A Night Divided has palpable tension and powerful action that makes the experience of reading it almost movie-like.
Gerta is a spunky young girl living in East Germany in the year 1961. Two days after her father and younger brother leave to visit West Germany, she wakes up to find that a wall is being built to separate Berlin. A wall that has now split her family apart.As time goes on, we see what life under Soviet control in East Berlin is like for Gerta, her mother, and her older brother. Many people try to escape by running or swimming or slamming their cars into the wall before it is completed, but barely any survive. The people are trapped, cut off from the rest of the world; they are prisoners in their own city. In school, children are taught that the individualistic culture of West Germany is evil, and that the wall is a means of protecting them from it. Gerta knows better and longs for a free life: a life without guards watching her every move.
On her daily walks to school, she begins to see glimpses of her father and brother on the other side of the wall. Her father performs part of a dance he used to do for her as a child and repeatedly makes digging motions. Gerta learns that he wants her and her family to dig a tunnel beneath the border and escape—and he has sent her clues to know how to do just that.
I found this book both riveting and realistic. Each scene heightens the suspense as Gerta works to help her family escape. Nielsen’s research is apparent in the story, and is shown in the back of the book, where she includes a collection of the historical facts that she incorporated into the novel.
A Night Divided has palpable tension and powerful action that makes the experience of reading it almost movie-like. The characters are relatable, well-rounded, and dynamic. The ending does seem a little rushed, but other than that, the pacing of the story is done well.
I have read this book multiple times over the years, and even now, it is one of the first titles that comes to mind when I think of historical fiction. I first read it as a teenager, and doing so helped me feel connected to a chilling—yet important—historical event that I didn’t know much about. Every time I pick it up, it gives me a thought-provoking and insightful experience.
Overall, this book serves as a powerful hallmark of events that have somewhat faded into the recesses of history. Gerta’s story is a reminder of the significance of freedom and the cost many have paid to obtain it.
