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The Book of Lost Names

Author:
Kristin Harmel
Read by:
Madeleine Maby
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Unabridged Audiobook

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Ratings
Book
228
Narrator
95
Release Date
July 21, 2020
Duration
10 hours 50 minutes
Summary
“A fascinating, heartrending page-turner that, like the real-life forgers who inspired the novel, should never be forgotten.” —Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday

Inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue) historical novel from the #1 international bestselling author of The Winemaker’s Wife.

Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books when her eyes lock on a photograph in the New York Times. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in more than sixty years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.

The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer, but does she have the strength to revisit old memories?

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris and find refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, where she began forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.

An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.
Reviews
Profile Avatar Barbi N. Sep 2020

I enjoy the book. I was not a fan of the mom character. I think it was a sign of the times. I did not enjoy the cheesy predictable ending. Other all the book was wonderful!

Profile Avatar Eunice S. Jun 2025

Truly enjoyed this book. Happy to have audiobook added to Wellhub app. Will be listening to more books this summer

Profile Avatar Anonymous Feb 2025

A great book. I’ll go right to one more of her historical novels.

Profile Avatar Suzanne M. Feb 2025

Great read. Please do!

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jan 2025

Holocaust names recorded and saved with care and teamwork It describes the internal workings of history and an excellent book

Profile Avatar Lee C. Apr 2026

Overall a great read. My only disappointment was the ending in that it felt much too short and abrupt. I really would have preferred more storyline of Ava going back to Berlin in her '80s and meeting (blank) again.

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jan 2026

Such an amazing book. I had it playing every spare minute of the day. The narrator did an amazing job at portraying each character!

Profile Avatar Lesia Myhal Nov 2025

unforgettable

Profile Avatar Ultima D. Sep 2025

Terrific!!

Profile Avatar Lisa W. Jul 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the narrator did a great job. I even liked the improbable way that it ended.

Profile Avatar Saba A. Jun 2024

So good ! Loved it

Profile Avatar Marian H. Jun 2024

Great story! Narration was easy to follow and well done!

Profile Avatar Tammy M. Oct 2023

I liked the book. However, it had a similar structure to “The Nightingale”. I also felt like it dragged in places. But overall it was a good read with a sweet, albeit unrealistic, ending.

Profile Avatar Shulamit R. Feb 2023

This is my fourth book that I have read/listened to by this author. Each book has been great. Only wish that the author would let the main characters have more time together then them just finding themselves at the very end of the book.

Profile Avatar Carol M. Jan 2023

Loved the book and the plot. Though the ending was predictable, the story needed a happy ending after all the characters went through.

Profile Avatar Y Ben Nov 2022

Great book I enjoyed every moment. Thank you

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jul 2022

A page turner. Well written. Character descriptions were realistic, including the mother. I know nothers like her. The cheesy predictable ending was a welcome relief to a terrible time. Harmel's inspiration is, I'm sure, based on a man's true story that I recently learned about on YouTube. Thank you Kiristin Harmel. I look forward to other reads by you.

Profile Avatar Leslie L. Mar 2022

amazing! still shaking

Profile Avatar Rachelle S. Oct 2021

I highly recommend this book....lots of twists and turns.....enjoyed it....such powerful time in history....we are extremely grateful for the sacrifices of others.

Profile Avatar Teresa M. Aug 2021

Great book. I throughly enjoyed it. WW11 was a terrible time in history and I’m sure this is just a small picture of what life was like. I have heard of many underground groups that helped get Jews and others out France etc. Thought the ending was predicable, but that doesn’t take away from the overall book.

Profile Avatar Anonymous Jun 2021

Good subject based on solid research but the fictional protagonist and her mother were very overdrawn and quite dislikable. The story moves along on improbable coincidences. I finished it but was often tempted to give up due to increasing dismay at key characters. I really wanted to enjoy and value this work but alas, it did not work for me and I am an avid reader of historical fiction situated in WWII.

Profile Avatar Beth M. Apr 2021

Good story. A bit long in the middle for me... but I enjoyed the book

Profile Avatar Ali M. Jan 2021

Lovely book. An ode to books, family, and bravery.

Profile Avatar Georgina C. Sep 2020

Loved this book!

Profile Avatar Nancy K. Aug 2020

Beautifully written, excellent narration & captivating story or courage, resilience & love. I loved this book.

Profile Avatar Joy R. Aug 2020

Excellent book Kept my interest

Profile Avatar Debra D. Jul 2020

Loved it!

The Book of Lost Names

The Book of Lost Names

Author: Kristin Harmel
Read by: Madeleine Maby
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