED OF THORNS is a splendid achievement, and we may expect to see more distinguished fiction from Uta Christensen's pen in the future.---Geoff Aggeler, author of THE FIREWATCHER and CONFESSIONS OF JOHNNY RINGO
