Helpful Score: 3
I was not prepared for how much I would love this book. Haunting, sad, horrifying and beautifully written, it literally knocked me off my feet. I'm already looking at Ms. Richman's backlist. I can't wait to read another one of her books.
Helpful Score: 3
I found this novel easy to read with Lenka and Josef each telling their portion of the story. It's an intriguing way to tell their story. Enjoying it very much. They fell deeply in love, marry, and were separated by the chaos of war as the Nazis invaded their country. They are Chech but the Nazis viewed them as Jews, vermin, in the pool of men.
Life in Prague, Czechoslovakia, was so restrictive that many Jewish people left the country. Those who remained had no resources to do so. When Josef and his family left, Lenka remained behind because she could not bear to abandon her family. When the ship Josef and his family were sailing on was sunk, she believed that the love of her life was gone forever. Her family was transported to Terezin, a concentration camp.
Rarely does a book keep me reading like this one did. It's poetic, lyrical and sad. Yes, it's a love story. Josef can't forget his beautiful bride and Lenka dreams of him. She continued to work as an artist for the Nazis and joined those who documented their lives for the world to see. When their work was published, the Nazis arrested the leaders and sent them east. When her frail mother is selected they all go. There is more to the story but one kept wondering if Lenka and Josef would ever reunite.
Life in Prague, Czechoslovakia, was so restrictive that many Jewish people left the country. Those who remained had no resources to do so. When Josef and his family left, Lenka remained behind because she could not bear to abandon her family. When the ship Josef and his family were sailing on was sunk, she believed that the love of her life was gone forever. Her family was transported to Terezin, a concentration camp.
Rarely does a book keep me reading like this one did. It's poetic, lyrical and sad. Yes, it's a love story. Josef can't forget his beautiful bride and Lenka dreams of him. She continued to work as an artist for the Nazis and joined those who documented their lives for the world to see. When their work was published, the Nazis arrested the leaders and sent them east. When her frail mother is selected they all go. There is more to the story but one kept wondering if Lenka and Josef would ever reunite.
Helpful Score: 1
The Lost Wife is a bittersweet love story wrapped in historical fiction. The love affair between Lenka and Josef in pre-World War II Prague is both short-lived and everlasting. The ending is told up front, but that doesn't take away from the vivid telling of Lenka's story of survival and heartbreak in Nazi-occupied Europe. Well-written. Brought me to tears. Would have liked more on the reunion of Lenka and Josef.
Helpful Score: 1
wonderful book,I felt the characters and the story was different from most holocaust stories I've read. A must read!
One of the very best books I have read about the holocaust survivors. Very well written . A love story wrapped in tragedy and survival. highly recommend.
The Lost Wife is lush with historical detail but doesn't read historical; it reads like the stories your mother used to tell you at bedtime, or a frail, time-worn journal you serendipitously come across in the attic. Embarking on the childhood and golden years of Lenka, the ethereal, maternal beautyin Prague in all its glamor, 1934this Holocaust novel evokes both the rapturous European lifestyle before the Third Reich, and the horrific and chilling concentration camps of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and Germany during World War II.
A tragic parting of lovers sets the desolate, desperate tone in Lenka and Joseph's individual tales as they each relearn to live during the war; Joseph, struggling to survive without Lenka, and Lenka, struggling just to survive. The book is composed of a beautiful back-and-forth exchange of lives that continued in the aftermath of this separation: the suffering, the dullness, the grayness, the hunger, the emptying. The Lost Wife isn't so much about romance, as it is about loveabout lovers who once went wholly, completely rightthat withstands the test of time and the brutality that is life.
Lenka is strong and a stubborn character, but I felt way too detached from her. She is the embodiment of how powerful the bonds of blood are, and very admirable in values, but I just couldn't connect with her or her choices. Through her eyes, readers glimpse at the injustices of Terezín and the horrors of Auschwitz, the compassion of a wife, and the duty of a daughter. Joseph is more relatable, but I couldn't stand his one-track mind. He's always loved Lenka, I understand, but how can a human be as static as to say he never loved anyone after hernot even his second wife? Human minds are more complex and open than that, in my opinion; I wish his life after Lenka had been portrayed more colorfully because that would have mystifiedtotally eternalizedtheir reunion.
This reunion is what magically brings these interwoven stories full circle. The glimpse of a smooth, white neck. The recollection of those strong, sturdy hands. The familiar glint in the eye. That are all it take for the two lovers to recognize each othersixty years and several lifetimes after being wrenched apart.
