Prisoners of the Castle

Structure: ★★★ Prose: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★★★ Intrigue: ★★★★★ Logic: ★★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★Rating: ★★★★½Prisoners of the Castle offers unique perspectives from WWII that can be heartwarming, heartbreaking and optimistic, all at the same time.When this was chosen as a book club pick I expected to read a harrowing tale filled with melancholy characters and horrific interactions. Instead, we see a sliver of hope and humanity in a faraway castle during one of the world's darkest times. We follow dozens of POWs, German soldiers and other notable characters in relation to Colditz throughout the length of the war and its aftermath. The reader gets to witness every escape attempt, visit every secret room or tunnel, and learn the outcome of dozens of soldiers who entered the castle. The structure of the story quickly jumped from one person's story to another, which was hard to follow sometimes, but followed a chronological timeline that helped recenter the reader along the way.In conclusion, I really want Wes Anderson to make a Colditz movie, but I fear the prisonbreak scene from Grand Budapest Hotel will be the best homage we get to the whimsy of the castle.