The Taster

The Taster
by V.S. Alexander

It is 1943 in Nazi Germany and Magda lives in Berlin with her parents.  Because of the war, her parents have her go to live with her aunt and uncle.  Her aunt tells her that she needs to get a job immediately.  The only work to be found is to work for the Reich, which she has not yet joined. 

She is soon training for her new job, a food taster for Hitler, the Fuhrer.  This is scary, she is to taste his food in case someone has poisoned it.  Every day her life is at risk, because if it's poisoned, and she doesn't notice it looks or smells slightly different (if there is even anything to notice) she will die. She doesn't want to do this job, but she has no choice but to be of service to the Reich.

Magda struggles, she wants the war to be over.  People are suffering and she hears rumors about people being taking away and never being seen again.  She meets a SS officer that feels the same way that she does and they fall in love.

This was really interesting.  I have read many different books about the Nazis and World War II and this one was a little different.  What was it like for German women who basically had no choice but to work for the Reich, even if they didn't agree with them.  And then the horror of as the war is ending and soldiers from Russia moved in and they feared for their lives.