“A fascinating, heartrending page-turner that, like the real-life forgers who inspired the novel, should never be forgotten.” –Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday Inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, … “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue) historical novel from the #1 international bestselling author of The Winemaker’s Wife.
Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books when her eyes lock on a photograph in the New York Times. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in more than sixty years–a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.
The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II–an experience Eva remembers well–and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from–or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer, but does she have the strength to revisit old memories?
As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris and find refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, where she began forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.
more
Hero in hiding
This is the story of the horrible acts against the Jewish people in France. It is about a Jewish girl named Eva and how she became a hero saving thousands of lives of Jewish children. After the Nazi’s took her father away Eva went to her father’s boss who gave her some blank papers to fill out for herself and her mother to get them out of Paris. He told her to go to a small French town in the mountains.
After they arrived in the town, Eva met a priest and began forging documents for Jewish children and some adults hiding from the Nazi’s and escaping to Switzerland. She worked with a man named Remy with whom she grew to love. A book with codes to keep track of the children they helped escape to Switzerland and their real names. They called it the book of lost names.
This is their story, the story of Remy and Eva. A story of love, loss and heartache. A story of courage and bravery. It is a story of a young girl asked to take on huge responsibility in the face of grave danger. Her thoughts and feelings, her disagreements with her mother over her work with the resistance. It is the story of the brave men and women in the resistance and how they fought to save Jewish lives.
This book was exciting, and heartbreaking. It was a horrible time for the Jewish people under a cruel and heartless Nazi occupation. It was a sad book and a happy book. I didn’t want to stop reading and read way too long into the evening. I would recommend it.
Thanks to Kristin Harmel, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of the book in return for an honest review.
4.5 stars.
“Sometimes something as simple as a pen and a bit of imagination can alter the course of history.”
In The Book of Lost Names we follow Eva, a French-born Jew, as she flees Paris for Aurignon where she becomes a forger of documents for Jewish children fleeing the country. I’ve read many WWII novels, but this was the first that told the story of the war through the eyes of a forger. I never really considered the important role they played and I enjoyed learning something new. I devoured this book in a day. I simply couldn’t put it down. When I came to the end, I was satisfied but I also wanted more. It was that good.
Fascinating, heartwrenching, and exceptionally absorbing!
The Book of Lost Names is an evocative, beautifully written, touching tale set in France during WWII, as well present day, that takes you into the life of Eva Traube, a young Jewish woman who spent the majority of the war, to the detriment of herself and those she loved, using her artistic talents to help save as many lives as possible.
The prose is atmospheric, authentic, and insightful. The characters are vulnerable, brave, and strong. And the plot is a poignant tale of life, loss, love, deception, perseverance, survival, betrayal, sacrifice, courage, selflessness, the unimaginable horrors of war, and the important role of the Resistance in transporting people from the free zone in France to the safety of Switzerland.
Overall, The Book of Lost Names is a thought-provoking, immersive, moving tale by Harmel that does an incredible job of reminding us that millions of lives were lost, numerous aliases were given, but real names and true identities should never be forgotten.
5 stars
I just finished The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel. I have had a good cry. This is my third book by Kristin, and I think it is the best! Using lots of research, life experiences, and wonderful writing, Harmel has created a story told in two time periods by our main character Eva Traube. Our Eva in 2005, sixty years after WWII, is a part-time librarian who sees an article about a German librarian who is trying to connect books stolen in WWII with their rightful owners. The first time period takes place during the war and finds a young Jewish Eva escaping Paris with her mother to the small town of Aurignon. Eva hand-crafted documents for them to use so they could travel. Eva ends up working as a forger for the resistance to make documents so they could smuggle children to Switzerland. The book is full of heroic characters as well as some you will despise. I have been on an emotional roller coaster for the last two days! This is my favorite book so far for 2020. I want to thank Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait to suggest this book for our bookclub!
This is a very emotional story that you are not going to forget quickly.
Eva felt that everything was her fault when she really didn’t have any control over what was happening. The mother’s attitude even if she was stricken by grief was not been fair to her daughter and more than once she endangered her daughter and herself.
Eva was betrayed by a friend, who killed and informed the Germans on the movements of the resistance in order to save his own life. Many died on account of him.
We have the catholic priest who did everything possible to get the Jewish children to freedom assisted by the French women who risk their lives in doing so.
We have the collaborator (policemen) who turned in his own countrymen in order to be on the good side of the Germans and get promoted. In contrast the German soldier who understood how wrong everything had become ended up helping the priest.
Often because of all the confusion after the war people were not able to find out the status of their loved ones for many years and sometimes never.
This is historical friction. The characters and events might not be real in the true sense of the word but they represent real events and people during those war years.
This was an incredible book! I was so caught up in the story that I finished it in 2 days. It was my first by Kristin Harmel, so I had no idea what to expect. I was totally wowed. I have just recently become a huge fan of historical fiction and I will certainly be adding Ms. Harmel to my list of authors to follow.
