We Germans

“Starritt’s prose is riveting. It unspools like a roll of film—raw, visceral, and propulsive, rich with sensory detail and unsparing in its depictions of cruelty . . . As I struggle to make sense of the polarized world we live in today, We Germans feels eerily timely. Meissner’s and Callum’s puzzlements are ours: How do we hold ourselves—and our ancestors—accountable for past wrongs? How do we acknowledge and atone for a nation’s violations? Starritt’s daring work challenges us to lay bare our histories, to seek answers from the past, and to be open to perspectives starkly different from our own.”

"Striking... Vividly done... The book has a gritty realism... We Germans is a visceral examination of guilt, collective and individual."

"Haunting... Daringly, in this slim, taut novel, Alexander Starritt climbs into the skin of one of the most appalling archetypes of the 20th century: a Nazi soldier... Starritt's descriptions of conflict are shocking... We Germans captures the terrible moment of realization when it dawns on the once-swaggering, all-conquering Nazis that they are going to be crushed... Although no readers are likely to admire the soldier's wartime actions, they will at least be confronted by his experiences as both killer and victim."

"An impressively realistic novel of German soldiers on the eastern front, raising the fundamental questions of individual and collective guilt."

“We Germans stands out among WWII novels…a quick and compelling read.” 

"We Germans is a remarkable and audacious novel that is harrowingly real and, at the same time, asks the most searching questions about men at war."

“A thoughtful, unsettling chronicle… Starritt’s gritty depictions of the horrors of war and the moral choices faced by soldiers add intensity to the ruminations on courage. This is a fascinatingly enigmatic addition to the literature of Germany’s coming to terms with the past.”

“A small masterpiece... Starritt shows courage in his approach... A risky, provocative novel with exceptional writing.”

“We Germans will intrigue fans of introspective, morally complex war fiction narrated from the perspective of those who served, such as works by war veterans Tim O'Brien and Phil Klay.”