Jack Cavanaugh
While Mortals Sleep (2001)
Author: Jack Cavanaugh
Genre: Gentle/Christian
Plot Summary:
Josef Schumacher is a young pastor in Berlin who is aware of the great influence of the Nazi youth movement on the young people in his church. Josef tries to install in the youth a sense of rightness, despite the teachings of the government. Mady, Josef's wife is about to give birth to their first child and she is worried about her husband's nonconformist actions. Mady's father, Wilhelm Olbricht is also a pastor who is worried about his daughter's safety and will do anything to ensure her happiness. Josef is torn between wanting a safe environment for his family and doing what he knows to be right. For a short while Josef is impressed with the Nazi party, but he is brought back to reality when his Jewish friend, Professor Meyerhof is killed. Josef next joins a renegade SS officer Martin Wolff in a desperate mission to save the "imperfect" children being terminated in a nearby town. SPOILER: Their plans are interrupted by none other than Olbricht, who will stop at nothing to protect his family, even if it means getting rid of his son-in-law. Meanwhile, Mady has a little girl, Elyse, who seems perfect. She comes to understand the depth of her husband's love for her through a series of sermons he left behind. Josef is by now being experimented on in the same hospital where he wanted to rescue the damaged children. Mady pieces together her husband's whereabouts from Olbricht and Wolff. Together with the youth of his congregation, Mady and Wolff come to Josef's rescue.
Geographical Setting: Berlin, Germany
Time Period: December 1939 to August 1940
Series: Songs In The Night, Book 1
Appeal Characteristics:
This character driven novel won the Christy award for the best International historical novel in 2002. It was a fairly slow moving story with a lot of emphasis on the character's personal conversion. The story takes place in less than one year's time, which does speed up the pace a little. Rather than being very accurate about Nazi Germany, which Cavanaugh isn't, the book focuses on the individual choices of the characters.
Read-alikes: Readers who enjoyed this book would like the second book in the series His Watchful Eye which is also set in WWII Germany, but is told from the viewpoint of Konrad, one of the youth members taught by Josef Schumacher. The third book in Cavanaugh's Songs in the Night series, Above All Earthly Powers, picks up the story again with Mady and her efforts to save several children from the Nazi mercy deaths. A Clear North Light, by Laurel Schunk is another gentle read, mainly character driven. It is also set in the WWII time period. Munich Signature is part of the Zion Chronicles series by Bodie Thoene. This series is set in WWII Europe, is a gentle read, but also moves at a slightly faster pace than Cavanaugh. Thoene also seems to have a firmer grasp of European culture. Homeward My Heart by Judith Pella also takes place during WWII. This book seems similar to While Mortals Sleep in its focus on character development accompanied by an overall gentle mood.
Red Flags: There is some soldier violence, along with deaths resulting from the Nazi government. Josef is forced to undergo drug experiments, and the reader is made aware of inhumane hospital conditions.
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