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Once We Were Home
From Jennifer Rosner, National Jewish Book Award Finalist and author of The Yellow Bird Sings , comes a novel based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II.
When your past is stolen, where do you belong?
Ana will never forget her mother’s face when she and her baby brother, Oskar, were sent out of their Polish ghetto and into the arms of a Christian friend. For Oskar, though, their new family is the only one he remembers. When a woman from a Jewish reclamation organization seizes them, believing she has their best interest at heart, Ana sees an opportunity to reconnect with her roots, while Oskar sees only the loss of the home he loves.
Roger grows up in a monastery in France, inventing stories and trading riddles with his best friend in a life of quiet concealment. When a relative seeks to retrieve him, the Church steals him across the Pyrenees before relinquishing him to family in Jerusalem.
Renata, a post-graduate student in archaeology, has spent her life unearthing secrets from the past--except for her own. After her mother’s death, Renata’s grief is entwined with all the questions her mother left unanswered, including why they fled Germany so quickly when Renata was a little girl.
Two decades later, they are each building lives for themselves, trying to move on from the trauma and loss that haunts them. But as their stories converge in Israel, in unexpected ways, they must each ask where and to whom they truly belong.
Beautifully evocative and tender, filled with both luminosity and anguish, Once We Were Home reveals a little-known history. Based on the true stories of children stolen during wartime, this heart-wrenching novel raises questions of complicity and responsibility, belonging and identity, good intentions and unforeseen consequences, as it confronts what it really means to find home.
When your past is stolen, where do you belong?
Ana will never forget her mother’s face when she and her baby brother, Oskar, were sent out of their Polish ghetto and into the arms of a Christian friend. For Oskar, though, their new family is the only one he remembers. When a woman from a Jewish reclamation organization seizes them, believing she has their best interest at heart, Ana sees an opportunity to reconnect with her roots, while Oskar sees only the loss of the home he loves.
Roger grows up in a monastery in France, inventing stories and trading riddles with his best friend in a life of quiet concealment. When a relative seeks to retrieve him, the Church steals him across the Pyrenees before relinquishing him to family in Jerusalem.
Renata, a post-graduate student in archaeology, has spent her life unearthing secrets from the past--except for her own. After her mother’s death, Renata’s grief is entwined with all the questions her mother left unanswered, including why they fled Germany so quickly when Renata was a little girl.
Two decades later, they are each building lives for themselves, trying to move on from the trauma and loss that haunts them. But as their stories converge in Israel, in unexpected ways, they must each ask where and to whom they truly belong.
Beautifully evocative and tender, filled with both luminosity and anguish, Once We Were Home reveals a little-known history. Based on the true stories of children stolen during wartime, this heart-wrenching novel raises questions of complicity and responsibility, belonging and identity, good intentions and unforeseen consequences, as it confronts what it really means to find home.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2023
287 people are currently reading
13974 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 433 reviews
April 2, 2023
Over 200,000 Polish children kidnapped during WWII. Jewish parents who had given up their children to Polish families so they could live. But the cost... so complex and emotional.
4’displaced children. The war is over but there is another one rages. The war where children are stolen and not returned to their jewish families.
An annihilation of a faith. Of a people. Children passed around from place to place; country to country. Uprooted; confused; not knowing who they are and struggling with who they were. Memories fading. Secrets exposed.
How those who hid these children were complacent in keeping them. Preventing them from returning to their roots. The difficult decisions made by others for their protection at the time, but for some, for selfish reasons.
Once We Were Home is about reclaiming one’s identity through the grief and loss of discovery. The core struggle of reconciliations of faith and family.
Prose was lyrical. The story heartbreaking.
5⭐️
I highly recommend The Yellow Bird Sings by Rosner. Another powerful and emotional read.
4’displaced children. The war is over but there is another one rages. The war where children are stolen and not returned to their jewish families.
An annihilation of a faith. Of a people. Children passed around from place to place; country to country. Uprooted; confused; not knowing who they are and struggling with who they were. Memories fading. Secrets exposed.
How those who hid these children were complacent in keeping them. Preventing them from returning to their roots. The difficult decisions made by others for their protection at the time, but for some, for selfish reasons.
Once We Were Home is about reclaiming one’s identity through the grief and loss of discovery. The core struggle of reconciliations of faith and family.
Prose was lyrical. The story heartbreaking.
5⭐️
I highly recommend The Yellow Bird Sings by Rosner. Another powerful and emotional read.
February 17, 2023
I was so moved by Jennifer Rosner’s The Yellow Bird Sings. I was so taken with everything about it - the beautiful writing, characters to remember, a stunning story of the Holocaust. I found all of that in this, her second novel as well and oh my heart - to meet two of the characters again here.
I’m partial to voices of young children, the innocents, always so impressionable, yet they can be so wise. The points of view of three children and a woman in her 20’s in this Holocaust novel based on true stories is intimate, heart wrenching. It doesn’t take us to the camps to see the horrors of the annihilation of six million Jews, but is focused on survivors, children sent away by their families so they might live , saved by the kindness and bravery of those who took them in, hid them, and the courage of their families to send them away. Four characters whose stories are based on real stories captured my heart. The impact on their lives as they struggle through the years to find their identity, who their family is will give you pause. After the war they are taken by the Catholic Church that saved them to keep them Christian, or by the Jewish activists wanting to bring them back to their Jewish roots and take them to Israel, or by surviving family. The circumstances are complicated, the relationship and emotions are complex . Stolen, taken, saved - each thought they were doing what was right for these survivors.
Seven year old Roger sent to a monastery, a thinker even then, moved me to tears . “Roger recites as he's been taught, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned."
"How have you sinned?" Father Louis asks. Roger holds himself back from scratching the scabbed-over cut he got peeling potatoes. “I was born wrong … I was born to the wrong parents."” After the war he is taken from the priests who have stolen him to keep him Catholic. Roger wonders, Who does a soul belong to?”
Mira at seven and her brother Daniel at three, become Ana and Oskar taken in to be hidden by a Catholic woman and her husband as a return favor to their mother who wanted them to live. Ana confident at first in who she is, holding on to her Jewish identity even if in secret , but learning the prayers to teach Oscar to keep him safe. Oscar, too young to remember his mother, is secure in his belief that the kind people who hide them are his family .
Renata , a college student from London in Israel on an archeological dig questions her mother’s secrets of the past. Their paths cross in the most beautiful way and there is also joy to be found amidst the sorrow.
The novel is thought provoking and make no mistake, it is a Holocaust story, yet there are themes of love, of friendship, of who is our family, where our home is that are meaningful to all of us.
I received a copy of this book from Flatiron through Edelweiss.
I’m partial to voices of young children, the innocents, always so impressionable, yet they can be so wise. The points of view of three children and a woman in her 20’s in this Holocaust novel based on true stories is intimate, heart wrenching. It doesn’t take us to the camps to see the horrors of the annihilation of six million Jews, but is focused on survivors, children sent away by their families so they might live , saved by the kindness and bravery of those who took them in, hid them, and the courage of their families to send them away. Four characters whose stories are based on real stories captured my heart. The impact on their lives as they struggle through the years to find their identity, who their family is will give you pause. After the war they are taken by the Catholic Church that saved them to keep them Christian, or by the Jewish activists wanting to bring them back to their Jewish roots and take them to Israel, or by surviving family. The circumstances are complicated, the relationship and emotions are complex . Stolen, taken, saved - each thought they were doing what was right for these survivors.
Seven year old Roger sent to a monastery, a thinker even then, moved me to tears . “Roger recites as he's been taught, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned."
