Rating: 
Summary: Makes you think & rethink
Review: I think it is a deeply moving and well written book. It is a book which shows the complexity of human relations under very unfavorable circumstances, to say the least. Although I have read many books dealing with the holocost and WWII this one has made me aware for the first time that there were good Germans too. We have the rare opportunity to get an insight into the life and heart of a woman who tried to save a person she loved and some others too, regardless of the inevitable terrible consequences it would have on her life. It among other issues rises the issue of relations between the people who risked their lives to save others and the saved. This is all very relevant in my country where a boody civil war had put love and friendship to a great test.
Rating: 
Summary: Recommended but with reservations
Review: I'm not entirely sure what the author's purpose was in writing this book, because it certainly wasn't approached with any objectivity. The story is a touching one, very moving and ultimately heartbreaking, and the love Lili and Felice shared seemed to me intense and sincere. But in the epilogue the author admits she dislikes Lili, and feels she can more easily identify with Felice, basically because they are both Jewish. She feels somehow insulted that Lili aligned herself more closely with Jewish people after the war, and it is here that the author's attitude really left a bad taste in my mouth. In the book Lili relates that after the war other Germans distanced themselves from her because she had helped Felice and others. By looking askance on Lili because she was a German woman married to a Nazi and who could therefore never really have been a victim is showing exactly the same kind of prejudice, just in a different form. As far as Fischer self-righteously refusing to recognize Lili as a victim, all I can say to that is that Lili lost the woman she loved, so I'd have to disagree. Also, by taking Felice into her home, and later sheltering other Jewish women, Lili did much more than most people during that time, people who in most cases simply chose to look the other way.In sum I'd say this book is definitely worth seeking out - but I'd rather it had been written by someone without an obviously prejudicial axe to grind.
Rating:
Summary: Not as romantic as the film, but a worthy read.
Review: If, like me, you picked up "Aimee and Jaguar" because you enjoyed the film -- be prepared that the book is quite a different animal.
Rather than a straightforward narrative film, the book is a histography -- more like a documentary using letters and interviews to reconstruct the story of Lilly and Felice. While not terribly satisfying for those seeking an experience similar to the film, it is nonetheless a worthy read, and satisfying for those seeking to find out 'what is true' in the film as well as more information on what happened to Felice after she was captured by the Gestapo. I tend to agree with the previous reviewers who were startled at the epilogue. I think information on her difficult relationship with Lilly would have been more honestly conveyed in a prologue and to simply denouce her simultaniously as Nazi sympathizer and Jew-wannabee seems unnecessarily harsh. As for her opinion that Felice would have likely left Lilly had she lived, there does seem some evidence that their relationship might not have had staying power (hinted at in the film as well), such as Felice's relative youth (21) and various attempted and successful daliances with other ladies while she and Lilly were together -- Lola for certain and quite possibly Inge as well. I don't think it's entirely unfair for the author to state her opinion on the longevity of their relationship, but it is in poor taste, particularly in the context of a general denoucement of Lilly's character. Overall, a quite a good book. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible experience
Review: In 1995 when I worked for HarperCollins (the hardcover publisher of Aimee & Jaguar), I had the amazing experience of co-editing Edna McCown's brilliant translation of this book from the original German. In an industry rife with commercialism, at a time when the reasons why I became an editor were becoming murky, I found myself working on this book that would remain an enormous part of who I am both personally and professionally. The story of Felice Schragenheim and Lilly Wust is a time-honored classic tale of a love that defied all obstacles, from the horrific devastation of the Holocaust, to the proscribed confines of society, to the simple passage of time. I can think of no greater gift that any one lover can give another than to tell their story, the way Lilly Wust did, after more than half a century of silence. Although she died more than 50 years ago, Felice Schragenheim will always be alive in the hearts of readers of this book, and in the hearts of all those who see the movie when it comes out here in the US. Aimee & Jaguar is at once an inside look at "underground" life in Berlin during Nazi Germany, a look at two very different women who came together under the most bizarre of circumstances, and ultimately a testament to the strength of love in the face of adversity. And I'm sure that Lilly's "Rosenkavalier" is looking down, smiling at the fact that, as she predicted, they "would always be together." I hope this story moves other readers as much as it moved and continues to move me. There is nothing quite like it.
Rating:
Summary: The
Review: People who consider love as the golden key should read this book. It doesn't matter what race you are, it is just the matter what kind of a person YOU ARE...Love can be given to a girl by another girl as well as it can be given to any creature in the world... Because that's LOVE..
Rating:
Summary: An amazing, piquant read
Review: The most shocking-- and delightful-- aspect of this book is its refusal to sink into our notions of the conventional love story. While involving unconventional characters, I still expected it to be a 1943 Berlin version of _Love Story_. Thankfully, it is not. There are no happy endings in any sense, as Fischer does not deify either character and refuses to expunge parts of the story that sully either Lilly or Felice. There are problems, fights, questions of motivations. After reading this book, you will remain lost in a world of "why"s and "what if"s. Fischer provides an historical account that, unlike many, is inhabited by multi-dimensional people that both intrigue and frustrate. One of the best books I have ever read. I can not stop thinking about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, but terribly disappointing book
Review: The story of Aimee & Jaguar is a fascinating one -- deep passion set against the backdrop of WWII Berlin. Unfortunately, Erica Fischer has done little to capture the spark that brought these women to life. I can think of few subjects more compelling than that of Lilly, wife of a Nazi, who falls in love with a young, Jewish lesbian in the midst of WWII; nor that of Felice, a dangerously intelligent women so deeply in love that she remains in the center of Nazi Germany. Yet the author repeatedly fails to capture the story behind the details. Instead, she relentlessly chronicles fact after fact -- for example, the exact type of paper used for a love note -- rather than the emotions that crossed Lilly & Felice's faces, for example, or the sound of their voices, or a sense of what it was like for them to even hold hands under these horrific circumstances. Considering the raw power of this true story, this book is a profound disappointment. The information about the progession of the Nazi's efforts is fascinating, of course, but if that had been my interest, I would have sought a history book. In all, Aimee & Jaguar is an incredible story. Sadly, only the movie begins to convey its depth.
Rating:
Summary: excellent document of everyday live in Germany during WWII
Review: This book is excellent due to its many eyewitness sources on life in Berlin during WWII. The unusual situation of the protagonists is only a backdrop to the difficulties of a prosecuted person in an unusual time and situation.
Rating:
Summary: Great Subject, Mediocre Writing
Review: What a disappointment! I was so excited to read this book, but it wasn't 50 pages before my hopes and expectations were dashed. It's poorly written and poorly organized, with far too much emphasis on dates, too many names that only come up once, and too little emotional depth. It read like a fourth-grade historical account, as opposed to a piece of adult literature.
|
