Author: Tania Blanchard
ISBN: 978-19-2559-616-8
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: November 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
We featured Tania Blanchard’s bestselling debut novel The Girl from Munich as a book club title when it released and I adored it, so when I saw the upcoming release of another novel I knew that it would be a book our readers would love. Suitcase of Dreams is the sequel that I was so looking forward to.
Suitcase of Dreams is a dramatic tale of identity, of love, of new beginnings and it’s inspired by a true story. Blanchard’s family has a multicultural heritage that is rich with stories just waiting to be told and she has a beautiful way of telling them.
Lotte Drescher and her family have endured the horrors of Nazi Germany and the postwar occupation before finally setting off for a new life. Full of hope they arrive in Australia in 1956. Lotte and her husband Erich dream of offering their children the future they always wanted in this new land of opportunity.
Years of struggle see the Dreschers finally finding their feet and creating successful businesses. The struggles and the sacrifices seem worth it, until the past reaches out them and Erich is threatened for his role in the trade union movement.
Lotte will finally discover the true meaning of home when a visitor forces her to a crossroad that will change her life forever.
Tania Blanchard can be followed on her website and Facebook.
Suitcase of Dreams is published by Simon & Schuster and available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster 30 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading Suitcase of Dreams so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
A really interesting story and perspective on the lives of migrants in Australia in the 50’s. My own family came to Australia in a similar way and I think I had forgotten what it must have been like for them.
My heart broke for the family as they faced one adversity after another. I did really enjoy the way the characters evolved throughout the book.
Easy to read and beautifully written. I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for further books by Tania Blanchard.
What a beautiful book this was, I loved the story and the characters.
How can a family suffer so much ? I kept asking myself.
This true story of struggle in everyday life was very well written.
It is fantastic that I was given the opportunity to read suitcase of dreams and I feel more enriched about learning about people’s struggles in life
Suitcase of Dreams by Australian author Tania Blanchard is the sequel to the hit, The German Girl. As I haven’t read The German Girl I saw it as an opportunity to see if this saga could be read as a stand-a-alone. Blanchard has provided enough background information that it could be read without reading The German Girl first. While the prequel is set in Germany, Suitcase of Dreams is set in Australia between 1956 and 1976, based on the life of Blanchard’s grandparents. The narrator is Lotte Drescher, a migrant from Germany, along with her husband, Erich, and their two children, Greta and Johanna, chronicling their new life down under.
The story begins with the family arriving on the shores of Western Australia and quickly moving from Victoria to New South Wales, where they eventually settle. Just like the Drescher family, I felt breathless on arrival, as if I didn’t have the opportunity to absorb and take in my new surroundings in a time so different to now. Everything moved so fast for people who were still recovering from the war. From here, Blanchard paints an honest picture of life for European migrants. I felt like I was living in Australia for the first time as she shows the difficulties Lotte and Eriche faced as they tried to get work and the racism they experienced daily. It was shocking and made me thankful that times have changed since then. I was most surprised to read about the lack of jobs for men and the distances they had to travel to secure a position. In contrast, their children seemed more adaptable. With the guidance of their parents, Greta and Johanna are able to navigate problems and have a good life.
Erich’s character showed me that the unions played a vital role in helping migrants gain equality and rights that the Australians took for granted. Through their extended family, such as Lotte’s mother, I came to realise why the migrants of the past and the present stay in their own groups, reluctant to take up another life and culture. They feel that they are giving up their own culture to assimilate with another, however the generation gap is plays its own part too. On the flip side, I admired Lotte and Eriche for trying to embrace all that a new country had to offer them. The inner strength in both Lotte and Erich as individuals and as a couple was inspiring as they worked hard to make a better life for their children that they themselves never experienced. It’s a timely reminder of the many sacrifices made by the war generation that have allowed us the privileges we have today.
This is a great read for fans of A Place To Call Home. With themes of war, migrants, racism and family, this is a novel to remind you of just how far we have come because of the sacrifices that the war generation made for their family.
thanks for your in-depth review Nicole. I enjoyed this novel and her writing style and also reminded of previous generations struggles. It also allowed me to ask about my own family what their experiences were and gain some insight into what they struggled with in 1957 and they were remarkably similar. I think Tania has managed to capture the period and the families that came out here in the post war era beautifully
Thanks you S&S and Beauty and Lace for the chance to read this.