"How have you sinned?" Father Louis asks. Roger holds himself back from scratching the scabbed-over cut he got peeling potatoes. “I was born wrong … I was born to the wrong parents."” After the war he is taken from the priests who have stolen him to keep him Catholic. Roger wonders, Who does a soul belong to?”
Mira at seven and her brother Daniel at three, become Ana and Oskar taken in to be hidden by a Catholic woman and her husband as a return favor to their mother who wanted them to live. Ana confident at first in who she is, holding on to her Jewish identity even if in secret , but learning the prayers to teach Oscar to keep him safe. Oscar, too young to remember his mother, is secure in his belief that the kind people who hide them are his family .
Renata , a college student from London in Israel on an archeological dig questions her mother’s secrets of the past. Their paths cross in the most beautiful way and there is also joy to be found amidst the sorrow.
The novel is thought provoking and make no mistake, it is a Holocaust story, yet there are themes of love, of friendship, of who is our family, where our home is that are meaningful to all of us.
I received a copy of this book from Flatiron through Edelweiss.
March 26, 2023
Once We Were Home was the second book I had the pleasure of reading by Jennifer Rosner. I had previously read The Yellow Bird Sings and enjoyed it immensely so when I saw that she had written a new book I was excited to read it. Jennifer Rosner chose to write about the lives of several children during World War II and after. Her lyrical prose was based on true stories about some children whose parents were forced to make extremely difficult decisions in order to save their children from the atrocities carried out by the Nazis. Jennifer Rosner described in great detail the lives of these children during World War II and then once the war ended. She masterfully told the story of four different children that were displaced during World War II and the ongoing efforts of Jewish reclaiming organizations and surviving family members to find these children and reunite them with their families and religion.
During World War II and the Holocaust, some parents were forced to make heartbreaking decisions to ensure that their children would live and survive. In a ghetto in Poland, a brave yet desperate mother was forced to do just that for her seven year old daughter, Mira and her young three year old son, Daniel. Ana’s mother was about to do the hardest thing she had ever imagined. She was about to relinquish her children to a Polish farmer and his wife. Agata and Jozef had never had children of their own. In order to hide Mira and Daniel, Agata and Jozef registered them with the church as Agata’s sister’s children and renamed them Anastazja (Ana for short) and Oskar. Ana and Oskar were given these new names and were brought up Catholic.
Roger was brought to a monastery in France when he was practically a baby to be brought up by the nuns and priests. He was a very curious boy and always posed a multitude of questions to whoever would listen to him. To protect Roger, he was brought up Catholic and lived in the orphanage among the many nuns and priests. Growing up amongst the nuns and priests, Roger loved telling stories and was later encouraged by one of the nuns to write them down. Roger had one friend named Henri that he enjoyed sharing riddles and his stories with.
Renata was told from a young age not to reveal that she was originally from Germany. Her parents had always told her to tell others she was from Switzerland. She was brought up in England after she and her parents fled from Germany when she was a little girl. The reasons for their sudden departure from Germany was never revealed to Renata and Renata never pressured her parents enough to get adequate answers. Renata’s mother had just died so those questions would never be answered. In 1968, Renata, twenty-eight years old, now a post graduate student, found herself in Jerusalem on an archaeological dig with her fellow students from Oxford.
After World War II and the Holocaust, Jewish Reclamation Organizations and long lost relatives came forward to retrieve Jewish children that had been hidden during the war. These Jewish children had lived with Catholic families, priests and the nuns that had taken them in. Many of the children were now looked upon by the Church as being Catholic. Some of these children had even been baptized, learned the Catholic prayers and rituals and even thought of themselves as Catholic.
Roger had been secretly taken by one of the priests over the Pyrenees to hide in Spain when his aunt (his father’s sister) attempted to reunite with Roger from Israel. She had survived the Holocaust and was living in Israel. She wanted Roger to come live with her very much. The church saw Roger as Catholic and did not want to lose one of their own so they attempted to kidnap him. A representative from a Reclamation Organization came to Agata’s and Josef’s farm to take Ana and Oskar to Israel to live among others of the Jewish faith and that had also lost family in the Holocaust. Renata and her family had fled from Germany shortly after the war and she was always sworn to secrecy about her origins. These complex relationships, reasons and decisions that were made for these children affected them throughout their childhood and into adulthood. It was extremely sad that so many Jewish children were denied the lives they should have been able to live with their own parents because of the Holocaust. In the name of safety and survival, these Jewish children were indoctrinated into the ways of the church and lived with the families that agreed to take them in, hide them and keep them safe. How many of these children had assimilated so well into their new lives that their pasts were erased from their limited and dwindling memories? So many of these children were so young when they were placed with these new families. It was probably hard for them to remember much if anything about their former lives or families. How many of these children, over time, slowly forgot where they had come from and how they were raised?
I was surprised to discover how many of these families tried to deny the children they were charged with, the chance to be reunited with their family members that had survived the Holocaust. How confusing it must have been for these children! It is hard to believe that the church and the families that had taken these Jewish children in during the Holocaust often refused to relinquish these children from their hold after the war ended.
Ana, Oskar, Roger and Renata rebuilt their lives over time. They all found themselves living in Israel. It was there, in Israel, that with the help from others that understood their history and needs that they were finally able to begin to find the answers to their many questions, and that they were able to forge a path towards their acceptance of their past.
These four characters that Jennifer Rosner described so vividly were each affected by their own traumatic experiences during the Holocaust. Their experiences affected their lives in similar and different ways. Jennifer Rosner masterfully addressed the subjects that affected each one of these characters in her book. Other authors have written about the many children that were hidden in Catholic orphanages or taken in by and hidden by non-Jewish families in order to save them from the atrocities the Nazis were committing against the Jewish population of Europe. None have ever addressed, as far as I know, the noncompliance of those charged with keeping these children safe during the Holocaust, in returning these children to Jewish organizations or surviving family members. I do not believe that the trauma these decisions had on these children have ever been addressed either. In my opinion, Jennifer Rosner’s impeccable research and numerous interviews helped her present the impact these subjects played on each character in a very believable way. Once We Were Home was about survival, adaptability, loss, fear, survival, family, love, acceptance and longing. I was so completely taken by the stories of Ana, Oskar, Roger and Renata. I highly recommend Once We Were Home by Jennifer Rosner.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook of Once We Were Home by Jennifer Rosner through Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
During World War II and the Holocaust, some parents were forced to make heartbreaking decisions to ensure that their children would live and survive. In a ghetto in Poland, a brave yet desperate mother was forced to do just that for her seven year old daughter, Mira and her young three year old son, Daniel. Ana’s mother was about to do the hardest thing she had ever imagined. She was about to relinquish her children to a Polish farmer and his wife. Agata and Jozef had never had children of their own. In order to hide Mira and Daniel, Agata and Jozef registered them with the church as Agata’s sister’s children and renamed them Anastazja (Ana for short) and Oskar. Ana and Oskar were given these new names and were brought up Catholic.
Roger was brought to a monastery in France when he was practically a baby to be brought up by the nuns and priests. He was a very curious boy and always posed a multitude of questions to whoever would listen to him. To protect Roger, he was brought up Catholic and lived in the orphanage among the many nuns and priests. Growing up amongst the nuns and priests, Roger loved telling stories and was later encouraged by one of the nuns to write them down. Roger had one friend named Henri that he enjoyed sharing riddles and his stories with.
