The Book of Lost Names

Rating,

The Book Of Lost Names: 5 ⭐️

Plot: 5 ⭐️

Characters: 5 ⭐️

Character Development: 5 ⭐️

  I’m sad but happy at the same time.  I savored every moment of this wonderful book.  It is truly amazing how a book can transport you to another time and place.

Excellent historical fiction. Eva is a Jew who becomes a forger to help fight against the Nazis. Great read.

This is a book inspired by the real-life forgers during WWII who helped to create false documents for refugees of the war. And it was beautifully done. 

I adored Eva and Rèmy the two main characters of this book. They are not perfect by any means, and I think that only makes them better. It is a story of love, loss, family, and courage. Be prepared to smile and cry many times throughout the book. 

The audiobook narrator was also phenomenal - definitely recommend. 

I was unable to put this book down. It was a little predictable at times but it was still good. Historically accurate for a fiction book which is something that I enjoy. I do, however, find it disheartening that the end was tied up in a pretty little bow in something like 7 pages. It would have been a little more believable had it been left as it was before the last chapter.

This was my first book that I read from Kirsten Harmel and it won’t be the last ! The two main things that attracted me to this book was the pretty book cover with the Eiffel Tower in the background and the genre historical fiction and the main character is a woman ! I just loved Eva and Rémy ! I will never forget these characters. It’s hard to put down and yes you need tissues for this book especially the last few chapters! I didn’t know that it really existed forgery during the Second World War meaning the kind of forgery that Eva did . But I did know about the looting that the nazis did . The Nazis had looted thousands of books that some were found years later but some never got back to their rightful owner . I actually give this book 5 stars + !!!!

Great story about a difficult subject.

3.5. Leaning more towards 4 ⭐ for the ending

When I write a review to be posted on the interwebs, I rarely included even a small synopsis. It is fairly easy to located a synopsis of this book should you somehow run across one of my reviews and have no idea what the book is about. So let me jump right in. One of the things that stood out to me about this tale is Eva's son...grandson? He was so completely opposed to her going anywhere without his...permission? I wanted to reach into the pages and smack that kid (not a kid) and tell him to let that woman make her own choices. Then recently my family and I were trying to coordinate travel and all of us were really overbearing when it came to my own mother and NONE of us wanted her to travel alone. The woman has a lot of life experience behind her, there was no reason for us to be so condescending about her being alone. So then I felt bad for thinking so negatively toward Eva's son. It's funny sometimes how a book stays with you. The rest of the book is wonderful. The people in this story are brave and selfless in ways I couldn't possibly ever understand. All the stories that are born from World War II blow my mind. The Nazis were horrifying, yet throughout that entire region and time, people resisted. They put their own lives in jeopardy to help. This is one of those books that sticks with you, even if it's not for the reason you thought it would.

This book was amazing, books set/inspired in world war ii never fail to make me cry and be amazed at the strength so many had living during such an awful and trying time. It makes me have a little bit of hope too. The best quote (even mentioned by the author on her a/n): "those who realize that books are magic (...) will have the brightest lives".

Loved this. I took a break from war historical fiction, as it can get a little heavy and I had read & listened to a bunch. But wow I am glad I listened to this book. I loved it so much.. especially the ending

This was ok and I probably would have liked it better if I hadn't read The Nightingale first. They were similar in many ways but The Nightingale has much better character development and depth.

Hands down the best book I’ve read this year. The Book of Lost Names kept me wondering what would happen next, and was amazing at every turn. Eva was a great main character with layers of turmoil and strength. Perfect ending, 5/5.

This was such a beautiful read, and I was in tears at the ending!! Really interesting to read about the French Resistance.. highly recommend this book

I think I literally rolled my eyes at some point. Almost abandoned this book, but decided to finish to see if anything unexpected happened. The writing was super cliche and she even repeated some of the same phrases a couple of times. I didn't find the characters realistic or consistent. The book of lost names element was what kept me interested, but even that plotline (which could have been so cool) ended in a kind of bland way.

