Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees was a May 2024 book club choice that didn’t end up winning. This is historical fiction and my first book by the author.

What does an English school teacher spinster in 1945 Britian do to change the course of her life? This is the driving question that sets up the entire novel. The answer, without giving away the contents of the novel, is sign-up to help establish schools in post-war Germany. Thus begins the story of post-war Germany, displaced persons, and the victors.

To be honest, I cannot talk about this book in any detail without giving away story details. I will say, and I have never said this about a book before, that this is a best read with at least one other person or have someone else who has read it that you can talk to. This is a book with very heavy content. It is a visceral gut punch, which repeatedly happens. There is no true content to lighten the mood or break the tension. Instead, it is a very real, very believable fictional portrayal of post-war Germany.

As a society, we tend to go from VE Day straight to the Cold War. We gloss over the trauma of the War, we focus on the horrors of the Holocaust and ignore the aftermath of the bombings by air forces on cities. This book doesn’t gloss over any of that and still handles the escalating tension of the West towards Russia. The bitterness, the subservient population, the resentment, the gluttony, and the deprivation are all in this book. There are hidden Nazis and competing nations for “former” Nazis throughout the book and lays bare the desire for those “former” Nazis by victor nations.

I read this book alone and it was not an enjoyable reading experience. I read it slowly, especially for me. My husband was concerned about me because I was visibly disturbed while reading. On more than one occasion, he asked me if I was done reading yet. The book isn’t emotional in that you will cry, but it is emotional in just how hard it hits you. It leaves you upset, angry, confused, infuriated, and then you see the parallels to what is happening today.

Overall, would I recommend this book? Absolutely, yes! Not because it is an uplifting read or an enjoyable one. Rather, this is a book that makes an impact and reminds you that there is a cost to war. There is a plethora of WWII historical fiction books, from the secular to the religious, and I do not enjoy this genre, in general. I find it to be overdone at the expense of other points in history that had a similar impact on the world. This book hits differently. It covers the post-war period which alone makes it stand out amongst the others of WWII fiction.

Pick up this book, find a person or group to read it with, take it slow, and let the events of the book sit as you read them. The book is an impactful read and I promise despite how uncomfortable you will feel while reading it, the journey is worth the time and effort.