I have not read any of Tania Blanchard’s previous books, especially the Girl from Munich and I found it easy to read and follow as a stand alone novel.
I enjoyed the writing style as it was evocative yet simple and thoroughly believable – I could easily have been reading a biography or autobiography. As my family were migrants from the same time, I could relate to their tales of displacement and racism experienced by Australians towards post war migrants at this time and found the family likeable and was able to empathise with their struggles.
As others reviews have left in-depth synopsis of the storyline, all I will say it I really enjoyed reading this, I will certainly read Girl from Munich and pass Suitcase of Dreams around to others for them to enjoy as I did.
I’ve just finished reading this and it was definitely a book I’ve enjoyed.
Reading about the family evolve over the timeline portrayed really helped the story move along.
This was definitely easy to read and it gave a great human touch to an era that I’ve only known through articles and museum exhibitions.
Thank you beauty and lace for this book. I hadn’t read the girl from Munich but I really enjoyed this book and reading about the family migrating to Australia. It felt so real and was very well written. Highly recommend
Thanks Beauty & Lace for the opportunity to read Suitcase of Dreams
Sorry this review is so late!
Great reading but found tough going in some sections but as the story portrays it is based on a true story & life then & even now is tough going
Enjoyed the history of early migrants & being from a family of migrants could find some similarities in the text
This all said I enjoyed the book & once again thank you for the chance to review
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this title. It didn’t hit me straight away that this was a sequel to The Girl From Munich which I was lucky enough to have been given the chance to review as well.
Once I realised I was happy because I remembered reading the first one and wanting to know what happened to Lotte and Erich and co,
That being said, I must be honest and say that I didn’t enjoy Suitcase of Dreams as much as its predecessor. It was nothing really in particular, I think it was just the fact that this one covered a larger time period and gave little snapshots of the background but I didn’t feel like the picture was painted as well as it could have been.
With all of that out there it was still a great historical novel and certainly better than I could ever write.
The story follows Lotte and her family on their journey to Australia after they leave their home of Germany post war. They arrive full of hope and try to find their feet as new Australians. It isn’t until years later when Lotte has to make a life changing decision whether to stay in Australia or move back to Germany with a past love.
I loved the characters in the book as it reminded me of a time where my own family would have travelled from Europe to Australia in order to find a better life for themselves. As it is based on true stories it really brings you into the mind set of just what it would’ve been like to shift your whole life and to try and start a new life in a new unknown country without havering much knowledge of where you were going.
I liked the fact that this book was written from Lottes point of view, as it gives the reader a real insight into the emotions and feelings of someone going through such big changes in their lives and the roller coaster of emotions that go along with such a big change.
I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to others.
Suitcase of Dreams by Australian author Tania Blanchard is the sequel to the hit, The Girl from Munich. As I haven’t read The Girl from Munich I saw it as an opportunity to see if this saga could be read as a stand–alone. Blanchard has provided enough background information that it could be read without reading The Girl from Munich first. While the prequel is set in Germany, Suitcase of Dreams is set in Australia between 1956 and 1976, based on the life of Blanchard’s grandparents. The narrator is Lotte Drescher, a migrant from Germany, along with her husband, Erich, and their two children, Greta and Johanna, chronicling their new life down under.
The story begins with the family arriving on the shores of Western Australia and quickly moving from Victoria to New South Wales, where they eventually settle.
I felt the story was very realistic for European immigrants- faced with very little jobs, Racism and prejudice.
But also on the other side of that, you do also have the European immigrants that don’t want to change- they are stuck in their ways from their own country.
I liked Lotte and Erich for trying to embrace all that a new country had to offer them. The inner strength in both Lotte and Erich as individuals and as a couple was inspiring as they worked hard to make a better life for their children that they themselves never experienced. It’s a timely reminder of the many sacrifices made by the war generation that have allowed us the privileges we have today.
A great book for those who like A Place To Call Home or Victoria Puurman’s The Bonegilla Girls. With themes of war, migrants, racism and family, this is a novel to remind you of just how far we have come because of the sacrifices that the war generation made for their family.
Thanks to Beauty and lace for this great read!