Renata was told from a young age not to reveal that she was originally from Germany. Her parents had always told her to tell others she was from Switzerland. She was brought up in England after she and her parents fled from Germany when she was a little girl. The reasons for their sudden departure from Germany was never revealed to Renata and Renata never pressured her parents enough to get adequate answers. Renata’s mother had just died so those questions would never be answered. In 1968, Renata, twenty-eight years old, now a post graduate student, found herself in Jerusalem on an archaeological dig with her fellow students from Oxford.
After World War II and the Holocaust, Jewish Reclamation Organizations and long lost relatives came forward to retrieve Jewish children that had been hidden during the war. These Jewish children had lived with Catholic families, priests and the nuns that had taken them in. Many of the children were now looked upon by the Church as being Catholic. Some of these children had even been baptized, learned the Catholic prayers and rituals and even thought of themselves as Catholic.
Roger had been secretly taken by one of the priests over the Pyrenees to hide in Spain when his aunt (his father’s sister) attempted to reunite with Roger from Israel. She had survived the Holocaust and was living in Israel. She wanted Roger to come live with her very much. The church saw Roger as Catholic and did not want to lose one of their own so they attempted to kidnap him. A representative from a Reclamation Organization came to Agata’s and Josef’s farm to take Ana and Oskar to Israel to live among others of the Jewish faith and that had also lost family in the Holocaust. Renata and her family had fled from Germany shortly after the war and she was always sworn to secrecy about her origins. These complex relationships, reasons and decisions that were made for these children affected them throughout their childhood and into adulthood. It was extremely sad that so many Jewish children were denied the lives they should have been able to live with their own parents because of the Holocaust. In the name of safety and survival, these Jewish children were indoctrinated into the ways of the church and lived with the families that agreed to take them in, hide them and keep them safe. How many of these children had assimilated so well into their new lives that their pasts were erased from their limited and dwindling memories? So many of these children were so young when they were placed with these new families. It was probably hard for them to remember much if anything about their former lives or families. How many of these children, over time, slowly forgot where they had come from and how they were raised?
I was surprised to discover how many of these families tried to deny the children they were charged with, the chance to be reunited with their family members that had survived the Holocaust. How confusing it must have been for these children! It is hard to believe that the church and the families that had taken these Jewish children in during the Holocaust often refused to relinquish these children from their hold after the war ended.
Ana, Oskar, Roger and Renata rebuilt their lives over time. They all found themselves living in Israel. It was there, in Israel, that with the help from others that understood their history and needs that they were finally able to begin to find the answers to their many questions, and that they were able to forge a path towards their acceptance of their past.
These four characters that Jennifer Rosner described so vividly were each affected by their own traumatic experiences during the Holocaust. Their experiences affected their lives in similar and different ways. Jennifer Rosner masterfully addressed the subjects that affected each one of these characters in her book. Other authors have written about the many children that were hidden in Catholic orphanages or taken in by and hidden by non-Jewish families in order to save them from the atrocities the Nazis were committing against the Jewish population of Europe. None have ever addressed, as far as I know, the noncompliance of those charged with keeping these children safe during the Holocaust, in returning these children to Jewish organizations or surviving family members. I do not believe that the trauma these decisions had on these children have ever been addressed either. In my opinion, Jennifer Rosner’s impeccable research and numerous interviews helped her present the impact these subjects played on each character in a very believable way. Once We Were Home was about survival, adaptability, loss, fear, survival, family, love, acceptance and longing. I was so completely taken by the stories of Ana, Oskar, Roger and Renata. I highly recommend Once We Were Home by Jennifer Rosner.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook of Once We Were Home by Jennifer Rosner through Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
April 13, 2023
I’ve read a couple books in the last year focused on children during World War II. Once We Were Home is the intricately plotted stories of Ana and her brother Oskar, at first sent by their mother to live with a Christian family, Roger, and Renata. I’m treading super lightly here so I don’t give away anything about how their lives develop and come together. It was so thoughtful and well-done.
What I noticed first when reading Once We Were Home is how the purposeful and clear writing allowed me to deeply connect to the story and its characters. My heart ached for the children and all the questions raised when having “good intentions” (and not at all good intentions) while causing harm to innocent children.
Overall, this is a can’t-miss work of historical fiction and receives my highest recommendation.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
What I noticed first when reading Once We Were Home is how the purposeful and clear writing allowed me to deeply connect to the story and its characters. My heart ached for the children and all the questions raised when having “good intentions” (and not at all good intentions) while causing harm to innocent children.
Overall, this is a can’t-miss work of historical fiction and receives my highest recommendation.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
December 27, 2025
Leading up to and during World War II, some Jewish children in Europe were hidden with Christian families, or in convents, or in monasteries, or in churches, etc., to protect the youngsters from the Nazis.
The idea was for Jewish survivors to retrieve the children after the war. Author Jennifer Rosner, who did extensive research on the subject, and interviewed many people, addresses this topic in her fiction book 'Once We Were Home.'
I heard Rosner speak about her novel, and she emphasized the difficult situations that sometimes arose from secreting Jewish children (which only saved a tiny percentage of Jewish kids, by the way). Some 'foster parents' came to love the children as their own and vice versa; some church organizations baptized the children and refused to return them; some Jewish kids came to think of themselves as Christian; etc.
For the decimated Jewish population, getting these children back after the war was of paramount importance. Jewish survivors would use bribes, payoffs, lawsuits, or even kidnapping to bring the kids home. Some children were reunited with European families, and some were taken to Israel, to live on kibbutzim.
Rosner, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy, observes there wasn't always a 'right thing to do,' as shown in this novel.
*****
There are several 'displaced' characters in 'Once We Were Home.'
Roger: During World War II, Roger is a smart, inquisitive French schoolboy living in the Convent Sainte Marie de Sion. Roger likes to write stories; enjoys sharing jokes and riddles with his best friend Henri; goes to prayer services morning and evening; attends the convent school; and has a favorite teacher, Sister Brigitte, who encourages Roger to ask questions.
Roger's sponsor, a woman named Madame Mercier, tells Roger his Jewish parents took the 'wrong road' and arranges for the boy to be baptized. Roger doesn't comprehend what the 'wrong road' is and wonders about his Jewish family.
When World War II is over, Roger's aunt wants him back. The church, determined to save Roger's soul, sends him on the run with a monk, who takes Roger over the snowy mountains (on foot) to Spain. Meanwhile, Roger's aunt petitions the church and the courts again and again and again.
*****
Mira and Daniel: Near the middle of World War II, Mira Kowalski, her little brother Daniel, and their parents live in a Jewish ghetto in Poland.
One morning the children's mother bundles them up and brings them to the farmhouse of childless Christian acquaintances, the Dąbrowskis.
The kids are told to call the lady of the house Ciocia (Aunt) Agata and the man of the house Wujek (Uncle) Jósef. The children are also informed they'll now be called Anastazja and Oskar. The youngsters are understandably bereft and bewildered, not understanding what's happening.
The Dąbrowskis spread the word that they're looking after a niece and nephew, and Oskar is told never to go swimming with the local boys or let them see him in the privy (since he's circumcised). In time Anastazja and Oskar become an integral part of the Dąbrowski household, and come to love Agata and Oskar.
The children's parents perish during the war, and when the allies win, Jewish agents come to take the kids to Israel. Neither the Dąbrowskis or the children are up for this plan.
*****
Renata: We first meet Renata in 1968, when she's a British graduate student on an archaeological dig in Israel.
Renata's mother recently died, and Renata is in deep mourning. As Renata works on the dig, she thinks back to her childhood during World War II, when she lived in Germany with her mom - a talented baker and pastry decorator. Renata's mother was loving, but secretive and anxious.