I’ve read multiple books set in WWII but most covered the experiences of the people taken to the camps. This book follows a young woman who accidentally ends up becoming a master forger (due to her artist talent) who ends up helping 100s of children escape to Switzerland. It had honestly never occurred to me that children would have been left alone by one or both parents being taken away or killed (I think I had just assumed the children also ended up in the camps) so it was a unique angle for me on the war and incredible to know people risked their lives to get these lost children to safety.

I'm really big on Historical Fiction, but I just feel like I missed the vibe on this one. This could be an unpopular opinion for many, but I also feel like WWII historical romances are just not my genre of choice; and they just don't make any logistical sense. For a time where there was so much strife and chaos, I feel like if I were to insert myself in that scenario, the last thing I would be thinking about is a guy I had a crush on... It's just feels very unrealistic. The mother was very mean to the Eva Traube and I couldn't get down with that, because Eva was literally just trying to help other persecuted Jews get to safety, and her mother was being very selfish... I guess everyone would react differently, but I just felt weird about that character. Overall, I'd have to give this book 2/5 stars, because in a way, it just felt so predictable and not very believable, but I guess that's why they call it Historical "fiction."

Fictionalised account of forgery of documents to assist the escape of Jewish people during WW2 in particular children. Includes love story that’s a little too happy ending-ish and predictable betrayal. Would have liked to see some historical notes at the end - did such coded books exist? Did it help reunite people?

I. am. a. wreck. What a stunning story! The last 100 pages had me crying like a baby the entire time, and I'm still not done. I'm utterly speechless after reading this. I don't think I've ever read anything like it before and I want SO MUCH MORE historical fiction in my life now. Eva - what a heroine! Remy - what a knight! Them together - WOW. It was fast-paced, witty, and heartfelt beyond belief. A must-read and definitely one of my top favorites of 2020!

Checked this book out on a whim because I needed an audiobook and really enjoyed it! WWII historical fiction has many, MANY books and I get kinda fatigued with it. Buuuuut, this was great! The story was fascinating and based on a true story. The narrator did such a great job with the voices.

I finished this in a day! Kristin Harmel's writing was so captivating and engaging.! I just needed to know what happened to all of the characters. Eva is a Jew in hiding and working as a forger of documents in a tiny French town. She becomes a central part of the French Resistance and is tasked with providing Jewish children with new names so that they can escape. One thing that Eva is determined to do is to make sure that the children's true identifies are never forgotten. With the help of her forgery partner Remy, she uses a secret code to mark down the names of the children. I love dual timelines in a historical novel! In 2005, Eva is now an old woman living in Florida when she sees The Book of Names in a news article. She has been reunited with a mystery she worked hard to forget and now finds herself on a plane headed for Berlin. This idea was so brilliant! I loved the author's note at the end that talked about how Harmel came up with the idea and the research behind it all. This story was so impactful! It also made me cry and I am not someone who normally cries when I read! You became attached to each of the characters and wanted to follow them throughout the book. It was such a page-turner!

I loved this book! One of my favourite things in a Historical Fiction is some sort of secret plan to change history. Eva is our main character, a Jewish woman with Polish heritage. She has lived in Paris her whole life but when the war starts with Germany she knows that it’s time to escape. She watched as her father was arrested by Nazi’s and decides to flee to the south of France with her mother. ⁣ Eva is a fantastic character! We go back and forth between her as an old woman and her during WWII struggling to survive. In a tiny town under the Vichy French Administration, Eva becomes a forger of documents. She works together with a team to create new documents for Jewish children escaping to Switzerland. Eva is determined not to let their true Jewish identities be forgotten and her forgery partner Rémy teaches her a code they use to record their names in a book. ⁣ Oh this was so good! I finished it in one sitting! It was fast-paced and you just need to know the fate of everyone involved. Apparently this is based on a true story too! ⁣

Loved it. It’s a great moving story of a difficult life. Full of brave people and hope. Totally recommend!

The Book of Lost Names, written by Kristin Harmel, hit hard. This is a book that pushes the reader through France during the occupation as they are removing the Jewish people. And I cried at parts. If you aren't ready for a serious read, and for a book that has some mixed feelings at the end, maybe don't read this. If you are looking for a novel with love, friendship, hardship, and bravery, this is a good book.

Such a fantastic book. I actually read this fairly quickly because I was so into the story. I do highly recommend.