Into the Blue
By Rebecca Gault
Five Star, fiction, hardcover, 272 pages
2001 ISBN: 0786229292
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Reading Into the Blue was a big departure for me. I can't remember the last time I read what is commonly referred to as a "romance novel" - if ever. Into the Blue is not something I would have normally chosen to read, but after author Rebecca Gault contacted me and suggested that it might be something for people learning German, I decided to consider reviewing her book.

Have you ever dreamed of going to Germany to live, to study and improve your German? The fictional Rachel Simmons has. And now Rachel, an American divorced mother of two, is headed off "into the blue" and to the Westphalian city of Münster to fulfill a life-long dream of studying abroad. In the course of her German studies, Rachel has discovered the works of the 19th century Westphalian writer Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, one of the few female authors on her (or anyone's) German lit reading list. Once in Westphalia, with her kids in tow, Rachel begins to sense some sort of connection - eine Seelenverwandschaft - with the long-dead poetess who once lived where she has come to do her post-graduate studies. Rachel is also drawn to the quiet, green Westphalian landscape with its Wasserschlösser (moated palaces) and an occasional windmill.

“Das Leben ist so kurz, das Glück so selten...”
   - Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797-1848), from "An
Levin Schücking" (1844), quoted in Into the Blue

Blue flowers, Green Thursday and the White Lady.
One reason I liked this book - and decided to review it with the German-learner in mind - is the way that the author blends German culture and language into her story. Into the Blue rises above the average romance novel with its inclusion of German literature and local lore. Even though I have spent time in the Münsterland region, I learned some new things about Westphalian history. I had also forgotten the story behind Green Thursday (Gründonnerstag), the Thursday before Easter. Elements of Into the Blue also revolve around other colors: blue flowers and ghostly white ladies. The novel is also sprinkled with German phrases spoken by the characters, as well as tidbits of daily culture, from the Schultüte to going to an Eisdiele.

This being a romance novel, you have to have a steamy love scene or two, and with two men in her life in Germany, you can be sure this area is covered (tastefully). Rachel's simmering romance with the "enigmatic and mysterious" Michael and her relationship with her mentor, the "warm and capable" professor, produce some effective narrative tension. (The mystical Michael is also a great reservoir of German ghost stories and legends.) Rachel also has some ex-husband issues she is trying to deal with during her stay in Germany. But Rachel too often irritated me by ignoring the obvious and assuming when she should have been asking. There are times when you just want to slap her into having some common sense. And do all women in romance novels get looped on one glass of wine? That's really not a good thing in Germany. But those are minor quibbles.

While Into the Blue may not be "great literature," it is an enjoyable, well-written read that will keep you wanting to find out what happens next. It also presents a fairly authentic picture of what it might be like to live and study in Germany (no steamy romance guaranteed, of course!). I got hooked at the point when I turned the page... and we were at Pinkus Müller, a well-known brewery, pub and restaurant in Münster. I was mildly disappointed that Rachel and Prof. Kurt Heinrich didn't have einen mit dem Löffel (a shot of liquor in a large pewter spoon) like I did there. (That would have finished off Rachel for good!) There were lots of other passages that evoked a flood of memories from the time I actually roomed in a Wasserburg at Nordkirchen near Münster. Even if you haven't been there, you can still enjoy the authentic descriptions.

Rachel also travels south to Lake Constance and the seventh-century Meersburg castle where Annette von Droste-Hülshoff died and is buried. It is here, where the poetess was abandoned by her love (novelist Levin Schücking), that Rachel has a mystical, dream-like encounter with Annette. Meersburg makes for a complete circle with the Rüschhaus and Hülshoff Castle, Annette's homes near Münster, which Rachel has also visited. (See our Droste Links page for links to these places.)

There's much more to the story, of course, but the bottom line is this: If you'd like to have the vicarious experience of living in Germany, from the perspective of a romance novel that includes German geography, language, literature and lore, then dive Into the Blue.

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