Germany, 1946: Emmy Clarke is a librarian not a soldier. But that doesn’t stop the Library of Congress from sending her overseas to Germany to help the Monuments Men retrieve and catalog precious literature that was plundered by the Nazis. The Offenbach Archival Depot and its work may get less attention than returning art to its rightful owners, but for Emmy, who sees the personalized messages on the inside of the books and the notes in margins of pages, it feels just as important. On Emmy’s first day at work, she finds a poetry collection by Rainer Maria Rilke, and on the title page is a handwritten “To Annelise, my brave Edelweiss Pirate.” Emmy is instantly intrigued by the story behind the dedication and becomes determined to figure out what happened. The hunt for the rightful owner of the book leads Emmy to two sisters, a horrific betrayal, and an extraordinary protest against the Nazis that was held in Berlin at the height of the war.
Nearly a decade earlier, hundreds of brave women gathered in the streets after their Jewish husbands were detained by the Gestapo. Through freezing rain and RAF bombings, the women faced down certain death and did what so few others dared to do under the Third Reich. They said no. Emmy grapples with her own ghosts as she begins to wonder if she’s just chasing two more. What she finds instead is a powerful story of love, forgiveness, and courage that brings light to even the darkest of postwar days.
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Intriguing, Mysterious.
My favorite historical fiction is set during World War II. I'm not sure what it is about that time period, but I've read several books set during World War II, and they've all captivated me. Of course, it's a plus if the story includes books; how can you not enjoy a story about books? The title and cover of The Lost Book Of Bonn piqued my interest when I discovered it on Netgalley. The cover is breathtaking, and I wonder what the woman in the picture is thinking about. After reading the book's summary, I was even more captivated by the story. I knew I'd fall in love with the story before I even began reading it. It didn't take long; I was engrossed in the story from the first page. There were a few slow parts in the story, mostly when the characters were introduced, but once it got going, I couldn't get enough, and every page left me wondering what would happen next.
I like how the story was told in different timelines, from different points in the war. Annelise's story takes place at the beginning of the war, whereas Christina's takes place in the middle of it. Christina changed so much from the start of the war to the middle of the war that she appeared to be a completely different person. I wasn't sure about Christina when she was described through Annelise's eyes, but when I read it from Christina's perspective, it was a whole different story. I couldn't help but wonder if the two sisters would ever be reunited, and what would happen if they were. Emmy’s story on the other hand, it connects the other two stories and that’s one of my favorite’s parts in the book. I think if I was in her position, I would be curious too, and wonder what happened to them.
The Lost Book Of Bonn is not always an easy book to read, but it's a book you'll never forget. There is more I could say about this book, but I don't want to give too much away before it comes out. This is an important book to read and a source of inspiration. I'm glad I got to read it before it was released. Now I'm looking forward to seeing what other adventures the author will take us on.
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