The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

"But we aren't defined by the names we carry or the religion we practice, or the nation whose flag flies over our heads. I know that now. We're defined by who we are in our hearts, who we choose to be on this earth."      -Eva Traube Abrams, from the novel

From October 4, 2020

This is the second novel I have read by this author and I have become a fan. Of course, she lives in my city so that gave me reason to look for her work in the first place. Page Turners read The Winemaker's Wife several months ago and, in fact, Ms. Harmel joined us briefly on our Zoom meeting to discuss it. What a treat! I rated that book a 5 and the group average was 4.

As my followers know, historical fiction is my genre of choice quite often. The Book of Lost Names was set partly in WWII occupied France, as was The Winemaker's Wife. The Book... involves dual timelines, starting out in 2005 and flashing back to the 1940's for much of the plot. 

In 2005, 86-year-old Eva Traube Abrams, a librarian in Winter Park, Florida (right up the road from us!) comes across a periodical showing an antique book, Epitres et Evangiles, one that she she is all-too-familiar with and knows as The Book of Lost Names. The article is about a librarian in Berlin who is trying to return books taken by the Nazis to their rightful owners. Eva quickly decides to fly to Berlin to retrieve the book.

In 1942, Eva Traube is a graduate student living in Paris, when her father, a Polish Jew, is arrested. She must try to get her mother to Switzerland before she is taken away, as well. En route they end up in the small town of Aurignon. Eva has done such a great job of forging documents for her mother and herself she gets recruited to help forge documents for people, mostly Jewish children, needing to escape to Switzerland. In this way she meets several interesting characters, including Remy Duchamp who works closely with her and they become...close.

The Author's Note was fascinating as Ms. Harmel shared how she became convinced to write this novel. She described the actual historical figures that were the basis for some of her fictional characters. Her research into the role of forgers in the French Resistance was thorough. She says she wanted to "dive deep into the research about both forgery techniques and the fascinating history of Nazi looting and share that with you [the reader], all wrapped up in a story about love, loss, courage, and the highest stakes." She definitely succeeded! Another novel by Harmel that rates a 5 from me.

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from November 16, 2023

I read the novel a second time since it was the November selection for Page Turners. I enjoyed it again and had forgotten enough that it kept me turning pages. The group average rating was 4.0 with almost all votes 3 and above. Some loved the ending, and some found it just a little too perfect. Much of the discussion centered around the Holocaust---other novels, biographies and memoirs we had read and even survivors we had met or heard speak. Most of us highly appreciate Ms. Harmel's research and writing style.