I loved the characters and I loved the strength and resiliency they showed under such awful circumstances. I knew little about the people who forged papers in order to help people escape the Nazi regime. I can’t even imagine living through WWII, much less living through that time, being Jewish and also working in secrecy at something so dangerous. The dual timeline made it even more spectacular, because it gave you insight into how the experience had formed the rest of Eva’s life.
I have not been so caught up in a book in a long time. The Book of Lost Names was totally engrossing.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
A read that will linger and is full of emotions, mostly who will make it out alive!
A horrendous time in Europe and a hate for a religion that held no bounds, they cared not the age or sex of the individual and the infection spread to many sadly, no mater their religion or place in society. While there were those eager to turn in their fellow man, there were others that were willing to give their own lives to save others.
This story focus on a young woman Eve, and her struggle to survive, but what an amazing life she ends up living, and the sacrifices she makes, and we go along to meet others that come on her path. We are introduced to talented people whom are forgers, and what a vital part they played in the resistance and saving lives.
There are times when you will need tissues, and others will make you sigh, and there are a few chuckles here, and many moments of heart in your throat!
Make sure to read the author’s notes at the end, and now I want to read some of her previous books, this one was that good!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Gallery Books, and was not required to give a positive review.
Haunting, beautifully written emotional story of unsung hero’s in that tragic time of history .
Wow, what a heartbreaking, beautiful book. This subject is hard to make beautiful, but Eva is a beautiful soul. This is her story. You follow her from 2005 back to 1940’s war torn Paris ,WW2 Her father is sent to the camps, she and her Mom are away when they came and don’t get taken. Going into hiding and heading to the free zone.
Eve turns her talents in art to forgery and works with the resistance. This is her story.
Kristin writes such beautiful books, she deals with hard subjects but shows us the good along with the bad.
Highly recommend this book.
Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC.This review is my personal opinion.
I decided finishing this incredible book in the wee hours of the night was more important than sleep! Eva is an 86 year old librarian that loves books. In the newspaper is a story of Nazi stolen books. She realizes a very important book shown is HER book. The Book of Lost Names holds a secret code of children saved during the war and their real names and identities. Eva was a forger during the war. She and her friends saved many children by getting them to safety. This book tells an incredible story of courage, friendship, and bravery. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
The Book of Lost Names, written by Kristin Harmel, is one of the best WWII-era historical fiction books that I have read in some time. For the complete review, please read https://kindredconnection.wordpress.com/2020/06/24/the-book-of-names/.
Eva Traube has been given word from a friend that there is to be a mass round up of Jews. Thousands! She is a little hesitant, as these rumors have been crossing lips the last few months and as of yet they have not heard or saw of anything happening. She tells her mother and father, and her father sets Eva up with a plan if something were to happen. But he kind of brushes it off also.
One morning, the neighbor woman asks them to watch her children, she needs to take her mother to the doctor and no one else can help. Although this neighbor has made it very clear she despises them because they are Jews, they agree to watch her girls, it is only right to be kind. Talk about right place, at the right time! While her mother, and her are with the girls, her father is taken.
Her mother is distraught and cannot believe this has happened, and Eva has to pull all the strength she can together, to save her and her mother now. She heads to the one person her father told her to go to for help. He is not very forthcoming and says he cannot help both, but only Eva as that was her fathers instructions. He gives Eva some items and a few tips and she hurries back to the apartment.
Eva decides she is going to forge some documents and get them out of there. It is her only hope at this point, and she cannot do nothing. Her mother is beyond help, and wants to go to the camp where her husband has been taken. Eva and her mother flee, and thankfully they make it to where her father had told her to run. To the Free Zone. Her mother is angry and sad. It is all Eva’s fault, and now their father will never find them since they ran. She wants to go back to Paris and is determined to convince Eva of this.
Eva’s forged documents raise some eyebrows, but it is not in the sense of getting caught. It is in the sense of her skills are just what is needed to help others. Eva gets sought out, and agrees to help forge some documents, they are to help smuggle children to Switzerland. How could she say no, these poor children did nothing wrong to deserve this. Days, turn into weeks and soon it has been months and Eva has made huge progress in increasing their operation, as well as doing good.
Decades later, Eva is working in the library as usual when she comes across a newspaper that has been left open on a table. She nearly faints! It can’t be! Someone found The Book of Lost Names, she thought it was forever lost. They are trying to find the owner, and want that person to come forward with information about the code inside as well. Eva can hardly believe her eyes. She must go back! She just has to, the children and an answer she has wondered her whole life could be in there.
What is the code that was placed in this book, and what answer is Eva looking for. She boards a plane headed east, and walks back into her past, and a place she never thought she’d go back to. Thank you to Shelf Pro Awareness and the publisher, Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC!
I really really really enjoyed this novel, and literally inhaled it in less than a day! It is such fast paced reading and it is amazing the different things these people did during the war to save others!
