All three books are set in World War II
"The School for German Brides," by Aimie K. Runyan
Germany, 1939
As the war begins, Hanna Rombauer, a young German woman, is sent to live with her aunt and uncle after her mother's death. Thrown into a life of luxury she never expected, Hanna soon finds herself unwillingly matched with an SS officer. The independence that her mother lovingly fostered in her is considered highly inappropriate as the future wife of an up-and-coming officer and she is sent to a "bride school." There, in a posh villa on the outskirts of town, Hanna is taught how to be a "proper" German wife. The lessons of hatred, prejudice, and misogyny disturb her and she finds herself desperate to escape.
For Mathilde Altman, a German Jewish woman, the war has brought more devastation than she ever thought possible. Torn from her work, her family, and her new husband, she fights to keep her unborn baby safe. But when the unthinkable happens, Tilde realizes she must hide. The risk of discovery grows greater with each passing day, but she has no other options.
When Hanna discovers that Tilde hiding near the school, she knows she must help her however she can. For Tilde, fear wars with desperation. The women must take extraordinary risks to save the lives of mother and baby.
Will they both be able to escape with their lives and if they do, what kind of future can they possibly hope for?
This was a fast paced book and there were many times I held my breath while reading, as you get so immersed in all that is going on.
This book was different in that it was also told from the German perspective, in that Hanna and Klara, although living a "spoiled and privileged life" they understood what was going on and tried to help the Jewish in their own way. They too were trying to survive in an impossible situation, because at any time they could lose their own lives, despite having to marry SS Officers.
Add in Mathilde and her complex situation and how their paths collide it makes for a very interesting book. As always make sure you read the authors notes, it's always interesting reading .
"The Book of Lost Names," by Kristin Harmel
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 will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?
As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins 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.
The main character Eva had so much life in her and her bravery went above and beyond. I loved the priest also, Father Clement. Eva's mother though was just annoying; however in those circumstances how anyone would act being on the run from the Nazi's who knows how you would act?
Also a book with a code in it, with the actual real names of Jewish people was such an ingenious idea. I will say the ending had me in tears. This book makes you grateful for everything you have, a must read.
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.
Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel.
Another book by Kristin Harmel, and again set in World War II. I must say the synopsis of this book isn't anything exciting, but looks are deceiving. This book is a must read. You are drawn into the book before the end of the first chapter. Yona is such a strong character and a superb heroine.
I found the details of surviving in the forest very interesting. I did realize, I wouldn't last five minutes!!!
You must read the author's notes, as they are so interesting and it show's you how much research went into this book. It also explains how in fact many Jews did indeed survive the war by hiding in the forests.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, even more than The Book of Names.
I am then going to read a Nora Roberts, trilogy. Just to mix things up. So plenty of reading in front of me.
I love reading your book reviews, as that's where I get ideas of what books to read next.
