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The Lost Book of Bonn
🎧Listening Length = 11 hours and 58 minutes
For fans of The Rose Code and The Librarian Spy comes another literary themed historical novel from the author of The Librarian of Burned Books.
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 dedication: "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.
For fans of The Rose Code and The Librarian Spy comes another literary themed historical novel from the author of The Librarian of Burned Books.
This USA Today bestseller and 2024 release is a “powerful book about books that historical fiction fans will adore” (New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin)! In 1946, librarian Emmy is tasked with retrieving prized literature stolen by the Nazis — and ends up uncovering a tragic story from years earlier… “Impossible to put down!” (USA Today bestselling author Sara Ackerman).
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 dedication: "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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First published March 19, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 589 reviews
July 26, 2024
Germany, 1946: Emmy Clarke is a librarian and she works for the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C. and they send her overseas to help the Monuments Men find, sort and catalogue precious books that were stolen by the Nazis. Emmy’s a widow, her husband died storming the beaches on D-Day, and her new jobs at the Offenbach Archival Depot in Frankfurt and with Major Wesley Arnold, a wounded Historian.
On Emmy’s first day she reads a personalized message in a book of poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke and handwritten on the title page is “To Annelise, my brave Edelweiss Pirate.” Emmy wants to find the owner of the book, she wonders if they survived the war and reunite them and it’s not an easy task.
Germany, 1937: Annelise Fischer doesn’t attend the League of German Girls or BDM meetings with her sister Christiana. Annelise is a member of the Edelweiss Pirates, a group of teenagers who like to hike and camp, and do outdoor activities in the mountains. They don’t agree with how Jewish people are being treated in Germany and are antiwar, they distribute pamphlets and carry out acts of defiance and resistance against the Nazis.
Germany, 1937: Christina is member of the BDM, or the League of German Girls, she wears her uniform proudly, and she worries her sister Annelise is going to get into trouble for flaunting the rules, and she follows her. A naive Christiana makes a bad decision and it has terrible consequences for the sisters.
Germany, 1943: The Gestapo arrest two thousand Jewish men who have German wives and detain them. The women hold a vigil in Rose Street, for days they stand in the rain and one night get caught in an air raid, despite being threatened and harassed and they don’t give in and demand their spouses be released.
I received a copy of The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes from HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The well written and thoroughly researched narrative is set in Germany before, during and after The Second World War and is told from the points of view of three main characters Emmy, Annelise and Christina and shares each woman's experiences.
A story about beliefs and what happens if you think differently, bravery and resilience, destruction and a country in ruins, trying to make amends and regret, finding what has been lost and stolen, the power of books and love. My favourite quote from the novel is “a good poem can change the world”, we're still waiting and five stars from me.
On Emmy’s first day she reads a personalized message in a book of poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke and handwritten on the title page is “To Annelise, my brave Edelweiss Pirate.” Emmy wants to find the owner of the book, she wonders if they survived the war and reunite them and it’s not an easy task.
Germany, 1937: Annelise Fischer doesn’t attend the League of German Girls or BDM meetings with her sister Christiana. Annelise is a member of the Edelweiss Pirates, a group of teenagers who like to hike and camp, and do outdoor activities in the mountains. They don’t agree with how Jewish people are being treated in Germany and are antiwar, they distribute pamphlets and carry out acts of defiance and resistance against the Nazis.
Germany, 1937: Christina is member of the BDM, or the League of German Girls, she wears her uniform proudly, and she worries her sister Annelise is going to get into trouble for flaunting the rules, and she follows her. A naive Christiana makes a bad decision and it has terrible consequences for the sisters.
Germany, 1943: The Gestapo arrest two thousand Jewish men who have German wives and detain them. The women hold a vigil in Rose Street, for days they stand in the rain and one night get caught in an air raid, despite being threatened and harassed and they don’t give in and demand their spouses be released.
I received a copy of The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes from HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The well written and thoroughly researched narrative is set in Germany before, during and after The Second World War and is told from the points of view of three main characters Emmy, Annelise and Christina and shares each woman's experiences.
A story about beliefs and what happens if you think differently, bravery and resilience, destruction and a country in ruins, trying to make amends and regret, finding what has been lost and stolen, the power of books and love. My favourite quote from the novel is “a good poem can change the world”, we're still waiting and five stars from me.
March 19, 2024
3.5 stars
Very compelling historical fiction.
