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Brigitte Goldstein is the award-winning author of five historical novels. She holds a Ph.D. degree in European History from New York University. Before turning to writing full time, she taught college history and worked in publishing. She is also the translator of several literary works from the German.
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Babylon Laid Waste: A Journey in the Twilight of the Idols by Brigitte Goldstein is a spellbinding historical novel that beautifully captures the period after the fall of the Third Reich. It follows a former refugee from Germany who gets a letter from Berlin indicating that her grandmother might be alive. Intrigued, she is determined to travel from New York to Germany to find out the truth. It is a time with a lot of restrictions in traveling and the protagonist has to use subterfuge on a journey filled with twists and interesting characters along the way. But there is more in store for her than her initial quest to seek out her grandmother, including sophisticated characters who will get her involved in a revenge scheme.
This is a well-told story that brilliantly showcases the effects of Nazi war crimes and how the political situation at this time affected people. The story is filled with an impressive and interesting cast of characters, including those loyal to the Nazis, Jewish camp survivors, and the American military. The writing is atmospheric and the author does an incredible job when it comes to handling the setting. I enjoyed the descriptive prose and how well the points of view are crafted. Brigitte Goldstein keeps the story real, absorbing readers into a world filled with post-war tensions and uncertainties and where fear has eaten deeply into the human soul; the multilayered characters had me turning from page to page. It is a story of adventure, survival, and the quest for truth against the backdrop of a dangerous world. Babylon Laid Waste: A Journey in the Twilight of the Idols got me from the very beginning with the powerful premise and throughout the story I was gripped by the masterful way in which the author explores the emotions of the characters.