After the war, Renata and her mother moved to Britain, and Renata was told never to talk about Germany or her childhood. Renata's mom seems to be concealing some huge secret, and as the story unfolds, we find this has something to do with Hitler’s Lebensborn program, where attractive blonde Polish babies were snatched and 'aryanized' in German homes.
*****
We follow Roger, Anastazja, and Oskar over the years, until their story lines - and Renata's - converge in Israel. By now all the characters are adults and pursuing their lives and career paths. Everyone learns things about themselves over time, and for some, shocking secrets come to light.
The book is compelling and tells a revealing tale about this period of history.
I prefer the first part of the book, because the latter sections have a kind of romantic 'fairy tale vibe' I don't connect with. Regardless, this is a very good book, highly recommended.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
February 20, 2023
Dear Readers,
ONCE WE WERE HOME is my second novel! My other writings include the novel, THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS, a Massachusetts Fiction Honors Book and National Jewish Book Award finalist in Debut Fiction and Book Club; the memoir, IF A TREE FALLS: A FAMILY'S QUEST TO HEAR AND BE HEARD; and the picture book, THE MITTEN STRING, A Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable.
ONCE WE WERE HOME weaves together the fictional lives of four children displaced in the wake of World War II. Ana and her little brother, Oskar, have lived out the war hidden by a Polish couple on their farm. Roger has been raised in a convent. Renata believes her German parents are her own. What happens when the war ends and the children are wrenched from what they now consider their families? Or when the people who harbored them refuse to let them go? Decades later, as their stories converge in Israel in unexpected ways, they each must ask where and to whom they truly belong. Based on true stories, the novel raises questions of complicity and responsibility, identity and belonging, good intentions and unforeseen consequences, as it confronts what it really means to find home.
**For readers of The Yellow Bird Sings, there is a return of characters and storyline:) though both books can stand alone.
Below are several wonderful reviews by fellow authors I deeply admire:
“Jennifer Rosner is one of my favorite authors, and she writes with the pen and heart of a poet. Her Once We Were Home is the poignant, moving, and unforgettable story of Ana, Oskar, Roger, and Renata, each taken from their families as children during wartime. Rosner enlightens us about a little-known but vital part of world history, and at the same time uplifts us with how this foursome grows to adulthood, claims their identity, and finds love and family of their own.”
―Lisa Scottoline, #1 bestselling author of What Happened to the Bennetts and Eternal
"Once We Were Home is the rarest literary bird: breathlessly tense and gorgeously lyrical at the same time (that sweet spot most authors can only dream of!). Rosner immerses her reader in a world full of loss, longing, and mystery, and all the while her ear is tuned to the music of language. I'm in awe of this beautiful novel."
―Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send For Me
“Once We Were Home is a tour-de-force. With delicacy and empathy, Rosner examines the aftermath of war on four displaced children. A timely read, searing and utterly unforgettable.
―Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code
“Lush, transportive, and heartbreaking. The poetic Rosner is a gifted storyteller, and here, in crafting the story of young survivors who find their way to Israel in different ways, she asks us to consider the true meaning of home and family in a world turned upside down. Astonishing in both its detail and its lyricism, and thrilling in its scope, Once We Were Home soars.”
―Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars
“A spell-binding tapestry, with countless twists, turns, and stunning revelations along the way. Rosner’s ability to conjure the hearts and minds of these children is nothing short of miraculous; it’s impossible not to fall in love with them, and even harder to let them go at the end of the book. Not only is Once We Were Home a gripping story, but it’s also a profound meditation on what it means to belong, to feel at home; to be reconnected with one’s identity, family, and faith.”
―Helen Fremont, national bestselling author of The Escape Artist
"Under the talented pen of Jennifer Rosner, simple prose turns into poetry and ordinary stories become complex, poignant. I found this forgotten history of displaced WWII children and the return to their roots captivating, thought-provoking, enlightening, and bittersweet."
―Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris
“Rarely have I read such subtle and precise prose, and rarely have I been more moved. One turns the final page with tears of happiness and satisfaction, but above all, with a new appreciation for our unknowable connections, our shared humanity, and our universal desire for home.”
―Natalie Jenner, internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls
“Utterly gorgeous! This lyrical story of lives in the aftermath of war and displacement breaks our hearts, and mends them back into a stronger love.”
―Meg Waite Clayton, internationally bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris and The Last Train to London
Thank you, thank you for pre-ordering, reading, and reviewing Once We Were Home. I am so grateful for your interest in my writing.
ONCE WE WERE HOME is my second novel! My other writings include the novel, THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS, a Massachusetts Fiction Honors Book and National Jewish Book Award finalist in Debut Fiction and Book Club; the memoir, IF A TREE FALLS: A FAMILY'S QUEST TO HEAR AND BE HEARD; and the picture book, THE MITTEN STRING, A Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable.
ONCE WE WERE HOME weaves together the fictional lives of four children displaced in the wake of World War II. Ana and her little brother, Oskar, have lived out the war hidden by a Polish couple on their farm. Roger has been raised in a convent. Renata believes her German parents are her own. What happens when the war ends and the children are wrenched from what they now consider their families? Or when the people who harbored them refuse to let them go? Decades later, as their stories converge in Israel in unexpected ways, they each must ask where and to whom they truly belong. Based on true stories, the novel raises questions of complicity and responsibility, identity and belonging, good intentions and unforeseen consequences, as it confronts what it really means to find home.
**For readers of The Yellow Bird Sings, there is a return of characters and storyline:) though both books can stand alone.
Below are several wonderful reviews by fellow authors I deeply admire:
“Jennifer Rosner is one of my favorite authors, and she writes with the pen and heart of a poet. Her Once We Were Home is the poignant, moving, and unforgettable story of Ana, Oskar, Roger, and Renata, each taken from their families as children during wartime. Rosner enlightens us about a little-known but vital part of world history, and at the same time uplifts us with how this foursome grows to adulthood, claims their identity, and finds love and family of their own.”
―Lisa Scottoline, #1 bestselling author of What Happened to the Bennetts and Eternal
"Once We Were Home is the rarest literary bird: breathlessly tense and gorgeously lyrical at the same time (that sweet spot most authors can only dream of!). Rosner immerses her reader in a world full of loss, longing, and mystery, and all the while her ear is tuned to the music of language. I'm in awe of this beautiful novel."
―Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send For Me
“Once We Were Home is a tour-de-force. With delicacy and empathy, Rosner examines the aftermath of war on four displaced children. A timely read, searing and utterly unforgettable.
―Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code
“Lush, transportive, and heartbreaking. The poetic Rosner is a gifted storyteller, and here, in crafting the story of young survivors who find their way to Israel in different ways, she asks us to consider the true meaning of home and family in a world turned upside down. Astonishing in both its detail and its lyricism, and thrilling in its scope, Once We Were Home soars.”
―Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars
“A spell-binding tapestry, with countless twists, turns, and stunning revelations along the way. Rosner’s ability to conjure the hearts and minds of these children is nothing short of miraculous; it’s impossible not to fall in love with them, and even harder to let them go at the end of the book. Not only is Once We Were Home a gripping story, but it’s also a profound meditation on what it means to belong, to feel at home; to be reconnected with one’s identity, family, and faith.”
―Helen Fremont, national bestselling author of The Escape Artist
"Under the talented pen of Jennifer Rosner, simple prose turns into poetry and ordinary stories become complex, poignant. I found this forgotten history of displaced WWII children and the return to their roots captivating, thought-provoking, enlightening, and bittersweet."
―Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris
“Rarely have I read such subtle and precise prose, and rarely have I been more moved. One turns the final page with tears of happiness and satisfaction, but above all, with a new appreciation for our unknowable connections, our shared humanity, and our universal desire for home.”