The author paints a vivid picture of what life was like in Germany after Hitler came into power. His “promises” made German citizens hopeful for the future, eager to have their children involved in Hitler Youth activities, and very willing to look the other way when Jews and other “different” people were persecuted. There were some brave youths who preferred to think for themselves, however, and chose to push against the spouted Nazi ideology. Their acts of resistance were small and prank-like, at first. But as the madness spread throughout their beloved country, these young people took bold stands and did their best to create havoc, often performing dangerous acts of defiance, which put them at great risk…
I would have given this a higher rating, but the jumping between different timelines did get confusing. Still, very much worth the read for historical fiction lovers.
Very compelling historical fiction.
The author paints a vivid picture of what life was like in Germany after Hitler came into power. His “promises” made German citizens hopeful for the future, eager to have their children involved in Hitler Youth activities, and very willing to look the other way when Jews and other “different” people were persecuted. There were some brave youths who preferred to think for themselves, however, and chose to push against the spouted Nazi ideology. Their acts of resistance were small and prank-like, at first. But as the madness spread throughout their beloved country, these young people took bold stands and did their best to create havoc, often performing dangerous acts of defiance, which put them at great risk…
I would have given this a higher rating, but the jumping between different timelines did get confusing. Still, very much worth the read for historical fiction lovers.
March 28, 2024
The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes is a work of historical fiction set before and during World War II primarily in Bonn and Berlin, Germany and in the immediate post-war period near Frankfurt, Germany as a young woman sent from the U.S. Library of Congress arrives for a temporary placement at the Offenbach Depot, a depository of books confiscated from the many Nazi caches discovered by the Monuments Men.
Emmy Clarke, a librarian and war widow, arrived in Germany in an Army uniform for the planned two months duration of her visit, but was a civilian, and above all a person who prized books. Her contact, Major Wesley Arnold, was one of those storied Monuments Men who had been working to find everything that the Nazi government had plundered from those people sent to the camps and the art stolen from museums and other cultural institutions.
The earlier stories involved teenage sisters Annelise and Christina, in 1938 and 1943.
Annelise is the older sister, worried about what is happening in Germany, unwilling to follow the rules, friends with a group who enjoy nature and hiking in the mountains. She and her friends have become involved in prank type behavior toward the Reich as part of the Edelweiss Pirates. The question becomes what will they do as the tactics of government harden. Christina is more of a follower. She loves her sister but can’t follow that type of existence. She likes order and deals well with rules. She joined the Bund Deutscher Madel, the group intended for all girls. What will she do if these rules should endanger those she loves?
The author provides information on the historical background for some of the specific events cited in the novel. Once again, I learned more about the Holocaust and WWII from this novel. Another reason I’m always glad for good historical fiction.
Recommended for those who like good historical fiction and novels about WWII, Germany and the Holocaust.
Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This review is my own.
Emmy Clarke, a librarian and war widow, arrived in Germany in an Army uniform for the planned two months duration of her visit, but was a civilian, and above all a person who prized books. Her contact, Major Wesley Arnold, was one of those storied Monuments Men who had been working to find everything that the Nazi government had plundered from those people sent to the camps and the art stolen from museums and other cultural institutions.
The earlier stories involved teenage sisters Annelise and Christina, in 1938 and 1943.
Annelise is the older sister, worried about what is happening in Germany, unwilling to follow the rules, friends with a group who enjoy nature and hiking in the mountains. She and her friends have become involved in prank type behavior toward the Reich as part of the Edelweiss Pirates. The question becomes what will they do as the tactics of government harden. Christina is more of a follower. She loves her sister but can’t follow that type of existence. She likes order and deals well with rules. She joined the Bund Deutscher Madel, the group intended for all girls. What will she do if these rules should endanger those she loves?
The author provides information on the historical background for some of the specific events cited in the novel. Once again, I learned more about the Holocaust and WWII from this novel. Another reason I’m always glad for good historical fiction.
Recommended for those who like good historical fiction and novels about WWII, Germany and the Holocaust.
Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This review is my own.
July 5, 2024
For the past year, I’ve enjoyed many historical fiction novels regarding WWII. This one was disappointing. While the story took you through the lives of two sisters, what I found disturbing was the lesbian affair halfway through the book. There was nothing in the synopsis or reviews that mentioned this. It’s disheartening that books and movies are continuously adding this into the storyline. It may have existed back then but would never have been talked about and rarely acted on especially by women. It was forbidden and unlawful during that era and for years to come.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2024
I had high hopes for this book but it didn't live up to my expectations. At first I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get into the book. By the end I had several items I could say I didn't enjoy.
