Reviews with content warning for War - The Book of Lost Names

1942 Eva Traube and her mother has to flee Paris after her father, a Polish Jew, has been arrested. They find sanctuary in a small mountain village and the plan is to cross the border to Switzerland as soon as possible. But Eva gets in touch with the underground resistance and she can help them by forging papers so they can smuggle Jewish children out of France. In order to aid the children to reunite with their families after the war she and Rémy, another forger, come up with a code they write down in an old book. They call it "the book of lost names". But when the war is over both Rémy and the book are missing...

This book is based on a true story, which always makes it a little more special. Even if I've read a fair share of WWII books I don't think I've ever read something from inside the resistance - at least not in this way. It's heartwarming to read about people risking their own lives to keep Jewish children out of the concentration camps.

The story is told mostly in past time, during a couple of years in the 40's. In present time it's 2005 and Eva, now living in the US, sees an article about books the Nazis stole during the war. In one of the pictures she recognises "the book of lost names", a book she hasn't seen in 65 years. Researchers seem perplexed by what they think is a code in the book, but they have no idea what it means. Eva is the only one who knows.

There are of course tragic and sad parts in this story, but also a lot of hope and warmth. In the beginning I found Eva's suspiciousness a bit over the top, as she always thought someone had betrayed them. At the same time it's easy to understand. But then she trusts somebody completely, just because they went to school together?! I'm also a bit upset with her mother, who doesn't seem to understand how important it is for Eva to remain and help, instead of crossing the border right away. It comes out as very selfish, but I can see her point of view too, at least in some ways. And when it really matters, she's on Eva's side...!

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nbreezy17's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

liferhi_inspired's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

📝 Present Day in 1st Person POV, Past in 3rd Person POV

Once again, another amazingly written WWII historical fiction novel that taught me something new. Although this book focuses on the work of forgers during the war, it reminded me a bit of The Nightingale. It wasn’t quite as intense, but this definitely wasn’t fluffy either.

I love how the non-linear timeline left so many questions, that were slowly revealed as the story unfolded. I quickly found myself immersed in the story and I didn’t want to stop reading. Be prepared for this story to take over your emotions for a wild ride, I definitely shed a few tears along the way.

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