―Natalie Jenner, internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls
“Utterly gorgeous! This lyrical story of lives in the aftermath of war and displacement breaks our hearts, and mends them back into a stronger love.”
―Meg Waite Clayton, internationally bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris and The Last Train to London
Thank you, thank you for pre-ordering, reading, and reviewing Once We Were Home. I am so grateful for your interest in my writing.
March 17, 2023
Ana and her baby brother Oskar, are smuggled out of the Polish ghetto, their mother and sick father remain behind. Farmers Agata and Jozef Dabrowskis, agree to look after Ana and Oskar and of course they have to change the children's names. As time goes on, Ana remembers her parents and Oskar doesn’t, when a woman from the Jewish reclamation organization snatches them, Oskar is very upset and Ana is hopeful.
Roger, grows up in a monastery in France, he and his friend Henri like to have fun making up stories and telling jokes. His aunt lives in Jerusalem, she has been looking for Roger for years and the church has been reluctant to give him back. Father Jacques and Roger cross the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain and he eventually makes it to Israel. Roger lives with his aunt, uncle and their five children and Roger misses his best friend and Brother Jacques.
Renata, has finished her degree at Oxford University, she travels to Jerusalem and she's an archaeologist. Renata’s mothers has recently passed away, she was always told by her to say she was born in Switzerland and not Germany. Renata is grieving for her mum, she wishes she asked more questions about why they left Germany and now it’s too late.
Twenty years later, the three main characters of Ana, Oskar and Roger are trying to make a life for themselves in Israel, all are dealing with issues from their traumatic childhoods, nightmares, having trouble forming romantic relationships, not sure if they want to get married and have children. Renata and Roger meet, and everything is going fine until she mentions one thing!
I received a copy of Once We Were Here by Jennifer Rosner from Edelweiss and Flatrion Books in exchange for an honest review. In her narrative, Ms. Rosner explores what happened to Jewish children during the Holocaust, how far desperate families went to protect their children and I can’t imagine how traumatic this experience was for the parents and children. Some children lived with Christian families and attended church, many were hidden in orphanages and monasteries, and others spent years hidden in attics and behind false walls.
Thousands of Polish children were kidnapped, given to German couples to raise and as part of the Lebensborn program. Numerous were never reunited with their parents, they didn’t know their real names, where they were born, others felt guilty for not looking after younger siblings as instructed and that’s a terrible burden for a child to carry. A historical fiction story that makes you think about life, family heritage and culture, persecution and religious beliefs and the repercussions. I highly recommend, Once We Were Home and the authors previous novel, The Yellow Bird Sings and four stars from me.
Roger, grows up in a monastery in France, he and his friend Henri like to have fun making up stories and telling jokes. His aunt lives in Jerusalem, she has been looking for Roger for years and the church has been reluctant to give him back. Father Jacques and Roger cross the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain and he eventually makes it to Israel. Roger lives with his aunt, uncle and their five children and Roger misses his best friend and Brother Jacques.
Renata, has finished her degree at Oxford University, she travels to Jerusalem and she's an archaeologist. Renata’s mothers has recently passed away, she was always told by her to say she was born in Switzerland and not Germany. Renata is grieving for her mum, she wishes she asked more questions about why they left Germany and now it’s too late.
Twenty years later, the three main characters of Ana, Oskar and Roger are trying to make a life for themselves in Israel, all are dealing with issues from their traumatic childhoods, nightmares, having trouble forming romantic relationships, not sure if they want to get married and have children. Renata and Roger meet, and everything is going fine until she mentions one thing!
I received a copy of Once We Were Here by Jennifer Rosner from Edelweiss and Flatrion Books in exchange for an honest review. In her narrative, Ms. Rosner explores what happened to Jewish children during the Holocaust, how far desperate families went to protect their children and I can’t imagine how traumatic this experience was for the parents and children. Some children lived with Christian families and attended church, many were hidden in orphanages and monasteries, and others spent years hidden in attics and behind false walls.
Thousands of Polish children were kidnapped, given to German couples to raise and as part of the Lebensborn program. Numerous were never reunited with their parents, they didn’t know their real names, where they were born, others felt guilty for not looking after younger siblings as instructed and that’s a terrible burden for a child to carry. A historical fiction story that makes you think about life, family heritage and culture, persecution and religious beliefs and the repercussions. I highly recommend, Once We Were Home and the authors previous novel, The Yellow Bird Sings and four stars from me.
September 24, 2022
Rarely have I read such subtle and precise prose, and rarely have I been more moved. A hallmark of Rosner's brilliance as a writer is her deceptively calm and unpretentious style. Each story within ONCE WE WERE HOME--each folktale or riddle--each and every word--sits so perfectly inside the others, just like the nesting boxes that figure in several characters' lives. The result is that richest of reading experiences, where one turns the final page with tears of happiness and satisfaction, but above all, with a new appreciation for our unknowable connections, our shared humanity, and our universal desire for home.
March 26, 2023
Beautifully told in her mesmerizing style, Jennifer Rosner introduces us to four characters who suffered through the war and beyond.
We meet Ana and Oskar whose mother had to give her children to a Polish family who would raise them as their own to keep them safe.
The children had a wonderful life of learning and love but a life that heart-wrenchingly changed after the war.
Where will Ana and Oskar end up?
We meet Roger who grew up in a convent to be kept safe, who was very inquisitive, a clever, witty writer of stories and jokes, and sadly had no parents to go home with on holidays.
We find out what happens to him and where he goes.
We meet Renata as an adult who is a scientist in Israel at an archeological dig. We learn of Israel’s beauty as Renata takes side trips to Tel Aviv and other places.
On her shopping trip she finds a hand-chiseled chessboard and an ornately carved set of nesting boxes.
Could the craftsman in the shop be none other than Oskar whose uncle taught him to whittle and make beautiful shapes out of wood?
I will dearly miss the characters…especially Oskar….he was my favorite.
It also was fun to see our favorite violinist again from THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS.
Another beautiful, beautiful but heartbreaking-to-the-core read based on true events.
ONCE WE WERE HOME does have some happy stories tucked inside as well, along with comments you will ponder, and thoughts about life’s worries and lessons.
Historical fiction fans will devour this marvelously written, impeccably researched read where Ms. Rosner introduces readers to a little known program organized after the war for displaced children.
Ms. Rosner’s writing is exquisite. 5/5
The book was given to me by the author for an honest review.
We meet Ana and Oskar whose mother had to give her children to a Polish family who would raise them as their own to keep them safe.
The children had a wonderful life of learning and love but a life that heart-wrenchingly changed after the war.
Where will Ana and Oskar end up?
We meet Roger who grew up in a convent to be kept safe, who was very inquisitive, a clever, witty writer of stories and jokes, and sadly had no parents to go home with on holidays.
We find out what happens to him and where he goes.
We meet Renata as an adult who is a scientist in Israel at an archeological dig. We learn of Israel’s beauty as Renata takes side trips to Tel Aviv and other places.
On her shopping trip she finds a hand-chiseled chessboard and an ornately carved set of nesting boxes.
Could the craftsman in the shop be none other than Oskar whose uncle taught him to whittle and make beautiful shapes out of wood?
I will dearly miss the characters…especially Oskar….he was my favorite.
It also was fun to see our favorite violinist again from THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS.
Another beautiful, beautiful but heartbreaking-to-the-core read based on true events.
ONCE WE WERE HOME does have some happy stories tucked inside as well, along with comments you will ponder, and thoughts about life’s worries and lessons.
