The Taster

By: V.S. Alexander

Narrated by: Carol Monda

Amid the turbulence of World War II, a young German woman finds a precarious haven closer to the source of danger than she ever imagined - one that will propel her through the extremes of privilege and terror under Hitler's dictatorship.

In early 1943, Magda Ritter's parents send her to relatives in Bavaria, hoping to keep her safe from the Allied bombs strafing Berlin. Young German women are expected to do their duty - working for the Reich or marrying to produce strong, healthy children. After an interview with the civil service, Magda is assigned to the Berghof, Hitler's mountain retreat. Only after weeks of training does she learn her assignment: she will be one of several young women tasting the Führer's food, offering herself in sacrifice to keep him from being poisoned.

Perched high in the Bavarian Alps, the Berghof seems worlds away from the realities of battle. Though terrified at first, Magda gradually becomes used to her dangerous occupation - though she knows better than to voice her misgivings about the war. But her love for a conspirator within the SS and her growing awareness of the Reich's atrocities draw Magda into a plot that will test her wits and loyalty in a quest for safety, freedom, and, ultimately, vengeance.

Vividly written and ambitious in scope, The Taster examines the harrowing moral dilemmas of war in an emotional story filled with acts of extraordinary courage.

©2018 by Michael Meeske (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The book gave me empathy

Growing up Jewish, I believed a black and white narrative of WWII. HIitler and the Germans were bad, through and through. While this book doesn’t gloss over the atrocities and Hitler’s evil, it does show that the Germans were as likely to be victims as perpetrators, if not more so. It was also a warning that this could happen again. As for the older woman narrating, of course! It was written from the perspective of an old woman telling a story from her past.

good story

I would have liked the characters relationships to build with each other better, seems just like that she fell in love....there was little meat in between thats time

Great but sad story.

Even though it seems repulsive now, I’m not sure what anyone would do in true survival mode. Though it seems incomprehensible, I can see how so many were misguided. Hindsight 2020 gives a much clearer perspective, than in the daily midst of war. Hopefully, we’re all much more aware to ever allow such monstrosity to ever happen again. Great story from a regular German citizens side of the war.

Narration

The selection for narrator was awful. She sounded old this brought no reality to a young woman or even men. The story was great

Brings WWII to life in horrifying voice of German girl

This unusual viewpoint of Germany during the war years is given by a young women hired to be one of the “tasters” who sample all food Adolph Hitler eats to prevent any attempted poisonings of the German leader. It is well written, features people with many different loyalties and shows the dramatic changes forced upon a girl trapped in a hopeless situation.