"Spellbinding . . . The young woman at the center of Julia Franck's acclaimed novel The Blindness of the Heart ranks among the most haunting characters to be found in European fiction about twentieth-century horrors. . . . At times, the novel feels more like an eyewitness account than historical fiction."--Vogue

"A devastating novel about war, love, and the art of survival."--Marie Claire

"A psychologically acute addition to the literature of Germany's downfall . . . Fine, disturbing, memorable work."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In her powerful first novel to be translated into English . . . Franck wrestles with [the] question, why did so many Germans appear blind to the horrors on their horizon [at the start of WWII]? . . . Franck's insights are profound and alarming, and her storytelling makes the familiar material read fresh."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Franck's description of Helene's desperate loneliness cuts to the bone with devastating effect. . . . Helene's heart is not blind; it's numb. The novel is not a justification of her actions, but something more complex--a portrait of the unheroic but human need for escape."--Barnes & Noble Review

"Winner of the German Book Prize . . . this is a great, big silence-breaker of a novel, a laser beam into the German darkness from a writer, one feels, has a great deal more to say."--Evening Standard (UK)

"Disturbing, original and brilliant."--A. S. Byatt, The Guardian (Best Books of 2009)

"An excellent evocation of life among 'ordinary' Germans during the first half of the 20th century . . . Beautiful . . . Devastating."--The Washington Times

"One of the most haunting works I have ever read about twentieth-century Germany . . . The book's moral perspective is faultless, as is Franck's sensitivity to character, sexuality and the struggle to be a free woman in a fascist society. . . . The Blind Side of the Heart is a masterpiece."--The Independent

"Although squarely within the venerable genre of the German multigenerational novel, this selection is both more astute and more subtle than most realist works addressing Germany's twentieth-century 'blindness of the heart.' [The Blindness of the Heart] will show U.S. audiences why Franck deserves all of the praise she is getting abroad."--Booklist (starred review)

"A rich, moving, and complex novel . . . A brief summary cannot do justice to the penetrating imagination of this book, to the author's certainty of tone and to the wealth of significant detail she provides. [Julia Franck] offers a panorama of a society stumbling blindfolded towards disaster."--The Scotsman

"Powerful . . . Gripping . . . A compelling narrative and solid writing."--Library Journal

"The most astounding piece of storytelling of the season . . . The way Julia Franck weaves together stories from the emotional depths and interactions and unpacks them again with an almost joyful thoroughness is exhil