I have read a few historical fiction books before, but The Book of Lost Names has made me a fan. Kristin Harmel is a master in this genre. The way she makes you feel like you are experiencing that exact time period is remarkable. She does not just write fiction and put a random year from a long time ago; she has put in the time and effort to do the research of this time period and that is what makes an excellent historical fiction author.
The descriptions of the characters from their physical exhaustion to their emotional trials in this book are phenomenal – it is like you are experiencing them yourself. There are so many layers to this novel – love, sacrifice, trust, friendship, self-discovery – and it’s not just another WWII novel or another book about Jews escaping during the war. Yes, the novel revolves around the war, but the setting is not the main character in this book. The Book of Lost Names is more about the human experience and what is learned when all you have every known is gone in an instant and what your true self is when sacrifice and need is warranted. Definitely a 5 book for me and I highly recommend it.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
Heartbreaking but a wonderful read. I knew very little if anything regarding forgers in WW II. This was an eye opening book and we’ll written. Lots of research went into this book and the story will grab your heart
Eva helps to forge papers for hundreds of children to escape occupied France during WW2. She devises a way to remember their real names so they won’t be forgotten.
I really enjoyed this book, it was full of strong characters.
It kept me turning the pages and really liked the surprise ending.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
This is the third book I’ve read by the author and they are all fabulous. I was quickly turning pages and didn’t want to get anything done except read this book. Characters that will tug on your heart strings; pages that will cause you to shed a tear, pages that will make you smile! I absolutely loved every single page and didn’t want it to end. There are two early books by the author I haven’t read and plan to read them soon. If you haven’t picked up one of these books, don’t delay! You are definitely miSsing superb historical fiction.
Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC
Eva is a Jewish girl living in Paris and working in the library during WWII. She has her whole life to look forward to until the Germans invade France. Then Eva and her parents start to worry.Eva and her mother are caring for two children in the next apartment when the Germans invade and take Tatuś away. Knowing that they will be back, Eva falsifies documents for her mother and herself and they flee to Aurignon. It is in Aurignon that Eva finds her purpose.
This story is wonderful. It embraces love and hope in the face of darkness. It shows sacrifice for the sake of the greater good. It explores relationships and loyalty. Above all it shows how one person can make a difference.
I loved this book. Kirstin Harmel is a wonderful writer and her books excite you and enlighten you on parts of history you may not of been aware.
Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for the advanced readers copy. The options are my own.
I loved the premise of the book. The characters were vivid the writing was well done
If you’ve never read any books by Kristin Harmel, now is the time! She is a wonderful author with great stories to tell. The Book of Lost Names is a historical fiction novel, inspired by a true story from WWII. Eva has a talent for forgery, which she uses to help Jewish children escape the Nazi wrath. This book goes back and forth between the past and present, while Eva relives her war time experience from many years ago. I loved reading this beautiful and touching story about a woman’s bravery to defeat evil and did not want it to end.
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is an excellent historical fiction novel focussed on the latter years of WWII France and interweaves between 1942 Paris/Free Zone and current day.
We meet our Eva current day and also then learn more about her past and how she entered into the harrowing world of the Resistance within occupied France. An art student that finally finds her hidden talents in forgery and creating fake papers for fellow Jewish children and assisting in smuggling them to safe territories. Eva herself is Jewish and has had to flee from Paris with her mother. Eva is a smart, fiery, talented, strong, and passionately flawed young woman who happens to be the daughter of an arrested Polish Jew. She ends up selflessly and potentially sacrificing all that she has to help the groups of amazing souls that join together to help save everyone that they can from a certain death.
We get to meet a wonderful cast of characters that all come with their own strengths, losses, and weaknesses. I enjoyed meeting each and every one. I especially liked the character, Remy. Their chemistry and fire jumped off the page.
This book has it all: an amazing plot, wonderful and realistic characters that are just normal human beings being thrust into abnormal and difficult positions in an unbelievably horrific time. Yet, they rise above and help save others, putting themselves last. I actually was interested in the dynamics and rough relationship between Eva and her mother. One could say she was a barrage of negativity and depression, however I think it was more of a mechanism of instinct and survival. Every one of us has no clue how we would truly respond in such a circumstance. I also enjoyed learning more about the art of forgery, the way it was used, and also after further research, learning more about the Fibonacci sequence. I also truly loved the final ending. This book is so unique, and I love finding historical fiction that gives a new light from a different angle to the events that we thought we already knew.
I cried, my heart raced, my stomach did summersaults, and I also learned something in the process. The author gave is everything in this book: heroism, suspense, mystery, romance, sacrifice, love, friendship, loyalty, distrust, and survival all in one glorious book.
The best part was reading the Author’s note to find it was all based on real-life heroes that helped save their fellow men and women all the while risking their own lives and loved ones in the process. It is stunning and humbling to say the least.
A magnificent book by Ms. Harmel and one that is sure to be remembered and cherished. This is not the first book that I have read, and loved, from this this author, and it most certainly will not be the last.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.