“Once you’ve fallen in love with books, their presence can make you feel at home anywhere, even in places where you shouldn’t belong.”
Happy January 2022! I’m headed into the new year like a washed-out sloth. I wish I were being dramatic. I promise, I’m not. I guess I’m kind of like Bob Wiley right now: “I’m doing the work, I’m baby-stepping, I’m not a slacker! Just look, I’m in really bad shape!” On the bright side, I’ve been reading awesome books. I’ve felt at home in places I shouldn’t—on the island of Aiaia, in the American Old West, a small mountain town near the Swiss border and war-torn Paris. Books have a way of making everything feel better. I’m so glad about that.
Even books that document a horrifying world war can inspire feelings like hope, amazement and awe. Kristin Harmel’s The Book of Lost Names promoted all of the above. This historical fiction revolves around a smart young grad student named Ava Traube Abrams. After her father is seized by the Wehrmacht, Ava and her mother devise an escape route through Nazi-occupied France. Ava is a talented artist. To her surprise and her mother’s complete dismay, she finds a way to use her art to outwit the Nazis in order to rescue Jewish children from Hitler’s vicious reach. I’ve read plenty of WW II novels, this we know. How did I not know more about the brave men and women who forged identity documents? Ava’s story is inspired by a true one. It was fascinating to learn about the saving grace (and art) of forgery. While there were predictable moments amid hiding, false papers, escapes, and arrests, this story was quite intriguing overall. The Book of Lost Names underscores the fact that love requires real courage. It reminds me that the sun never really rises—the earth rotates to face the sun—and we have to turn our eyes to brighter things.