Tastefully and delicately crafted with Alyson Richman's golden words and brimming with historical facets of the prevalent anti-Semitism throughout WWII-era Europe that oughtn't be remembered, but deserves to be exposed, The Lost Wife relays so much significance. Among the penetrating insights, include the sanctuary and solace of art, and of course, music; the danger of propaganda and how even a motherland will go to far lengths to deceive; and the ultimate triumph of a survivor: their story.
Pros: Real, raw characters // Lyrical, moving prose // Gorgeous and scary depiction of life during wartime // At times graphic, at others, tenderboth frightening and redolent // Conveys the beauty of memory // Heartwarming true love // Reunion aspect is astonishing // Memories are sensual, lethargic, and dreamy
Cons: Lenka and Joseph are each a bit off... I couldn't sympathize with them completely
Verdict: Eloquent in tone and stirring in message, The Lost Wife is a Holocaust novel with sentiments on family, love, and survival. Sophie's Choice meets Atonement in Richman's exquisite story about impossible loversthe most perfect of lovers. It is at once haunting and elegant, symbolic and graceful, and in the end, is the kind of book that'll make your heart clench and your breath shudder.
8 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): An engaging read; highly recommended.
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher, via Romancing the Book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you both!!)
A tragic parting of lovers sets the desolate, desperate tone in Lenka and Joseph's individual tales as they each relearn to live during the war; Joseph, struggling to survive without Lenka, and Lenka, struggling just to survive. The book is composed of a beautiful back-and-forth exchange of lives that continued in the aftermath of this separation: the suffering, the dullness, the grayness, the hunger, the emptying. The Lost Wife isn't so much about romance, as it is about loveabout lovers who once went wholly, completely rightthat withstands the test of time and the brutality that is life.
Lenka is strong and a stubborn character, but I felt way too detached from her. She is the embodiment of how powerful the bonds of blood are, and very admirable in values, but I just couldn't connect with her or her choices. Through her eyes, readers glimpse at the injustices of Terezín and the horrors of Auschwitz, the compassion of a wife, and the duty of a daughter. Joseph is more relatable, but I couldn't stand his one-track mind. He's always loved Lenka, I understand, but how can a human be as static as to say he never loved anyone after hernot even his second wife? Human minds are more complex and open than that, in my opinion; I wish his life after Lenka had been portrayed more colorfully because that would have mystifiedtotally eternalizedtheir reunion.
This reunion is what magically brings these interwoven stories full circle. The glimpse of a smooth, white neck. The recollection of those strong, sturdy hands. The familiar glint in the eye. That are all it take for the two lovers to recognize each othersixty years and several lifetimes after being wrenched apart.
Tastefully and delicately crafted with Alyson Richman's golden words and brimming with historical facets of the prevalent anti-Semitism throughout WWII-era Europe that oughtn't be remembered, but deserves to be exposed, The Lost Wife relays so much significance. Among the penetrating insights, include the sanctuary and solace of art, and of course, music; the danger of propaganda and how even a motherland will go to far lengths to deceive; and the ultimate triumph of a survivor: their story.
Pros: Real, raw characters // Lyrical, moving prose // Gorgeous and scary depiction of life during wartime // At times graphic, at others, tenderboth frightening and redolent // Conveys the beauty of memory // Heartwarming true love // Reunion aspect is astonishing // Memories are sensual, lethargic, and dreamy
Cons: Lenka and Joseph are each a bit off... I couldn't sympathize with them completely
Verdict: Eloquent in tone and stirring in message, The Lost Wife is a Holocaust novel with sentiments on family, love, and survival. Sophie's Choice meets Atonement in Richman's exquisite story about impossible loversthe most perfect of lovers. It is at once haunting and elegant, symbolic and graceful, and in the end, is the kind of book that'll make your heart clench and your breath shudder.
8 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): An engaging read; highly recommended.
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher, via Romancing the Book, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you both!!)
Heart wrenching and sad, yet very beautiful story of life long, deep love. The story is told from both the perspectives of Josef and Lenka, who are forcefully separated by war after only a few days of marriage. Their stories unreel slowly, going from one to the other in sequence. They relate all the experiences they have had during the war. Both believe the other has been killed, and subsequently remarry and raise families of their own. However, they never stop longing for their first love. It is a story of love triumphing over every circumstance. Loved it! D.
A wonderful, deeply moving love story set against the horrors of the Holocaust.Lenka and Josef meet, fall in love, get married,and are soon separated by the war raging in Europe. As each one tells their story,they are forever linked, as their lives go on.
Starts a little slow, but gets much better as you read. The ending I felt was weak after all the stories in-between.
Excellent
