The Good At Heart

Try it Now Firm without compromise. Cancel whenever you want.

Synopsis

Based on the author’s discoveries about her great-grandfather, this stunning debut novel that “powerfully portrays the inner struggles of ordinary people moved to do extraordinary things” (Booklist) takes place over three days during World War II when members of a German family must make “the sometimes impossible choice between family and morality” (Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand).

When World War II breaks out, Edith and Oskar Eberhardt move their family—their daughter, Marina; son-in-law, Franz; and their granddaughters—out of Berlin to the quiet town of Blumental, near Switzerland. A member of the Fuhrer’s cabinet, Oskar is gone most of the time, and Franz begins fighting in the war, so the women of the house are left to their quiet lives in the village.

But life in Blumental isn’t as idyllic as it appears. An egotistical Nazi captain terrorizes the citizens he’s assigned to protect. Neighbors spy on each other. Some mysteriously disappear. Marina has a lover who also has close ties to her family and the government. Thinking none of them share her hatred of the Reich, she joins a Protestant priest smuggling Jewish refugees over the nearby Swiss border. The latest “package” is two Polish girls, and against her better judgment, Marina finds she must hide them in the Eberhardt’s cellar. Everything is set to go smoothly until Oskar comes home with the news that the Führer will be visiting the area for a concert, and he will be making a house call on the Eberhardts.

“With jaw-clenching suspense and unexpected tenderness” (Jacquelyn Mitchard), The Good at Heart is an “engaging…rich…evocative” (Library Journal) portrait of a family torn between doing their duty for their country and doing what’s right, especially for those they love.

Chapters

  • GoodAtHeart 01 Open

    Duration: 36s
  • GoodAtHeart 02 AnneFrank

    Duration: 41s
  • GoodAtHeart 03 Prologue

    Duration: 05min
  • GoodAtHeart 04 Day1 Ch1

    Duration: 56min
  • GoodAtHeart 05 Ch2

    Duration: 10min
  • GoodAtHeart 06 Ch3

    Duration: 09min
  • GoodAtHeart 07 Ch4

    Duration: 09min
  • GoodAtHeart 08 Ch5

    Duration: 09min
  • GoodAtHeart 09 Ch6

    Duration: 12min
  • GoodAtHeart 10 Ch7

    Duration: 17min
  • GoodAtHeart 11 Ch8

    Duration: 10min
  • GoodAtHeart 12 Ch9

    Duration: 17min
  • GoodAtHeart 13 Ch10

    Duration: 16min
  • GoodAtHeart 14 Day2 Ch11

    Duration: 10min
  • GoodAtHeart 15 Ch12

    Duration: 08min
  • GoodAtHeart 16 Ch13

    Duration: 11min
  • GoodAtHeart 17 Ch14

    Duration: 21min
  • GoodAtHeart 18 Ch15

    Duration: 16min
  • GoodAtHeart 19 Ch16

    Duration: 24min
  • GoodAtHeart 20 Ch17

    Duration: 19min
page 1 from 2