Rosella Postorino writes an impressively researched blend of historical fact and fiction in this translated novel, already an Italian bestseller. It is inspired by the late in life interview and revelations of Margot Wolk of her unusual wartime role as a food taster for Hitler. In 1943, it was becoming increasingly clear that Germany were unlikely to win the war, Hitler was feeling increasingly hemmed in and paranoid with his growing number of enemies, living in his hidden, secure and well guard...

During WWII there were many people who wanted to put an end to Hitler’s reign of terror, and as the tide began to turn against him in 1943, those tasked with keeping him safe had to come up with every conceivable plan to ensure his continued leadership. With this in mind, every method by which his assassination could be carried out had to be covered. This included ten women who were employed as Hitler’s food tasters, and this novel is loosely based on Margot Wölk who died at the age of 96, short...

Fear comes to me three times a day, always without knocking. It sits beside me and if I stand up it follows me, by now it’s practically a constant companion. World War II. Death could arrive at any moment, particularly when your city is being targeted by enemy bombers. In a way, a sudden violent end becomes the expectation. One to be avoided if at all possible, of course. Rosa Sauer flees the Allied bombing of Berlin in Autumn 1943. Though married, her husband had joined the army. Sh

The Women at Hitler’s Table is U.K. title This excellent book is based on the true story of Margot Wolk who died in 2014 aged 96, the last of Hitlers poison testers. The central character is Rosa Sauer, the place is Wolfsschanze, the Wolf’s Lair in East Prussia where 10 disparate women become test animals or digestive tracts as Hitlers paranoia extends to concern that his food may be poisoned. Rosa, from Berlin is married to Gregor who is at the front and so she goes to live with his parents in

Thank you to Flatiron Books for mailing me the advance copy of “At The Wolf’s Table” by the international best selling author: *Rosella Postorino*. This book was selling like hot cakes in Italy when it was first released- and soon Postorino was one of five nominees for the literature Campiello Prize. THIS BOOK WILL BE RELEASED IN STORES IN THE U.S. in January 2019. Rosella is also an editor. She speaks Italian, French, German, and English. This is her first novel translated into English. This is...

First I want to thank the Publisher of the book Flatiron for providing me with a copy.The book is a must must read because of one of the most powerful story I have personally ever read. I didn't know what the Wolf meant before reading the book I just read the book because of the best selling author Rosella Pastorino.She is the icon of writting excellent and powerful books that stay and make you think for more than a while.The wolf is a nickname for Hitler the book starts with Margot Wölk, the bo...

3.5 stars, rounded down. Didn't follow-through with what was promised. Let’s talk about the pace of this book first. It was a slow start. It took me 140 pages (all of Part 1 and the beginning of Part 2) to emotionally connect with Rosa. Given that the book is only 275 pages, that’s a significant amount of time spent on building Rosa’s moral struggle without being exposed to it. I’m not sure how to describe the content of this book. It narrates the victimhood of members within the Third Reich, bu...

Germany WWll. There were plenty of people who wanted Hitler dead. One of the ways they tried to protect their leader was to have women assigned to be food tasters. Hitler was convinced that the British were trying to poison him so he hired 10 women to eat every meal one hour before he did. This book is much more than just food tasting. This is a well researched historical fiction based on war time experiences. The book is based loosely on the real life story of Margot Wolk who was one of Hitlers...

At the Wolf's Table: A Novel by Rosella Postorino is the internationally bestselling novel based on the true story of Margot Wölk (1917-2014). She was a German secretary, who in 1942 was selected with other 14 women to taste Adolf Hitler’s food in case it were poisoned. Only many years later Margot Wölk, sole survivor of the group of tasters after the Second World War decides to publicly tell her story. She is 95 years old, and she reveals her truth only two years before dying in 2014. Hers is i...

This novel is based upon real events, and the life of Margot Wolk, who was the last survivor of Hitler’s food tasters – a fact she, apparently, only divulged at the very end of her life. In this novel, she becomes Rosa Sauer, a Berlin secretary, who has married her boss and is looking forward to a life of contented, marital bliss, when Gregor heads off to war. Then, as the bombs fall, and she finds herself without any family, she relocates – somewhat unwillingly – to the countryside, to stay wit...

A fascinating novel following a young woman named Rosa Sauer, who is selected to be one of Hitler's food tasters. She and nine other women must eat his meals before he does, then wait to see if the food is poisoned. Throughout the book we get to know the women, some who are absolutely devoted to Hitler and others, like our main character Rosa, who resolutely insist they are not Nazis -- even as they risk their own lives for his, multiple times a day. Not that they have much say in the matter of

For all reviews and recommendations (and links to article and video) please follow me on Book Nation by Jen. https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.comAccording to Google, “coming together and sharing a meal is the most communal and binding thing in almost every place in the world”. Eating together, and eating at all is usually considered a good thing, but after reading Rosella Postorino’s latest novel you may just change your mind!Based on truth, At the Wolf’s Table is about a group of German women

I was greatly disappointed by this one. I ended up abandoning the book at 50%. Just was not engaged with the writing or the characters. I recommend The Taster if you are looking for another book about this topic.

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com3.5 starsAt the Wolf’s Table is a historical fiction title inspired by a short newspaper article the author of the novel came across in 2014. Rosella Postorino was intrigued by the life of Margot Wolk, Hitler’s last surviving food tasters. Interestingly, Margot Wolk did not choose to reveal her work as a food taster until the very end of her life. Struck deeply by this woman and her experiences, Postorino felt compelled to bring Margot’s amazing hidden histo...

My View:Brilliant! A narrative that authentically involves you in the war time Germany where the impossible to accept, the dangerous, the unthinkable… is normalised. This is a study of group behaviour; of how social isolation, separation from family support, societal and military control, of how war affects those actively involved in the warfare and those who remain at home. It is also a story of love – in many forms, of violence, of living in perpetual/potential danger and a story of survival.T...

After about 3/4 of the way through, I'm pulling a DNF. Not sure if it's the translation but the writing is not all that great, the story is not grabbing me and I have no interest in these characters who are not dimensional at all. It all feels a bit clunky and unfortunately I have no desire to know how it all ends.

Rosa Sauer has left her home in Berlin to move in with her in-laws who live in the country. Her husband is fighting on the Eastern Front and has gone missing. Rosa and a group of women have been conscripted to be food tasters. They are brought to the Wolf's Lair, a hidden outpost Hitler uses to plan his next strategic move. Rosa and the women eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, all the foods Hitler will be served. They are the guinea pigs to determine if the food has been poisoned. The women are fe...

Pretty disappointed in this. I was expecting so much more. I didn’t feel the fear of being a poison guinea pig. There was a lot of sexual situations that I questioned, especially at the end of the story. It just left an icky taste for me. The characters fell flat for me and I wanted more of the experience of being a taste tester and I don’t feel that we got it.

This was probably a 2.5 star book for me, but will round it up to 3. I had previously read The Taster by V. S. Alexander and wanted to compare the two. This was about the same, though it took a slightly different approach. This was the story of Rosa Sauer who lived with her in-law's while her husband was away fighting the war. She became a taster for Hitler. She made friends, including that of Elfriede, who wasn't exactly the nicest to Rosa, but had some kind of pull to her. She also becomes inv...

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. It feels like every other book in the historical fiction genre is a WWII book, so it can be hard to find a perspective that feels different. I read this for book club with my girlfriends and I am so looking forward to discussing it. It's a quiet novel, but there is so much to talk about. I don't believe I've read a WWII book from the perspective of a German citizen (who is not also Jewish), so that was new for me. Postorino sets the story in the heart of...