Challenge Corner discussion

Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in sixty-five 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 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.

Through Ch 8

(view spoiler)[ wow, I have no idea how i would have handled my father being taken
and Eva did so well - standing up under pressure and getting those papers done and getting them out. crazy amazing
I'm not sure she's going to be able to save her father tho. I hope she manages to save her mom and herself
and hopefully others with the papers she will work on with the priest and his friends

I think the book lady is in on it as well (hide spoiler)]

Through Ch 16

(view spoiler)[ her mother is just awful. what does she do all day? Just sit around and blame her daughter for things. she isn't earning them money - all she does is eat and get mad her daughter is earning the money for them to survive
SHE is in her 40's - same as me - and yet she's acting like she can't do anything. awful

and ha! Gerard is back! Interesting . . .looks like we'll have a love triangle. I wonder where Remy is why he didn't show up that day (hide spoiler)]

Ch 8

I love this so far! (view spoiler)[First, I was drawn in with the first few pages and I was dying to know what Ben and others didn’t! Eva is brave for sure. I wouldn’t be able to try forging documents. That was insane! Her poor mother — with her husband being taken I totally understand why she didn’t want to leave. Fontain angered me when she turned on them after they’d been so nice to her and her girls! I’m glad the found a room but how awful they had to leave and just because they’re Jews. Eva is afraid of her own shadow but can’t blame her. Can’t know who to trust! Hoping the priest is a good guy but I think he is. (hide spoiler)]

DYING to read your posts! Hope you’re liking it too!

I'm really liking it too!!

through Ch 24

(view spoiler)[ awe, I love that he left her a message. I hope he's okay

interesting that Gerard is dating Genevieve. he seems slimy - I hope he ends up being a good guy but I'm not feeling it

and I really dislike her mom. I can't believe she just has no idea what's going on. Like, is she living in a differet world? She wanted the fancy dinner and thinks she should be making more for cleaning?? does she not know the whole world is struggling?? she's still worried about her daughter marrying well instead of just being glad she's alive. (hide spoiler)]

and I'm done

this one was (view spoiler)[ pretty good. I didn't love it but I did find the forgery aspect interesting
I'm so glad they finally found each other

I'm sad her mother died. I'm glad her father lived. (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "Through Ch 16

her mother is just awful. what does she do all day? Just sit around and blame her daughter for things. she isn't earning them money - all she does is eat and get mad her daughter i..."

Chapter 16

I was going to say about the same thing regarding (view spoiler)[her mother. Pretty despicable! What did she expect Eva to do to "save" her dad from the Germans taking him because obviously they had guns. (hide spoiler)]

Joseph Pelletier (view spoiler)[I was wondering where he went to. lol I also keep waiting for how she met Louis, or did I miss something? (hide spoiler)]

I'm wondering what happened that you ended up rating it only 3 stars. I'm still loving it!

Chapter 24

I am wondering if Remy might (view spoiler)[possibly be Louis. I just keep wondering when he comes into the picture since he was her husband. But I hope he's okay too and I really hope he doesn't give her up. Things are getting more and more perilous! Her mother lays on guilt trips heavily! So worried about her becoming a Catholic and if she did, so what? (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "through Ch 24

awe, I love that he left her a message. I hope he's okay

interesting that Gerard is dating Genevieve. he seems slimy - I hope he ends up being a good guy but I'm not feeling it

a..."

Her mother is definitely (view spoiler)[ clueless! Worried about putting money away for college? I would think when people don't have enough food one would be grateful for any salary! I agree about Gerard and it seems his mom is mostly into his good looks! (hide spoiler)]

Finished and I loved it! (view spoiler)[I thought Eva was so gutsy and the book they created took on a life of its own. I'm glad that if anyone had to die, it wasn't her father. (hide spoiler)]

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RESTARTING APRIL 9TH, 2023


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Excited to start this one tonight!

So far I've read through Chapter 4 (view spoiler)[and I'm so excited to finish this book already! Eva watching her father be taken though the peephole of a neighbor's door is just heartwrenching and terrifying!

I'm happy with the pacing of this book too! Sometimes WW2 books tend to move slowly, building as they go, but this one seems to jump right in! I'm interested to see what "old" Eva will do once she arrives in Berlin! (hide spoiler)]

Read through Chapter 13 (view spoiler)[I'm sad for Eva's mother, but I can't help but be frustrated by her denial of the circumstances. I suppose I have the benefit of hindsight. We know how awful everything actually was during WW2. (hide spoiler)]

Just started this one

Read through Chapter 19 (view spoiler)[I'm really enjoying Remy and Eva, and I dislike Joseph. I'm more frustrated with her mother by the second. I just don't have the proper life outlook to sympathize with her.

I'm dying to link the two timelines at this point! (hide spoiler)]

hi guys! found this (bc I suck and still learning GR lol)... I'm in the middle of chapter 7 so far and remembered why HisFic makes me emotional :(

Definitely!

Shia, what do you think of the chapters you've read so far?

Read through chapter 9 - thoughts:

(view spoiler)[ I am curious as to why Eva is hiding her history from her son being that that part of history is long over for her and there really is nothing to "fear" as there was back then.

I will admit that after her father gets arrested, I wanted to slap her mom silly for acting so childish and being LOUD when the danger is literally right there. This is the part that made me sad and reminded me why I don't like HisFics because of how much suffering and fear Jews lived with day to day during this time. My heart shattered when her father was arrested. Now that they have "escaped" in a sense, I can't wait to see how her partnership with the Priest unfolds. (hide spoiler)]

Finished! (view spoiler)[Absolutely FLOORED by the ending! What!? All that time! I'm stabbed in the heart!

This book was fantastic! I was always wondering what was next and I loved Eva and Remy. Eva was brave, even in the face of her mother's antagonism and pain. My only frustration (besides her mother's attitude throughout the book - even if it was understandable) was the ending, but that's the same frustration Eva felt, so I think the book did its job well! (hide spoiler)]

Reading now whike I get my nails done. 😂

Part one up to chapter 5.

This is so much better than I expected already.
Oh and I’ll probably do more than the four posts since it’s a longer book; and I’ll forget what I wanted to say. 😂

(view spoiler)[
This book started off so interesting already! Normally the first like 1/4 or so of the book is super slow.
I think the dad knew what was going happen.
And I’m currently wondering if madam fountain is who reported them? Or if she’s Jewish herself and hiding? And that’s why she asked them to babysit?

And is Joseph the man she’s speaking about in the beginning in th current day chapter?

(hide spoiler)]

ill be posting my notes for the read shortly and then the review! i ended up putting notes in draft emails whle i was out so i could finish ;x

part two up to chapter 12
(view spoiler)[

the mom is really.....getting on my. I know she's obviously upset, and it's traumatic, but her daughter is trying to SAVE THEM. stop making it even harder. ;/

i felt bad that eva felt almost guilty for "forcing" her mom into the choice to go, but she awnted to save them. understandably

i am curious how much eva's son knows about her life and where it goes from here. and was the neighbor connected to eva's familyl being found?!

(hide spoiler)]

part three up to chapter 20
(view spoiler)[

I have to admit I normally don't love historical fiction. A lot of them bore me. history doesn't isn't typically jam.
BUT I love this book so far. the author has done great capturing the emotions of what was an insanely sad time. and it has reminded me of how unfair life was for so many.

I can't wait to see how the two timelines/ povs connect.
and the mom is still... grating on my nerves. unfortunately ;x

(hide spoiler)]

part four - the end

(view spoiler)[
This was book was insanely good.
the author did an amazing job with the world-building and character development. I adored eva's character. i really didn't like joseph's character... and the mom... i wish she had been stronger overall. i know losing your partner is rough, but it's almost as if she WANTED to just get caught, haha.

this book was emotional, powerful, raw.. everything you could want.
(hide spoiler)]

part 2 - up to chapter 15

(view spoiler)[ ugh THE MOM... I am really starting to dislike her. I can understand her frustration, anger and grief - but are you that inconsiderate and that dumb to not realize you are jeopardizing your daughter's life with your immaturity???

(hide spoiler)]

part 3 - up to chapter 22

(view spoiler)[ I am on to you Joseph... there's something about you and your too good looks that scream "not so innocent" to me (hide spoiler)]

part 4 - the end

As always when I read a hisfic, I am reminded of the tragic circumstances that occurred and how lucky I am to have the privileges I have today. Eva's journey is one full of sacrifice and loss and although the ending satisfied me, I wish her journey wasn't so rough. But then again, would I have connected so deeply if it was a lighter plot?? Probably not... I definitely did NOT like the mom or Joseph. I didn't feel any remorse for not liking them either after their deaths lol..

Chapter 7 (view spoiler)[This is so interesting especially since her was captured. Hopefully the she can get the papers for him and he can be released before something happens to him. I’m really enjoying it so far. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11 (view spoiler)[That’s sad that her dad was moved two days before they got to him. And then someone just moved into her apartment right after she left. That’s not okay. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 16 (view spoiler)[I love how supportive Remy is to Eva. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19:
(view spoiler)[ I didn’t realize Remy had a background in explosives, but it makes sense. I hope him and Eva can find their way back to each other, but it was super sweet he went out to get the children for her. I know she wouldn’t have let him go because of how dangerous it was if she would have known. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[That was a cute happily ever after with them finally finding each other in 2005. But it's been so long and they lost so many years with each other because they thought they were both dead. I feel like she should have just had a little more hope for them instead of giving up when her dad passed away. (hide spoiler)]