I really enjoyed The Lilac People. It's clear Milo Todd put a lot of care into crafting this story. You can tell he did some serious research and then used that knowledge to create something truly beautiful. There were a couple of choices that felt a little forced to me, but overall, it was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read about complicity, survivor's guilt, and trauma. Definitely a book review worth checking out if you're looking for something to make you think.

Milo Todd's *The Lilac People* is a truly powerful book! When we read non-fiction and fiction about World War II, a segment of culture is often missing, overlooked, or underrated. It's pretty well known that Hitler suffered from severe homophobia. I've even heard rumors that he was secretly gay. As you read this powerful, yet intriguing novel, you'll learn who *The Lilac People* are. It's important to know how *all* cultures were persecuted during World War II—before, during, and even after…even...

It's funny how you can sometimes miss the forest for the trees, even when you think you've got all the facts. I'd always considered myself pretty clued-up on World War II and the history of gay and transgender rights in Germany. I knew about Paragraph 175 (seriously, watch the documentary) and the LGBTQ+ community's struggle to be recognized as Nazi victims—but I never really *got* the brutal reality that after the war, gay survivors in Germany were the *only* ones who *weren't* liberated. They ...

One of the greatest joys for an avid, eclectic reader is discovering relatively unknown works that are so incredibly good and revelatory that you immediately want to encourage everyone you know to read them. It doesn't happen often, but that's exactly how I felt about Milo Todd's stunning debut novel, *The Lilac People*. Told across two timelines—pre-war 1932 Berlin and post-liberation 1945 Ulm—the story follows Bertie, a trans man, and Sofie, his cisgender partner, as they struggle to survive...

DNF at 52%, and I skimmed the ending.I went into *The Lilac People* so excited! It genuinely felt like it was perfectly suited to my interests – Weimar Germany in the early 1930s with a focus on queer and trans rights and history!I’d already read a bit about the period before picking up Milo Todd's *The Lilac People*, and I was really interested in reading a novel set during this time, as it's an important but lesser-known part of queer history. Sadly, *The Lilac People* just didn't click for me...

Milo Todd's "The Lilac People" tackles a profoundly important subject: the transgender community in Germany during the pre-Nazi and Nazi eras. I truly appreciate Todd for shedding light on the atrocities of this period and highlighting how LGBTQ+ individuals united to support each other, even in the face of severe injustice. However, I found the writing itself to be somewhat dry and lacking in nuance. While the novel's subject matter undeniably stands out and deserves attention, the execution co...

5 beautiful, heartbreaking stars. As a historical fiction and WWII enthusiast, I can honestly say I've never encountered a story quite like this. Milo Todd's *The Lilac People* offers a painfully raw glimpse into the lives of the transgender community in Germany, both before and during the Nazi regime. It's disheartening to admit that, throughout this book, I was repeatedly struck by the parallels between the ignorance of our current society towards those who don't conform and the chilling atmos...

Listen to Milo Todd on the Book Gang Podcast NOW! Milo Todd is Reclaiming Trans History is now streaming. Click here to tune in! If you love the show, please consider joining my Patreon.***I found The Lilac People one of the most eye-opening historical fiction novels I've ever read. Before reading The Lilac People, I had little knowledge of the trans community in the 1920s or of Dr. Hirschfeld's groundbreaking work. His research played a significant role in making the dreams of many of his patie...

Devastating. Beautiful. Powerful. Important. Necessary. So often, history is erased or changed, especially queer history. Milo Todd doesn't shy away from the reality endured by queer people during World War II. He makes you face it head-on and doesn't let you look away. This story is one that will haunt my heart and mind for a long time to come. *The Lilac People* is devastating. *The Lilac People* is hopeful. *The Lilac People* is so, so important. When we don’t truly learn our history, we are ...

Actual rating: 4.5 stars. Marketed as *All the Light We Cannot See* meets *In Memoriam*, *The Lilac People* by Milo Todd was a huge surprise for me. This story, told in a dual timeline, is about Bertie, a trans man during the thirties and forties in Nazi Germany. *When people hurt bad enough, they’ll grab any idea to make their own lives better, no matter how illogical.* What surprised me the most was what I didn’t know yet about that time. Have you ever heard of The Institute of Sexual Scien...