First thing I didn't enjoy I am going to just say is the writing style want an exciting wanting to start up all night reading style. I found that the regularity of the chapters being in the same order of characters and only changing at the end when it made the character's story more stressful was annoying. I hated the fact that around 80% of the story covered a week of time in different time periods then the last bit advanced one story 8 years. Skipping all the details I really wanted!! I thoroughly hated the ending as it felt like rushed closure after skipping all the parts of the story I wanted. I fell asleep so many times reading this book even during the middle of the day, it was just not exciting.
I was excited for the storyline but the book was more of a side story than the main story and it's an absolute shame.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by the publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I plan to review and discuss this book on my podcast The Honest Reviewers https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4... .
First thing I didn't enjoy I am going to just say is the writing style want an exciting wanting to start up all night reading style. I found that the regularity of the chapters being in the same order of characters and only changing at the end when it made the character's story more stressful was annoying. I hated the fact that around 80% of the story covered a week of time in different time periods then the last bit advanced one story 8 years. Skipping all the details I really wanted!! I thoroughly hated the ending as it felt like rushed closure after skipping all the parts of the story I wanted. I fell asleep so many times reading this book even during the middle of the day, it was just not exciting.
I was excited for the storyline but the book was more of a side story than the main story and it's an absolute shame.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by the publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I plan to review and discuss this book on my podcast The Honest Reviewers https://open.spotify.com/show/3H3ugH4... .
February 15, 2024
A beautifully written book. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. I knew of the monuments men, who worked to save precious artwork and later return artwork during and after WWII. This book told the story of the people who essentially did the same with books. Being a book lover and a historical fiction fan, this story quickly drew me in. The story is told from 3 points of view, each one a few years apart from the other. We hear from Annelise, a young woman who was part of a youth group, the Edelweiss Pirates, in 1938. It’s becoming a certainty that Hitler’s war is inevitably coming to fruition. The Pirates are against the war and many things happening in their country of Germany, including the youth groups that are forming under Hitler. They decide to take a stand.
Christine, Annalise’s sister, has joined the BDM, Hitler’s youth group for young women. Her story comes in with the 1943 timeline. The sisters, having opposing views, have a lot of friction between them. Christine makes some choices that change the lives of both of them.
Lastly, is the point of view of a young military woman from the U.S. who works for the Library of Congress, Emmy. She has been sent to Germany in 1946 to assist with sorting through millions of books the Nazis had stolen from occupied territories to try to find out more about why things happened the way they did in the war. The books had been recovered by the Allies and many people there are working to return them to their countries they were taken from- and hopefully to as many people as possible, though after the war that was often impossible.
Emmy pockets a book of poetry after finding a sentimental inscription in it. What happens from there is the intertwining of the three stories as Emma works to track down the original owner.
Sometimes books with multiple points of view and timelines end up getting confusing, but the author does a great job of seamlessly transitioning between the stories and its written in a way that is pretty easy to keep track of the different characters.
The story brings to light the story of the existence of the Edelweiss Pirates as well as the work of those who tried to return literature from people who were often robbed of more than just their books during the war.
The author tells the story well, using her research to be as accurate as possible about these things and also using her literary license to tell it in her own way. It’s a story of bravery, betrayal, determination, forbidden love, and perseverance which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
Christine, Annalise’s sister, has joined the BDM, Hitler’s youth group for young women. Her story comes in with the 1943 timeline. The sisters, having opposing views, have a lot of friction between them. Christine makes some choices that change the lives of both of them.
Lastly, is the point of view of a young military woman from the U.S. who works for the Library of Congress, Emmy. She has been sent to Germany in 1946 to assist with sorting through millions of books the Nazis had stolen from occupied territories to try to find out more about why things happened the way they did in the war. The books had been recovered by the Allies and many people there are working to return them to their countries they were taken from- and hopefully to as many people as possible, though after the war that was often impossible.
Emmy pockets a book of poetry after finding a sentimental inscription in it. What happens from there is the intertwining of the three stories as Emma works to track down the original owner.
Sometimes books with multiple points of view and timelines end up getting confusing, but the author does a great job of seamlessly transitioning between the stories and its written in a way that is pretty easy to keep track of the different characters.
The story brings to light the story of the existence of the Edelweiss Pirates as well as the work of those who tried to return literature from people who were often robbed of more than just their books during the war.
The author tells the story well, using her research to be as accurate as possible about these things and also using her literary license to tell it in her own way. It’s a story of bravery, betrayal, determination, forbidden love, and perseverance which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
March 16, 2024
Dark times in Germany!
Gripping story about sisters who lived in Bonn just before WWII
Annalise the older loved to hike and party with her friends in a group called the Edelweiss Pirates. Later they took more and more subversive action against the ruling Nazi party
Christina, the younger sister liked to follow rules. She became a member of the Bund Deutscher Mädel, promoting young Aryan women who followed rules, who fit in, who presented the ideal woman who embraced her place in the social fabric.
Widowed Emmy Clarke is a librarian who’s sent to Berlin in 1946 to look through the acres of books seized by the Nazis. Many are valuable. The scope of looting by the Nazis is phenomenal. Here she meets Major Wesley Arnold, part of the Monuments Men team.
Emma chances upon a book on her first day that has an inscription, beginning “to Annelise” ending with Eitan.” Emmy senses a deeper story behind the inscription. Emmy is inspired to see if she can find out more about these people.
The story moves from one character’s viewpoint to another’s —Annelise and Christina, Both interspersed with Emmy’s search in 19476.
What it tells us is that not all people are the enemy and that when they stood together they might prevail. The story of the Aryan women married to Jews who protest against their husbands being detained and held in the Jewish community center on Rose Street, awaiting transportation, is harrowing and admirable.
Such a sensitive novel about evil times that aren’t as cut and dried as we would wish.
A superb read!
A William Morrow ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)
Gripping story about sisters who lived in Bonn just before WWII
Annalise the older loved to hike and party with her friends in a group called the Edelweiss Pirates. Later they took more and more subversive action against the ruling Nazi party
Christina, the younger sister liked to follow rules. She became a member of the Bund Deutscher Mädel, promoting young Aryan women who followed rules, who fit in, who presented the ideal woman who embraced her place in the social fabric.
Widowed Emmy Clarke is a librarian who’s sent to Berlin in 1946 to look through the acres of books seized by the Nazis. Many are valuable. The scope of looting by the Nazis is phenomenal. Here she meets Major Wesley Arnold, part of the Monuments Men team.
Emma chances upon a book on her first day that has an inscription, beginning “to Annelise” ending with Eitan.” Emmy senses a deeper story behind the inscription. Emmy is inspired to see if she can find out more about these people.
The story moves from one character’s viewpoint to another’s —Annelise and Christina, Both interspersed with Emmy’s search in 19476.
What it tells us is that not all people are the enemy and that when they stood together they might prevail. The story of the Aryan women married to Jews who protest against their husbands being detained and held in the Jewish community center on Rose Street, awaiting transportation, is harrowing and admirable.
Such a sensitive novel about evil times that aren’t as cut and dried as we would wish.
A superb read!
A William Morrow ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)
August 2, 2024
An excellence read centered around love, forgiveness, and the journey of returning a lost book to its rightful owner. Emmy is a librarian tasked with sorting and identifying displaced books after World War II, and after the inscription in one title catches her eye, she becomes entangled with the story of two sisters, Anneliese and Christina, as they struggle to navigate their relationship as they grow up in a country entralled with fascism. A highly compelling read and highly recommended for fans of World War II-era historical fiction.
February 14, 2024
I have read so many WWII/Holocaust books that oftentimes I say to myself why am I picking up another, and yet every single time I pick one up I learn something new. And, when you think about it, isn’t that the beauty of reading? We read to escape but when it comes to historical fiction, I always enjoy learning something new and fact checking at the same time being the teacher that I am. I was intrigued by this book because of the work done after the war to retrieve and catalog literature that was stolen by the Nazis. What I didn’t expect though was that through this book I would learn about the Rose Street Protest which I had never heard about.
The book follows Emmy Clarke, a librarian, sent to Germany after the war to assist in the retrieval and cataloging of books stolen. Upon doing her work she stumbles upon a book with an inscription written to Annelise. Thus begins the story of not only Emmy but also two sisters, the women of the Rose Street Protest, along with the horrors of the Holocaust and the courage displayed during WWII.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t overly fast paced and wanted more from the central love story but I did enjoy learning about the Rose Street Protest and the other brave stories from ordinary citizens who stood against the Nazis.
Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for this advanced copy.
The book follows Emmy Clarke, a librarian, sent to Germany after the war to assist in the retrieval and cataloging of books stolen. Upon doing her work she stumbles upon a book with an inscription written to Annelise. Thus begins the story of not only Emmy but also two sisters, the women of the Rose Street Protest, along with the horrors of the Holocaust and the courage displayed during WWII.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t overly fast paced and wanted more from the central love story but I did enjoy learning about the Rose Street Protest and the other brave stories from ordinary citizens who stood against the Nazis.
Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for this advanced copy.
February 15, 2024
A wonderful book about books that were stolen by Nazi’s during WWII. Emmy, a librarian, is sent to Germany to process some of the millions of books stolen by the Nazi’s. She comes across a Rilke poem book with an inscription from Eitan to Annalise that touches her so much that she takes the book home with her. She becomes determined to find out as much as she can about the couple and wants very much to get it returned to its owners. The process takes her deep into the dark, disturbing machinations of Hitler’s reign. Annelise is an Edelweiss Pirate, a group of young people that are able to see the terrible things Hitler is bringing about and they become a source of resistance to the Nazi regime. In the midst of all that’s going on Annelise meets and falls in love with Eitan. Annelise has a sister, Christina that is a member of the Nazi party. The two girls look a lot alike, but they are very different and on opposite sides. Emmy pieces it all together in her quest to find the owners of the Rilke book and a wonderfully, interesting story unfolds.
February 11, 2024
Received The Lost Book of Bonn in a Goodreads Giveaway. Very entertaining read that left me wanting to know more about the real life events that inspired the story.
May 30, 2024
This is a beautifully told tale spanning multiple generations and exemplifying the many horrific sides of war. The writing is excellent and kept me hooked through the entirety.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, William Morrow Paperbacks and Brianna Labuskes for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, William Morrow Paperbacks and Brianna Labuskes for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
June 24, 2024
I disliked this book because the newer books and authors are trying to push the gay/ lesbian genders down our throats. This would have been a good story if the author had left out the parts of the lesbian couple. To be honest I didn’t really care for it all. So one star from me
December 12, 2023
I really enjoyed this! This book tells the story of 3 women, with three very different experiences. Annelise is an Edelweiss Pirate in Bonn who fights back against the Nazi’s as a young teenager. She falls in love with Eitan, a local Jewish boy. She tries to sway her sister, Christina, into joining her cause. Christina instead is part of the Hitler Youth group. Finally, there is Emmy, who after the war comes across a book Eitan gave Annelise. She’s on a quest to return it to its rightful owner.
While deeply historical, the books reads like a mystery and thriller. It covered parts of the war I was unaware of, such as a protest in Berlin in 1943 by Aryan women. I found this well written and hard to put down. I would highly recommend this.
*Thank you to William Morrow, the author, and Netgalley for providing a E-ARC of "The Lost Book of Bonn" in exchange for an honest review*
While deeply historical, the books reads like a mystery and thriller. It covered parts of the war I was unaware of, such as a protest in Berlin in 1943 by Aryan women. I found this well written and hard to put down. I would highly recommend this.
*Thank you to William Morrow, the author, and Netgalley for providing a E-ARC of "The Lost Book of Bonn" in exchange for an honest review*
April 8, 2024
In a market full of WWII historical fiction books it can be hard to stand out and I had high hopes for this to be something different with the Monuments men focus but often found myself a bit underwhelmed and having trouble getting into the story. Okay on audio, this isn't one to prioritize in my opinion.
May 9, 2024
An ok book but somewhat complicated to follow, I had to take notes to keep track of everything
May 31, 2024
Completely unnecessary lesbianism halfway through
August 18, 2024
Read to 194.
Sadly- didn’t like the telling of this book, or the lesbian relationship that was about to be fully depicted. Not my cup of tea.
Sadly- didn’t like the telling of this book, or the lesbian relationship that was about to be fully depicted. Not my cup of tea.
March 23, 2024
Another WWII book, why? “The world would – should – carry this wound for the rest of time.”
An interesting use of multiple timelines in this book. While dual or multiple timelines are common in HF they are usually separated by decades with one storyline usually being current. This book follows three characters all within a very compressed timeline: Annelise in the two years prior to the outbreak of WWII, her sister Christina in the middle of the war years, and finally Emmy in the year after Germany’s surrender. The author followed a similar tight timeline in her previous novel THE LIBRARY OF BURNED BOOKS which I loved. I like the use here because the years, while less than a decade apart, are all so very different and offer the opportunity to see what’s coming, to live thru the hell, and to witness the immediate aftermath of the greatest evil in modern history.
I came to this book after reading 3 books about how libraries in three cities (Warsaw, Paris, and London) survived the war and the lengths librarians and ordinary books lovers went to not only save books but to make them available during the war years.** This seemed a good way to wrap the theme up, with a book focusing on the millions and millions of books stolen by the Nazis – stolen from institutions sworn to protect them and stolen from the innocent victims of the regime’s paranoia and racial hatred.
While Emmy’s work enabled the author to incorporate information about Alfred Rosenberg’s Institute for Research on the Jewish Question and his efforts to literally rewrite history (“Hitler wanted land, Göring art, Himmler bodies to damage. Rosenberg? He knew the real power lay in books.”) I found myself wishing she had more to do with the branch of the Monuments Men that dealt with those books from personal collections, such as the Rilke book which is the title subject of this book. Instead her rather boring job enabled the author to focus more on her personal relationships and to eventually bring the other storylines together. Emmy’s storyline was not my favourite although there is a great line from Maj Arnold who says “I care about a looted van Gogh masterpiece because I care about preserving culture. But I care about these books because I care about humanity.”
Annelise was the hero of the book but what happened to her? A question left too much up in the air for my liking. Christina is IMO the most interesting character in the book undergoing a metamorphosis from young girl and model BDM (Bund Deutscher Mädel) member following the party line like all the other brainless, dull witted sheep (at best) to becoming a young woman, a double agent determined to right her past wrongs. Her constant self flagellation got a little old however.
Some great historical aspects with this book. While I am familiar with some of the German resistance groups for older people (mostly university) I had never heard of the Edelweiss Pirates (by the 1960s they would have been called hippies). It is inspiring that children of that age had the courage and the temerity to stand up against what they knew to be wrong despite overwhelming pressure from adults, society, and the government to conform. (“Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.”~ Thomas Mann)
The 1943 week-long stand in by wives in Berlin demanding that their Jewish husbands be released was also new to me. While it is great historical info it dragged for me in the book, I began to feel like it was happening in real time but without the freezing conditions. It is this timeline and the character of Christina that allowed the author to explore what it was like for homosexuals in Nazi Germany (NOT good!!)
Having almost nothing to do with the main themes of the book other than as brief character background, I was fascinated by the term Train Car Librarians in US history. Emmy as a child and her mother had a boxcar that travelled to the logging camps in Montana delivering books. Now that’s a book I would like to read!!
Overall I liked the book but the endings (plural) felt rushed and somewhat unresolved, although I did love when Emmy bumped into Viv on the streets of NYC. Viv was such a favourite in THE LIBRARY OF BURNED BOOKS and while it was only 2 paragraphs in the very last chapter it put a real smile on my face. A good Author’s Note at the end gives the reader insight into fact vs fiction as well as the research done by the author. This book gets a weak 4 stars from me.
** For anyone interested in the thematic books I mentioned they are as follows:
THE KEEPER OF HIDDEN BOOKS by Madeline Martin
THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles
THE UNDERGROUND LIBRARY by Jennifer Ryan (on the subject of the same London library and just as good if not better is THE LITTLE WARTIME LIBRARY by Kate Thompson)
An interesting use of multiple timelines in this book. While dual or multiple timelines are common in HF they are usually separated by decades with one storyline usually being current. This book follows three characters all within a very compressed timeline: Annelise in the two years prior to the outbreak of WWII, her sister Christina in the middle of the war years, and finally Emmy in the year after Germany’s surrender. The author followed a similar tight timeline in her previous novel THE LIBRARY OF BURNED BOOKS which I loved. I like the use here because the years, while less than a decade apart, are all so very different and offer the opportunity to see what’s coming, to live thru the hell, and to witness the immediate aftermath of the greatest evil in modern history.
I came to this book after reading 3 books about how libraries in three cities (Warsaw, Paris, and London) survived the war and the lengths librarians and ordinary books lovers went to not only save books but to make them available during the war years.** This seemed a good way to wrap the theme up, with a book focusing on the millions and millions of books stolen by the Nazis – stolen from institutions sworn to protect them and stolen from the innocent victims of the regime’s paranoia and racial hatred.
While Emmy’s work enabled the author to incorporate information about Alfred Rosenberg’s Institute for Research on the Jewish Question and his efforts to literally rewrite history (“Hitler wanted land, Göring art, Himmler bodies to damage. Rosenberg? He knew the real power lay in books.”) I found myself wishing she had more to do with the branch of the Monuments Men that dealt with those books from personal collections, such as the Rilke book which is the title subject of this book. Instead her rather boring job enabled the author to focus more on her personal relationships and to eventually bring the other storylines together. Emmy’s storyline was not my favourite although there is a great line from Maj Arnold who says “I care about a looted van Gogh masterpiece because I care about preserving culture. But I care about these books because I care about humanity.”
Annelise was the hero of the book but what happened to her? A question left too much up in the air for my liking. Christina is IMO the most interesting character in the book undergoing a metamorphosis from young girl and model BDM (Bund Deutscher Mädel) member following the party line like all the other brainless, dull witted sheep (at best) to becoming a young woman, a double agent determined to right her past wrongs. Her constant self flagellation got a little old however.
Some great historical aspects with this book. While I am familiar with some of the German resistance groups for older people (mostly university) I had never heard of the Edelweiss Pirates (by the 1960s they would have been called hippies). It is inspiring that children of that age had the courage and the temerity to stand up against what they knew to be wrong despite overwhelming pressure from adults, society, and the government to conform. (“Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.”~ Thomas Mann)
The 1943 week-long stand in by wives in Berlin demanding that their Jewish husbands be released was also new to me. While it is great historical info it dragged for me in the book, I began to feel like it was happening in real time but without the freezing conditions. It is this timeline and the character of Christina that allowed the author to explore what it was like for homosexuals in Nazi Germany (NOT good!!)
Having almost nothing to do with the main themes of the book other than as brief character background, I was fascinated by the term Train Car Librarians in US history. Emmy as a child and her mother had a boxcar that travelled to the logging camps in Montana delivering books. Now that’s a book I would like to read!!
Overall I liked the book but the endings (plural) felt rushed and somewhat unresolved, although I did love when Emmy bumped into Viv on the streets of NYC. Viv was such a favourite in THE LIBRARY OF BURNED BOOKS and while it was only 2 paragraphs in the very last chapter it put a real smile on my face. A good Author’s Note at the end gives the reader insight into fact vs fiction as well as the research done by the author. This book gets a weak 4 stars from me.
** For anyone interested in the thematic books I mentioned they are as follows:
THE KEEPER OF HIDDEN BOOKS by Madeline Martin
THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles
THE UNDERGROUND LIBRARY by Jennifer Ryan (on the subject of the same London library and just as good if not better is THE LITTLE WARTIME LIBRARY by Kate Thompson)
April 16, 2024
4 Strong stars for this multiple time-line, multiple POV WWII-era story set in Germany.
"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 dedication: “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."
The two sisters are Annelise and her younger sister Christina and they are two of our three POV characters (with Emmy being the third). They live in Cologne, Germany and, as we first meet them, are already set on two different paths. Annelise is a teenager in 1937/38, already aware that nothing good can come from having Hitler in power. She and some of her fellow hiking club members (the Edelweiss Pirates) undertake small acts of defiance and have thus far escaped the notice of the authorities. Christina has joined the distaff version of the Hitler Youth and is constantly nagging at her sister to join, for Anna's own safety and the safety of the family.
The author deftly weaves the stories of the two sisters and Emmy in such a way that I always wanted to know what happened next.
I knew that the Nazis had looted libraries and private collections of all sizes, I just didn't truly realize the scope of that depredation until I met Emmy and learned of the almost impossible task of returning the books to their previous owners. Likewise, I was unaware of the Rose Street protest in 1943 Berlin. The author certainly brought the protest to life!
I have a fondness for books about books in wartime and this author has come through for me with this book and her previous one (The Librarian of Burned Books). I'm hoping she has more stories to tell.
"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 dedication: “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."
The two sisters are Annelise and her younger sister Christina and they are two of our three POV characters (with Emmy being the third). They live in Cologne, Germany and, as we first meet them, are already set on two different paths. Annelise is a teenager in 1937/38, already aware that nothing good can come from having Hitler in power. She and some of her fellow hiking club members (the Edelweiss Pirates) undertake small acts of defiance and have thus far escaped the notice of the authorities. Christina has joined the distaff version of the Hitler Youth and is constantly nagging at her sister to join, for Anna's own safety and the safety of the family.
The author deftly weaves the stories of the two sisters and Emmy in such a way that I always wanted to know what happened next.
I knew that the Nazis had looted libraries and private collections of all sizes, I just didn't truly realize the scope of that depredation until I met Emmy and learned of the almost impossible task of returning the books to their previous owners. Likewise, I was unaware of the Rose Street protest in 1943 Berlin. The author certainly brought the protest to life!
I have a fondness for books about books in wartime and this author has come through for me with this book and her previous one (The Librarian of Burned Books). I'm hoping she has more stories to tell.
March 17, 2024
Set immediately following the end of WWII, describes the power of words and how they’re used for good and for evil. The story begins with Emmy being sent by the Library of Congress to Germany where the Monument’s Men are hard at work sifting through and locating the countless works of art and literature that were stolen by the Nazi’s. While her job is to find certain articles pertinent to the library, she can’t resist the urge to reunite a personal book with its owner. This book of poetry contains a small inscription and Emmy is determined to find the owner of the book or the person to whom it was inscribed.
