Submitted by Kisha Jones
Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres, and so the odds were already stacked pretty heavily in favor of me liking this book. But just so there is no doubt, I absolutely loved this book, and although I am not generally a fan of authors who write using flashbacks, Harmel's use of flashbacks was seamless which is a very important consideration for the reader.
The book itself reflects the life of Eva Traube Abrams who is a retired librarian. She is currently living in Florida and is presented with the opportunity to reclaim an important article that is significant to her, a book. This book has become a research article of German librarians who are seeking to return articles which were looted during World War II to their rightful owners. The researchers have noticed that the book has a hidden code inside but they have not yet determined how to decipher the code. Eva is immediately spurred into action to go and find this book that was an important part of her past.
The mention of this lost book throws Eva back into the middle of a swirl of memories when she was a young graduate student in France in 1942 who was fleeing with her mother after the arrest of her father. Eva and her mother go on the run and at the suggestion of her father's employer she forges documents for her and her mother to escape to a small mountain town in the Free Zone. Through a series of events Eva is drafted into the cause and begins creating forged documents for children and families who are fleeing persecution. She is assisted by Remy in the cause and the two of them work together to get people to safety and in the process the two come up with an elaborate way to code the real identities of the people who come to them in a book. They are successful in helping many escape until the cell of resistance which they are working for is betrayed and The Book of Lost Names and Remy seem to be lost to both history and Eva forever.
As Eva relives the memories of her past, it is an important lesson we all can learn that each one of us can all be brave in times of great tragedy and turmoil if we have the courage to use our gifts and expertise to help those who are in danger or who are hurting. Writing about World War II seems to be in fashion at the moment and while I have read several I am definitely excited about recommending this book. It was a wonderful read!