Historical fiction fans will devour this marvelously written, impeccably researched read where Ms. Rosner introduces readers to a little known program organized after the war for displaced children.
Ms. Rosner’s writing is exquisite. 5/5
The book was given to me by the author for an honest review.
April 19, 2023
The basic premise of this book was wonderful. The book, however, was so scattered and disjointed that I had to read reviews of it just to understand what was going on. I really wanted to like this book and because of the history of the children of the Holocaust, I did but only the history. Aside from that, I couldn't get my head and heart around it. Too much back and forth on this one with not a lot of explanation about what was happening.
February 21, 2023
Jennifer Rosner what a great author you are. The novel is thought provoking and it is a Holocaust story, with themes of love, of friendship, of who is our family, where our home is that are meaningful to all of us. Another beautiful but heartbreaking read based on true events. Ms. Rosner introduces readers to a little known program organized after the war for displaced children. Highly recomend.
April 24, 2023
5.0
Displaced, conceal, protect…
No goodbyes…
Roger, Ana, Oskar, and Renata’s stories merge in Israel, post-war. All were removed or stolen during wartime and relocated .
Roger was placed at 3yo in a French monastery . He has been baptized Catholic, but the church can no longer resist the court system. Roger has been “harbored, hidden, sanctified, saved,” and now been claimed by his Jewish aunt from Israel.
Brother and sister Oskar and Ana (Daniel & Mira) are taken to the Dabrowski family farm in Poland . Oskar learns to whittle, play chess, and tend to farm duties. Ana remembers their parents but Oskar doesn’t remember, and considers the Dabrowskis his family.
When they are relocated again, Ana sees it as a way to reconnect with her roots but Oskar sees it as a loss of home and family.
Renata is an archeology grad student currently on a dig in Israel. Her mother recently died; she never told Renata the truth about her past.
We will learn about their past and future struggles amid the uncertainties of life. It will be a voyage of discovery for all .
* STUNNING!
* I enjoyed the significance of the nesting boxes and chess sets!
* A very tender, moving story .
* A story of relationships
* Highly recommend!
Displaced, conceal, protect…
No goodbyes…
Roger, Ana, Oskar, and Renata’s stories merge in Israel, post-war. All were removed or stolen during wartime and relocated .
Roger was placed at 3yo in a French monastery . He has been baptized Catholic, but the church can no longer resist the court system. Roger has been “harbored, hidden, sanctified, saved,” and now been claimed by his Jewish aunt from Israel.
Brother and sister Oskar and Ana (Daniel & Mira) are taken to the Dabrowski family farm in Poland . Oskar learns to whittle, play chess, and tend to farm duties. Ana remembers their parents but Oskar doesn’t remember, and considers the Dabrowskis his family.
When they are relocated again, Ana sees it as a way to reconnect with her roots but Oskar sees it as a loss of home and family.
Renata is an archeology grad student currently on a dig in Israel. Her mother recently died; she never told Renata the truth about her past.
We will learn about their past and future struggles amid the uncertainties of life. It will be a voyage of discovery for all .
* STUNNING!
* I enjoyed the significance of the nesting boxes and chess sets!
* A very tender, moving story .
* A story of relationships
* Highly recommend!
November 22, 2022
I was incredibly moved by this story. This author does a wondrous job of opening our hearts and minds to a little remembered tragedy of war. During WWII, an untold number of Jewish children were ousted from their homes and hidden within Christian families or sent to orphanages, with some of the children having little understanding of what was happening to them. Seen through the eyes of several of these children, the ones who lost their homes, their parents, and their heritage, the reader is taken on a journey of discovery with them to find themselves, where they will ultimately call home, and who they will call family. This book and its characters are going to stay with me for a very long time.
December 1, 2022
Wow. I am still processing Once We Were Home, Jennifer Rosner's follow-up novel to one of my all times faves The Yellow Bird Sings. I finished this gorgeous World War II historical fiction novel almost 2 weeks ago and I can't stop thinking about Roger, Ana, and Oskar.
Once again, I have learned something. While I had some knowledge of what happened to Jewish children during the Holocaust, I didn't realize the extent to which families went to protest their children - placing them with strangers, sending them to live in Christian orphanages, etc. I really just assumed that those children who survived must have survived with their families. I certainly had no idea the lengths to which people on both sides - Christian and Jewish - went in order to "do what they thought was right" for these lost children of the Holocaust.
This is the kind of book that will really make you think about yourself, your identity, what makes you who you are, who or what your family is, and what it means to make a home. Watching these characters struggle into adulthood really broke me When I watch current events and hear the anti-Semitism that still exists today, 60+ years later....when are we going to break the cycle.
Once again, I have learned something. While I had some knowledge of what happened to Jewish children during the Holocaust, I didn't realize the extent to which families went to protest their children - placing them with strangers, sending them to live in Christian orphanages, etc. I really just assumed that those children who survived must have survived with their families. I certainly had no idea the lengths to which people on both sides - Christian and Jewish - went in order to "do what they thought was right" for these lost children of the Holocaust.
This is the kind of book that will really make you think about yourself, your identity, what makes you who you are, who or what your family is, and what it means to make a home. Watching these characters struggle into adulthood really broke me When I watch current events and hear the anti-Semitism that still exists today, 60+ years later....when are we going to break the cycle.
November 5, 2023
This was absolutely beautifully written, but incredibly painful and heart wrenching. A story that needed to be told, but I went through the pangs. There is an uplifting ending, but scars remain forever.
April 14, 2023
TITLE: ONCE WE WERE HOME
AUTHOR: Jennifer Rosner
PUB DATE: 03.14.2023 Now Available
SYNOPSIS: Swipe Above
When I read THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS a few years ago, and became fully immersed into Rosa and Shiraz’s lives, I knew I was a fan of Jennifer Rosner’s writing.
In ONCE WE WERE HOME, Rosner again captures my heart with the children’s stories who were displaced during the war, and answers the question of what home is in this thought provoking and poignant read. Based on real stories and impeccable research I can only imagine the trials and tribulations each of these lives go through when each finds the meaning of home just a little bit different.
A triumphant novel that is an enlightening read that needs to be in every historical fiction readers’ must read list.
AUTHOR: Jennifer Rosner
PUB DATE: 03.14.2023 Now Available
SYNOPSIS: Swipe Above
When I read THE YELLOW BIRD SINGS a few years ago, and became fully immersed into Rosa and Shiraz’s lives, I knew I was a fan of Jennifer Rosner’s writing.
In ONCE WE WERE HOME, Rosner again captures my heart with the children’s stories who were displaced during the war, and answers the question of what home is in this thought provoking and poignant read. Based on real stories and impeccable research I can only imagine the trials and tribulations each of these lives go through when each finds the meaning of home just a little bit different.
A triumphant novel that is an enlightening read that needs to be in every historical fiction readers’ must read list.
March 15, 2023
A beautifully crafted and important story examining the lives of Jewish children separated from their families during the Holocaust and the tragic aftermath. The narrator was excellent and the story heartfelt and heartbreaking.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, Flatiron Books and Jennifer Rosner for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, Flatiron Books and Jennifer Rosner for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
April 1, 2023
Tough subject matter. While this is a fictional account, the historical aspect was taken from nonfiction accounts during World War II. Children were displaced in an effort to save their lives. Many were placed in homes and not allowed to mention or follow their Jewish teachings. In the story of a little boy too young to process, he cannot swim or be seen naked with other boys. There are foods that separate classes. This was heartbreaking at too may levels to list.
