The Mare by Angharad Hampshire (Penguin)

The Banality of the Housewife Next Door

I picked up The Mare expecting a standard historical thriller, but what I got was a psychological autopsy. We like to think of evil as something recognizable, something with horns and a tail, but Hampshire shows us Hermine: a girl who just wanted a better paycheck. She goes from a boring factory line to the gates of Ravensbrück and eventually becomes "The Mare," a guard famous for her literal boots of death. Then, the war ends, the dust settles, and she becomes a nice lady in Queens who likes her garden. The transition is seamless, and that is the part that kept me up at night.

The pacing is tight, though the middle sections, where the past and present begin to collide, feel almost claustrophobic. Hermine isn't a likable protagonist, and she isn't meant to be. She is fleshed out in a way that makes you realize how little it takes for a human soul to rot when given permission by the state. The real "grit" here isn't the violence of the camps, though that is handled with a stark, unblinking eye, but the psychological gymnastics her husband performs to keep loving her once the New York Times comes knocking. It is a story about the lies we tell ourselves to keep our domestic peace intact.

"My wife is gentle and kind. She wouldn't hurt a fly."

If you want a book that confirms your moral superiority, look elsewhere. This is for people who want to look into the mirror and wonder what they would do for a better wage and a sense of belonging. It is a sharp, intellectual exercise in understanding the "unforgivable."

Verdict: Read it if you can handle the truth about how thin our civilization actually is. Skip it if you want a cozy redemption arc.

4/5

If you liked this, you might also enjoy:

• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
• The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis