The Book of Lost Names
“Who will remember us? Who will care?”
The Book of Lost Names is a heart-wrenching take of courage and love in unimaginable circumstances.
Eva Traube and her mother have no choice but to flee Paris in 1942 after the arrest of Eva’s father during the mass Jewish roundup by the French police and Nazis. Both mother and daughter flee to the Free Zone and the town of Aurignon under false identification that Eva herself forged. Once arrived in the Free Zone, Eva and her mother are both taken in by strangers who are willing to risk their lives in order to save the lives of others. Early on wise members of the French Resistance discover that Eva is a true artist that has an eye to create forged documents, and is brought into their fold by a kind Catholic priest that becomes a stand-in father figure for Eva as she struggles with her life during the war.
From there, Eva begins to help by forging documentation as fast as she can for Jewish children, resistance members, downed pilots and more in order to help save lives. Eva feels that by giving the Jewish children new identities she is in fact erasing their heritage, and finds herself constantly asking, “Who will remember them?” In order to hopefully preserve something of their previous lives before the Nazi occupation, Eva and co-forger Remy develop a secret code to document the true names of each child and place their true identities in an ancient religious book…aptly nicknamed The Book of Lost Names.
I truly loved following this story and following Eva through all the twists, turns and inner conflict she had to not only endure, but endure as a very young woman risking her life. Harmel writes realistic characters that have flaws and face real personal challenges. I was drawn to each characters fullness and complexity. You could feel the humanity and love that was put into writing each character, and this brought life and breath into the book itself. In general, I found myself lost and fully immersed in each character as I cried for them, wished their death, or even just wanted to reach into the pages of the book to hold their hand in support.
Harmel also gives the reader an accurate picture of what life was like and some of the challenges a master forger had to overcome during the Nazi occupation of France in order to create documents that would help save thousands of lives. You could tell that a lot of research was done in order to create accurate descriptions of the all the documentation one needed during this time period in order to just survive under the Nazis.
This was a riveting story that told the tale of several forgers, members of the French Resistance and common citizens who were there to help protect those in need during a time when common decency seemed lost. Harmel was able to highlight those who still had heart, bravery, faith and strength in order to create a heartwarming story that will have you turning the pages without feeling bogged down.
If you enjoyed The Paris Children, The Nightingale, or are looking for an excellent book club read, please pick this book up and dive into the pages of a beautifully written story.
Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
