Olga by Benhard Schlink

Like his previous book, THE READER, this is a quiet introspective look at a woman's life serving others from the sidelines waiting for the time when her dreams will be realized. Olga has fought for everything in life from pursuing a higher educations, to her aristocrat friends, to the man she falls in love with whose own dreams were always more important and who wouldn't stand up to his parents, to the son she raised who left her for the wrong side of the war and finally to helping raise another young man whose family she worked for as a seamstress. She survives great loss, war and abandonment yet never openly speaks out or complains. It is only in the last section of the book through her letters that we see another side of Olga and her life. A quiet historical look at the life of a woman beginning in the late 1800's in Prussia to 1970's Germany. This will appeal to readers who dive deep into character development instead of constant action.  3 1/2 stars