I have read too many to count WW II books. I made my mind up, no more fiction. People are writing the same thing over and over. Even in my nonfiction readings I had no recollection of displaced children.
I have read too many to count WW II books. I made my mind up, no more fiction. People are writing the same thing over and over. Even in my nonfiction readings I had no recollection of displaced children.
January 7, 2023
This story follows multiple cases of children stolen during wartime. Ana, Oskar, Roger, and Renata have all built new lives for themselves over the past 2 decades. But as their stories converge in Israel they must finally face the true stories of their past.
Wow, this was a pretty intense historical fiction novel. Jennifer Rosner did an excellent job to develop these characters and I was absolutely sucked in to their stories. I will not forget this one, as it was perfectly written and felt very real. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction!
Many thanks to @suzyapprovedbooktours, Jennifer Rosner, and Flatiron Books for my ARC.
This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
Wow, this was a pretty intense historical fiction novel. Jennifer Rosner did an excellent job to develop these characters and I was absolutely sucked in to their stories. I will not forget this one, as it was perfectly written and felt very real. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction!
Many thanks to @suzyapprovedbooktours, Jennifer Rosner, and Flatiron Books for my ARC.
This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.
September 29, 2024
I received an ARC of this book. As a Jew who has spent my whole life obsessing over the events surrounding the Holocaust and has read lots of Holocaust historical fiction, I honestly was so close to giving this book 5 stars. Docked a star for a few reasons though - 1) one of the characters speaks for a few sentences toward the end of their own suicidal ideations, including an idea of how they would do it, which I didn't feel added to the story and found it slightly triggering, and 2) for a book that correctly references the land as Palestine or "British-mandated Palestine" throughout, and which references mandatory Israeli military service and the wars in Israel in the 40s through 60s many times, the book mentions how "all religions converge there" one time, but other than that only mentions Christianity and Judaism, and does not touch on any of the actual Palestinian people living there, or on any of the ways the Jewish migration into Palestine effected them. I understand that the book is inherently about Jews who were hidden by Christians and survived WWII and made it to Palestine, and it is their stories being told, but it is unrealistic to ignore the Palestinian population in the land considering the high tensions which have always existed.
December 28, 2022
Once We Were Home by Jennifer Rosner is the thoughtful and heartbreakingly beautiful story of displaced children in Europe following WW2 and their struggle to find what was stolen from them—identity, family, and a sense of belonging. The book focuses on the aftermath and consequences of the decisions made on behalf of these children.
Once We Were Home is one of those special books that will stay with me. Fans of Ruta Sepetys will appreciate this author’s focus on bringing little known history to light. I highly recommend this intricately layered story. This would also be a wonderful book club selection.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Once We Were Home is one of those special books that will stay with me. Fans of Ruta Sepetys will appreciate this author’s focus on bringing little known history to light. I highly recommend this intricately layered story. This would also be a wonderful book club selection.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
April 17, 2023
I didn’t love this. Going back & forth between the characters without seeing connections until the very end was rough. Interesting period in history though - learned a lot
August 25, 2023
I would give this more stars, if possible. My favorite book of the year! This is the story of three young children who are given away for safety during the Holocaust. They can’t be reunited with parents, but after the war, there is a lot of push and pull about what to do with them. The book follows them in the aftermath. The damage of lost family rings throughout the novel. So, so good!
August 17, 2023
I think I’m mostly disappointed in this one. :/ Inspired by some intriguing ideas, but they didn’t coalesce into a good story.
Starting with the fact that we are following three different stories, and that seems like two too many for a novel this short. The first story, starting right after WWII, follows a Jewish French orphan, Roger, who resides in a monastery. The second story, starting in the middle of the war, tracks two Polish Jewish children, re-named Ana and Oskar, as they are smuggled out of the ghetto and sent to hide with family friends on a farm. The third story, which solely takes place in 1968, follows German-born UK-citizen, Renata, as she explores her sense of identity while interning on an archeological dig in Jerusalem. Spoiler alert, but the other two stories slowly arrive at 1968 as well.
So, the general theme is, what happens to the child survivors of the Nazis? I’m being general because, more spoilers, although one might be forgiven for at first assuming Renata is Jewish, she’s not. Her backstory (which we get on the page through her remembrances) involve her mother forcing her to hide her German looks and refusing to tell Renata why they left the country so swiftly in the first place.
Rosner is following a real-life historical template with all three of these examples. For Roger, one of his relatives survived the Holocaust, and as she petitions French courts for her nephew to be returned to her, the Catholic authorities smuggled the baptized boy in and out of strongholds for as long as they could. Meanwhile, there was no one related to claim Ana and Oskar, a Zionist Jewish organization found their whereabouts and abducted them to live on a kibbutz in Israel. As for Renata, she’s ultimately part of a Nazi Germanization project, where they stole “Aryan-looking” children from their (primarily Polish) parents.
It's clear from the background and from the narrative that what interests Rosner most is whether these characters, buffeted around by world events and trauma, can ever find a sense of home and belonging. And the characters—I’d say more Roger, Ana and Oskar than Renata—show signs of promise of being three-dimensional. But the scope of the novel is too large, so every new chapter feels like we’re researchers taking notes on subjects we only see once every handful of years. We’re told who they are, not shown it.
Each of these stories (perhaps with an allowance for Ana and Oskar together) deserves a full novel in its own right. Fascination with displacement as a disembodied idea can only take me so far.
Rosner does attempt to weave in pathos through songs and jokes and collected items. It might be my own bias or distraction by real events in my life that kept these from working for me. But I still think my ultimate point stands. It’s not enough to cram this many ideas and characters into a novel. You gotta find a way to let them breathe.
Starting with the fact that we are following three different stories, and that seems like two too many for a novel this short. The first story, starting right after WWII, follows a Jewish French orphan, Roger, who resides in a monastery. The second story, starting in the middle of the war, tracks two Polish Jewish children, re-named Ana and Oskar, as they are smuggled out of the ghetto and sent to hide with family friends on a farm. The third story, which solely takes place in 1968, follows German-born UK-citizen, Renata, as she explores her sense of identity while interning on an archeological dig in Jerusalem. Spoiler alert, but the other two stories slowly arrive at 1968 as well.
So, the general theme is, what happens to the child survivors of the Nazis? I’m being general because, more spoilers, although one might be forgiven for at first assuming Renata is Jewish, she’s not. Her backstory (which we get on the page through her remembrances) involve her mother forcing her to hide her German looks and refusing to tell Renata why they left the country so swiftly in the first place.
Rosner is following a real-life historical template with all three of these examples. For Roger, one of his relatives survived the Holocaust, and as she petitions French courts for her nephew to be returned to her, the Catholic authorities smuggled the baptized boy in and out of strongholds for as long as they could. Meanwhile, there was no one related to claim Ana and Oskar, a Zionist Jewish organization found their whereabouts and abducted them to live on a kibbutz in Israel. As for Renata, she’s ultimately part of a Nazi Germanization project, where they stole “Aryan-looking” children from their (primarily Polish) parents.
It's clear from the background and from the narrative that what interests Rosner most is whether these characters, buffeted around by world events and trauma, can ever find a sense of home and belonging. And the characters—I’d say more Roger, Ana and Oskar than Renata—show signs of promise of being three-dimensional. But the scope of the novel is too large, so every new chapter feels like we’re researchers taking notes on subjects we only see once every handful of years. We’re told who they are, not shown it.
Each of these stories (perhaps with an allowance for Ana and Oskar together) deserves a full novel in its own right. Fascination with displacement as a disembodied idea can only take me so far.