This book takes us back to the prewar years and right in the thick of things. It introduces us to two sisters, Anneliese and Christina…Anna who sees the Nazi’s for what they are and resists in any way she can and Christina who immerses herself in the Nazi culture believing every bit of propaganda told to the German people. As time and the war progress…she begins to see what’s really happening and what could become of things if the evil was allowed to prevail.
The power of word is such a strong theme in this book. From the burning of books, to the theft of literature, to the study of Jewish history…the Germans wanted to use it against them. I know I’m not articulating how I felt about this book very well but it had a huge impact on me. Historical fiction is great at getting a person to see beyond what the text books teach you. This is a great example of the human experience from multiple perspectives during WWII. I wholeheartedly recommend this story!
Thank you so much to @netgalley, @williammorrowbooks and @brilabuskes for early access to this story. It left me speechless! #book #books #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #newrelease #bookshelf #historicalfictionreader #historicalfiction
June 10, 2024
Could have been a good story line - don’t need the gay relationship story line too.
March 18, 2025
The book opens with Emmy Clarke going to Germany in 1946 after the war as an emissary of the Library of Congress to sort from the Nazi plunder books to go into the Library of Congress..She works closely with a Major Arnold. The amount of Nazi plunder after the war is staggering. Their charge is to decide which books go to the surviving original owners and what can be sent to the US to the Library of Congress. During the process, Emmy finds a slim volume of Ranier Rilke poetry with a personal inscription to Annelise from Eitan that opens a journey and opens two addtional narratives for the reader Annalise during 1938. her sister Christina during 1943, and the continuation of Emmy's story of 1946. It is a quiet little book that tells of some areas of WWII like the resistant movement of kids called the Edelweiss Pirates, and the only protest in Germany against seizing of Jews, when Jewish men married to Aryans were seized. Of course, the essence of war: its destruction regardless of the consequences, the culpability of those who allowed the Nazis to come to power, to those who ignored the rise or worse yet, bought into the Nazi pov had to suffer the profound consequences..A thoughtful read.
June 21, 2024
This novel has many positives; the history of WWII knowledge, the refined descriptions of the destructive cities and the beauty of the land, the depiction of Germany's post-war years, the courage of many Germans to defend their homeland and the knowledge that loads of Jewish books were not burnt or buried,
The novel interconnects three time lines; 1938 Bonn, Germany, 1943 Berin and 1946 Berlin. My anticipation of the story was the setting in 1946 Bonn, a small portion of the story—the two other timelines needed to be condensed.
In 1946, Emmy Clarke, a librarian, was sent to Germany to assist in retrieving & cataloging stolen books. Sifting through books for hours, she discovers a Rilke poem book dedicated to Annalise from Eitan. Deeply moved by her emotions, Emmy removes the book to procure the owners and return it.
The reader is plunged into 1938 Bonn and 1943 Berlin bridging Annalise and her sister Christine into the horrendous acts of war, the persistent and brave women of the Rose Street Protest, and the horrors of the Holocaust.
October 30, 2025
When I first started this book, I was underwhelmed and the transitions between the 3 plot lines seemed choppy. I was having trouble being engaged in the protagonists’ dramas until about half way through when they became more interwoven. There seems to be clear parallels between the demonization of political opponents late 1930’s and the mid 2020s but the author allows readers to draw their own correlations or not.
April 1, 2024
*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Historical, Holocaust, World War II
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Brianna Labuskes' The Lost Book of Bonn is a Historical fiction novel inspired by real events. This book focuses on three different women: American Emmy Clarke, German sisters Annelise Fisher, and Christiana Fisher. This turns out to be one woman's quest to return a precious book stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owner and the story of how that book united two very different sisters in their fight to survive World War II. But could it also be Emmy's path to finding a new beginning after a painful loss?
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
*Genre* Historical, Holocaust, World War II
*Rating* 3.5
*Thoughts*
Brianna Labuskes' The Lost Book of Bonn is a Historical fiction novel inspired by real events. This book focuses on three different women: American Emmy Clarke, German sisters Annelise Fisher, and Christiana Fisher. This turns out to be one woman's quest to return a precious book stolen by the Nazis to its rightful owner and the story of how that book united two very different sisters in their fight to survive World War II. But could it also be Emmy's path to finding a new beginning after a painful loss?
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
April 28, 2024
Bought this as a Heather’s Pick because she has yet to lead me astray and wow this was so beautiful. And painful. The stories of Annelise, Christina and Emmy are wonderfully brought together, and wonderfully told. A must read if you like WWII historical fiction
August 25, 2024
Absolutely loved this book
March 31, 2024
I loved this book! The story had it all; history, love of all types, war, sadness and a great ending. I can't wait to read more by this author.
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