“Sometimes, something as simple as a pen and a bit of imagination can alter the course of history.”
Eva Traube Abrams, a Florida librarian, is at the returns desk one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a nearby newspaper. She freezes. It’s an image of a book she recognises and hasn’t seen in sixty-five years. Her book, which was meant to reunite those lost and separated during the war, including herself. Will Eva have the strength to revisit painful memories of the past and does she dare to hope for the future?
This World War 2 story reminded me of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. It’s a compelling novel that focuses (as many war stories do) on survival, tough choices, and resilience. Resistance work during WW 2 was dangerous and fraught with struggling to make decisions when the only options were all unthinkable, and wondering who could be trusted. The historical fiction aspect of this novel focuses mostly on forgery of travel documents. Eva is a gifted artist and becomes a critical player in the Resistance movement in France. Forgers in the second world war were brave people who used their artistic ability and scientific ingenuity to produce convincing documents that allowed innocent people to survive.
Harmel is a new author for me and I liked the book more than I thought I would. Her writing style is a bit like Lucinda Riley’s who writes the Seven Sisters series. Harmel has written five books about WW 2. Visit her website to find out more: click here.
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