In THIS TERRIBLE BEAUTY, Katrin Schumann manages to grab our attention from the first page. Bettina Heilstrom fingers the eight beads that rest on the strap of her camera, one for each year of her child's life --- a child she was forced to give up when she left Germany.

The story continues to weave back and forth between 1961 in Chicago, where Bettina lives and is a photographer, and 1943 in Rügen, Germany, where she is an almost-adult during World War II. We are privy to Bettina's coming of age and why she made the decisions that ultimately ended up with her in Chicago, alone and bereft. With the foreknowledge of how it all turns out, we can read about --- and wince at --- the mistakes Bettina makes. They are innocent and made with the best of intentions when she marries Werner, who seems gentle and kind.

"Like real life, the ending for Bettina is not perfect, but it does somehow feel satisfying. THIS TERRIBLE BEAUTY is an interesting dive into life in post-WWII Germany."

But after the war is over, and they are living in the German Democratic Republic with its authoritarian regime, Bettina realizes that Werner is not exactly who she thought he was and that she may not love him. She does find love elsewhere, though. Ultimately, Werner discovers her betrayal, and her life is upended when he offers her a choice: spend the rest of her years in prison or leave her home forever. Either way, she will never see her child again.

Ten years later, Bettina finds that she has the means to return to Germany to see what has become of her past. But Schumann carefully weaves the past and the present together in a way that keeps us on tenterhooks as we turn page after page to find out what becomes of Bettina, her lover and her child.

Like real life, the ending for Bettina is not perfect, but it does somehow feel satisfying. THIS TERRIBLE BEAUTY is an interesting dive into life in post-WWII Germany.