The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull: historical fiction spotlight

An absolutely riveting read! Perhaps I was so caught up in it because I had never read anything about the Berlin Wall. Moreover, I remember when the wall came down in 1989. Getting a glimpse of how the wall impacted people and turned lives upside-down was thought-provoking and emotional for me. An enthusiastic five stars for The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull!

A short summary of The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull:

Berlin, 1961: When Uli Neumann asks Lise Bauer to marry him, she eagerly accepts. He offers love as well as the chance to escape the rigid constraints of East German society. However, just two days after their engagement, their dreams are shattered as barbed wire snakes through Berlin, splitting the city in two: capitalist West Berlin, a lone outpost beyond the Iron Curtain, and socialist East Germany, a state determined to keep its people under control.

Determined to reunite, Uli and his friends in West Berlin devise a daring plan to bring Lise and her unborn child to freedom. As time stretches on and distrust creeps in, they question whether love could endure in a divided city.

A look at the history

The early days of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a fortified barrier that enclosed West Berlin. It cut it off from East Berlin and surrounding areas of East Germany from 1961 to 1989. Between 1949 and 1961, approximately 2.5 million East Germans had fled to West Germany. Many skilled workers, professionals, and intellectuals left the country. This mass exodus threatened East Germany’s economic stability, prompting its government to take drastic measures.

In response, East German authorities constructed a barrier to prevent further migration. The Berlin Wall was initially erected overnight on August 12–13, 1961. The original structure, made of barbed wire and cinder blocks, was later replaced with reinforced concrete walls up to 15 feet high, topped with barbed wire, and heavily guarded. They utilized watchtowers, gun emplacements, and land mines. By the 1980s, this extensive security system spanned 28 miles through Berlin, dividing the city. It stretched another 75 miles around West Berlin, isolating it from the rest of East Germany.

As the wall came down

As a powerful symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall represented the divide between East and West Germany, as well as the larger separation of eastern and western Europe. Around 5,000 East Germans successfully escaped to West Berlin. Another 5,000 were captured, and 191 lost their lives attempting the crossing.

In October 1989, amid a wave of democratization sweeping eastern Europe, East Germany’s rigid communist government was overthrown. On November 9, the East German government unexpectedly opened its borders with West Germany, including access to West Berlin. Shortly after, gaps in the wall allowed free movement between the once-divided territories. From that moment, the wall ceased to function as a political barrier, marking a turning point in Germany’s path to reunification.

Thoughts related to The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull

Love is not controlling.

Uli and his friends, all university students, were incredibly young to be undertaking such a monumental task. (A true story strongly inspires this part of the book.) As they worked tirelessly on the tunnel, they grappled with difficult questions. Their mission was to help Lise and other extended family members escape East Germany, but Uli wrestled with a deeper concern: Would Lise feel obligated to him because of their efforts? In a heartfelt conversation, his friend Inge reassured him. They weren’t imposing a debt; they were offering Lise the freedom to shape her own life. If their help came with strings attached, it would mirror the very control the East German authorities exerted over her. True love, Inge reminded him, is given freely. And in that freedom, love becomes more powerful.

Education is powerful, and freedom is multi-faceted.

The university students in the book all had big goals. Most of them were studying to become doctors and engineers. To achieve their goals, they needed to complete their education. Lise had been studying at Free University in West Berlin when the wall went up. She was forced to give that up. In East Germany, people couldn’t chart their own course. Lise wasn’t allowed to continue her coursework. She had to take a job as a seamstress. Many others were in the same boat. The state determined who went to school, where they attended, what they studied, and what their job opportunities were. The weight of this oppression took a heavy toll. Every decision was taken away from them, so they struggled against authority and grew depressed. How does one keep their spirit in a situation like this?

What other types of walls do we endure?

The Berlin Wall was a visible, physical barrier. It separated people. Communities. Ideologies. Ways of life. What other types of walls separate us? Oftentimes, politics comes between us. Or religious beliefs. Perhaps a difference of opinion. An assumption we make. Sometimes our assumption isn’t even correct. How do we put all of that aside?

I keep thinking about Lise and her brother. As children, they were close, but as they grew older, tension grew between them. He firmly entrenched himself in the East, while she longed for the West. Though they shared the same apartment, an invisible wall divided them. Without giving too much away, other characters in the story also wrestled with their emotions in different ways. Guilt and resentment, like bricks, have a way of building walls of their own.

A little about author Bryn Turnbull

When Bryn Turnbull was eleven, a mishap involving a window and a copy of Sandman taught her two things: books can be dangerously immersive, and reading isn’t a contact sport. Now a historical fiction author based in Toronto, Bryn holds degrees in English, Creative Writing, and Professional Communication. She writes novels designed to fully transport readers, but without any trips to the ER for stitches. 🙂

An old soul with a love for fountain pens, antiques, and travel, Bryn prefers email as her go-to mode of contact. She’s represented by Kevan Lyon of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Her bestselling books include The Woman Before Wallis (2020), The Last Grand Duchess (2022), and The Paris Deception (2023).

Have you read any other historical fiction books featuring the Berlin Wall? Please comment below with recommendations.

The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull was riveting. I hope you check it out!

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Fondly,

Crysti