Rosner does attempt to weave in pathos through songs and jokes and collected items. It might be my own bias or distraction by real events in my life that kept these from working for me. But I still think my ultimate point stands. It’s not enough to cram this many ideas and characters into a novel. You gotta find a way to let them breathe.
July 10, 2023
The novel Once We Were Home takes a fictional look at three Jewish children who were hidden during WWII . It explores the long-term effect these actions had on these four children after the war and into adulthood. All of them question where and to whom they belong. The novel sometimes becomes a bit difficult to follow as it jumps back and forth among these four stories. The writing is not polished, but the narrative shines. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
Around 1.5 million Jewish children were killed by the Nazis. Those Jewish children who survived have a whole range of stories on how they survived. Some survived the concentration camps. Others were hidden by non-Jewish neighbors and/or friends who kept them safe. Some were placed in Christian convents, monasteries, and orphanages while being taught to take on Christian identities to hide them from the Nazis. Sometimes it was underground organizations that helped find homes and funds to care for Jewish children. In most cases, the parents did not survive to reunite with their children.
The author includes a recommended reading list. To her list I add Irena’s Children: A True Story of Courage by Tilar J. Mazzeo. It details one woman’s efforts (together with those in the Resistance) to rescue and hide Jewish children, smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto and finding safe hiding places with non-Jewish families. She is credited with saving the lives of 2,500 Jewish children between 1942 and 1943.
Around 1.5 million Jewish children were killed by the Nazis. Those Jewish children who survived have a whole range of stories on how they survived. Some survived the concentration camps. Others were hidden by non-Jewish neighbors and/or friends who kept them safe. Some were placed in Christian convents, monasteries, and orphanages while being taught to take on Christian identities to hide them from the Nazis. Sometimes it was underground organizations that helped find homes and funds to care for Jewish children. In most cases, the parents did not survive to reunite with their children.
The author includes a recommended reading list. To her list I add Irena’s Children: A True Story of Courage by Tilar J. Mazzeo. It details one woman’s efforts (together with those in the Resistance) to rescue and hide Jewish children, smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto and finding safe hiding places with non-Jewish families. She is credited with saving the lives of 2,500 Jewish children between 1942 and 1943.
April 15, 2023
What a unique look at what happened to many of the children who were hidden during WWII. Some children were hidden in convents, taught Catholicism, while some children were placed in non-Jewish homes, forming close ties to their “adopted” families. At the end of the war, an effort was undertaken to reunite children with their surviving members of their families, even though some had no memory of life before they were hidden. Ana and Oskar were placed with a Polish couple who loved them, while Roger was hidden in a convent. Renata is unaware of her background, thinking only that she was born in Germany. As the war ends, the attempts to rescue the children with assumed identities created other issues, even though the Jewish people felt a commitment to reclaim the children after the enormous losses in the Holocaust. I highly recommend this well written and absorbing work of historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
April 6, 2023
Once we were home this was a very hard book to read, the story was heartbreaking I really didn't understand so much suffering but it is what was transpiring during the war so much injustice, I feel like in those days the word justice was not even on the radar of any survivor, after so many atrocities many of the lost all hope.
The story of many of the children during the war, separated from their parents trying to survive, in the hands of other families Christian families who change their faith and religion to be able to survive, that was the case with Renata, Roger, Ana, Oskar who later were separated once again by someone who taught was doing the right thing only to make things even sadder and worst, especially for Oskar who couldn't understand why he had to leave the only parents he ever knew because of his religion.
One of the saddest parts of the story was when Roger was giving a confession thinking he was born in the wrong faith and he was the wrong person. and the saddest part was there was no one around to tell Roger this was not a mistake and he didn't make any transgressions as he firmly believed.
This is exactly when I started to feel angry with that woman who taught she was doing the great samaritan job but the only thing she was doing was putting more pain in the children's hearts. I don't understand why they will do that, and when the woman started to question herself if she made a mistake with Oskar I was screaming to her that YES, indeed she did in fact make a huge mistake.
Many years had passed and still, there is so much to tell now years later, so many questions and feelings that are still unanswered.
I read about this situation in many of the WWII books but this is the first time I read about it in depth and is really hard and sad to understand I know this came from a good heart trying to save the children but I didn't understand what was the case to take the kids and shove the religion down their troths as if that will make any difference or made them feel happier or erase the atrocities they live, such an attitude for me was pretty ignorant.
This was a good ride, the emotions were all over the place and I cried like crazy.
The Narrations by Gabra Zackman and Vikas Adam were good, they really brought so much to the story.
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the advanced audio copy of Once we were home in exchange for my honest review
The story of many of the children during the war, separated from their parents trying to survive, in the hands of other families Christian families who change their faith and religion to be able to survive, that was the case with Renata, Roger, Ana, Oskar who later were separated once again by someone who taught was doing the right thing only to make things even sadder and worst, especially for Oskar who couldn't understand why he had to leave the only parents he ever knew because of his religion.
One of the saddest parts of the story was when Roger was giving a confession thinking he was born in the wrong faith and he was the wrong person. and the saddest part was there was no one around to tell Roger this was not a mistake and he didn't make any transgressions as he firmly believed.
This is exactly when I started to feel angry with that woman who taught she was doing the great samaritan job but the only thing she was doing was putting more pain in the children's hearts. I don't understand why they will do that, and when the woman started to question herself if she made a mistake with Oskar I was screaming to her that YES, indeed she did in fact make a huge mistake.
Many years had passed and still, there is so much to tell now years later, so many questions and feelings that are still unanswered.
I read about this situation in many of the WWII books but this is the first time I read about it in depth and is really hard and sad to understand I know this came from a good heart trying to save the children but I didn't understand what was the case to take the kids and shove the religion down their troths as if that will make any difference or made them feel happier or erase the atrocities they live, such an attitude for me was pretty ignorant.
This was a good ride, the emotions were all over the place and I cried like crazy.
The Narrations by Gabra Zackman and Vikas Adam were good, they really brought so much to the story.
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the advanced audio copy of Once we were home in exchange for my honest review
September 26, 2022
This is the story of four different people, each of whom escaped the Nazis, and how twenty years after WWII they cross paths as they are each trying to build new lives for themselves.
March 18, 2023
Gosh, how do I describe this book? Tragic? Yes. Also, hopeful. I can see so many different angles to the decisions that were made in this story and all of them make sense. Oskar’s story and relationship with the only parents he knew really tugs the heartstrings.
🌀Synopsis
Oskar and Ana are shuttled out of the Polish ghetto to help them escape the Germans in WWII. They are sent to live with a Christian family and that family is the only one Oskar can remember.
When they are stolen from that family, Oskar is devastated. He doesn’t want to leave the only family he’s known and he doesn’t want to leave Christianity behind to be a Jew again. However, life keeps going on. They move from place to place before finally landing in Israel- which is where they stay permanently.
Oskar and his sister grow up and have kids but Oskar still keeps in touch with his old “family.” Ana finally realizes how much they meant to him and with the death of one of them, she realizes how much they meant to her too.
🌀Synopsis
Oskar and Ana are shuttled out of the Polish ghetto to help them escape the Germans in WWII. They are sent to live with a Christian family and that family is the only one Oskar can remember.
When they are stolen from that family, Oskar is devastated. He doesn’t want to leave the only family he’s known and he doesn’t want to leave Christianity behind to be a Jew again. However, life keeps going on. They move from place to place before finally landing in Israel- which is where they stay permanently.
Oskar and his sister grow up and have kids but Oskar still keeps in touch with his old “family.” Ana finally realizes how much they meant to him and with the death of one of them, she realizes how much they meant to her too.
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