I'm hit and miss with historical fiction but The Light After the War was such an emotional and beautiful read that I couldn't help but be consumed. I will say though, I felt like the story didn't have a strong enough historical backdrop and I was surprised by the romance element - it may have been my interpretation of the synopsis but there was not enough of one and too much focus on the other. This is the only reason I didn't give it more stars. Outside of this, the story is a fast, light read that I think most contemporary readers would like. Well paced, good development and two characters I enjoyed following.

Book blurb…
Inspired by the true story of one woman’s extraordinary journey to forge a new life after escaping a train bound for Auschwitz

In 1946 two young Hungarian refugees arrive in Naples after losing everyone they loved before the war. Vera Frankel and her best friend, Edith Ban, are haunted by their terrifying escape from a train headed for Auschwitz after their mothers threw them from the carriage, promising they would follow. But instead the girls find themselves alone in a frozen, alien land.
They manage to find refuge and barter for their lives by working on an isolated farm in Austria until the end of the war.

Armed with a letter of recommendation from an American general, Vera finds work and new hope at the United States Embassy and, despite her best intentions, falls in love the handsome and enigmatic Captain Anton Wight. But when Anton suddenly disappears, Vera is forced to drastically change course. Their quest to rebuild their lives takes Vera and Edith from Naples to Ellis Island to Venezuela and finally Sydney as they carve out careers – and find love.

My thoughts…

PLOT
Any plot line that is loosely linked to the tragedy of war is a winner in my book. This plot involving a Hungarian Jewish family appears to have been created around facts, making this even more appealing. But there is also insight into the lighter side of life in war time.
PACE
Not a fast paced novel, but a compelling storyline that had me constantly waiting for either happiness or tragedy -- and there was plenty of both.
LANDSCAPE
The landscape of war is a favourite when done well. And this is, with the landscape portrayed through the characters’ eyes.
CHARACTERS
I loved them all for one reason or another. They were troubled, tortured by love, but lived as full a life as possible under the circumstances. Vera and Edith were the main characters with an abundant ensemble to help tell their story.
OVERALL FEELINGS ABOUT THE STORY
While I really enjoyed this novel, it was not classified as a romance, and yet there was a very strong romantic thread. While a bit too sweet for this reader, it did not affect my enjoyment and I was happy the girls found love.

The Light After the War is a debut novel inspired by the author’s mother and her experiences in surviving the Holocaust with her friend after both jumping from a train headed for Auschwitz. It is a story about friendship, family, hope and survival. After surviving the war, the two friends arrive in Naples determined to start a new life after losing their families. It then traces their movements over time with flashbacks throughout from before and after the war.

Sadly, I struggled with this book on a number of fronts. Firstly, the writing is very light, trite and superficial, not the kind of tone one would expect for a holcaust novel. Events are quite predictable and characterisation falls flat. Which leads to my second issue, I feel this should be categorised more as a young adult fiction as so much of the focus is on the love lives of these young girls - a harrowing war tale this is not - mostly their pursuit of love and marriage. Not a lot of time is spent on the girls journey to their initial destination of Naples - it would have been great to read more of their struggles in arriving there. At times, it all just seems a little too easy. This, of course, lends the reader to little empathy as the girls seem so untouched by events and rather petulant.

“Why do we always have to think about money?” Edith said stubbornly. “We ’re young; we ’re supposed to have fun. I’m going to get a gelato.”

So, if a young adult war romance is what you are after then this surely delivers. Sadly the lack of depth in the narrative - story and characters, plot and predictability - does not assist the reader with any investment in the final outcome - which of course, will satisfy believers in fate and one true love.

“We have had a good time,” Edith said gently.
“We made friends and I started a business and you’re going to have a baby.”
..... “The killing was supposed to stop with the war, but it goes on forever.”
“Death is everywhere, but so is life,” Edith said. “How many mornings did you make me get out of bed ... You taught me we have to give it our best try. We ’re young; we ’re going to lead happy lives.”



This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

2.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Australia for providing me with a kindle version of this book to review.

Best friends Vera and Edith manage to escape from a train taking them from their home in Hungary to Auschwitz, leaving their mothers behind. They take shelter for a year on a farm in Austria and once the war is over they head to Naples in Italy where they both try to move on and make a success of their lives. From there, fate leads them to New York, Caracas, then Sydney (Vera) and Los Ángeles (Edith).

I was really keen to read this book, as the synopsis sounded like it would be right up my alley. I love historical fiction, however this is more historical romance, which is not my preferred genre, but one that I’m happy enough to read provided it has some other interesting storylines interwoven. Unfortunately for me, this read as a light, fluffy historical romance that wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

Vera and Edith seem to flit from country to country quite effortlessly, becoming overnight sensations and meeting all the ‘right’ society people everywhere they go. Everything seemed to come to them very easily and I never really got any sense of real hardship.

I was surprised to learn that this book is based on the author’s mother, as I found it all rather unbelievable, predictable and fairytale-like. There are a number of rather incredible coincidences that made me wonder what parts of this were actually based in fact, as it certainly didn’t come across as very realistic.

Although the author did write some wonderful descriptions about places, particularly in Naples, I felt that the story lacked the background I wanted in order to connect with the characters and when it did switch to details of the past briefly, it was quite haphazardly done so I was often wondering if I was reading about the past or present! The characters remained quite flat throughout the book and I didn’t really feel much of anything for them.

I really thought I would love this book, so I’m quite disappointed that it missed the mark for me. If you’re an historical fiction fan, I’m not sure that you will find anything new here, but if you’re into historical romance you may really enjoy this story. ⭐️⭐️.5/5 from me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Australia and Anita Abriel for my copy of her book: The Light After The War.
Vera Frankel and Edith Ban are best friends they grew up happily together in Hungary, WW II started and the girls lives are forever changed. Before they know it, the two girls and their mothers Alice and Lily are traveling on a train on it's way to Auschwitz. The girls mothers have a plan, they decide to trick the guard by getting him drunk, steal his keys and get the girls off the train. They push the girls off the moving train, the girls make their way to Dunkel's farm in Hallstatt and spend a year hiding in the barn. After the war ends they try to find their families with no leads, they assume their mothers didn't survive Auschwitz and Vera's father died at the work camp he was sent to? Vera gets a reference from the nice Captain Allan Bingham, the girls move to Naples to find work and stay with Signora Rosa and she's like a second mother to the young women.

Edith is flighty she seems more interested in having fun, flirting and getting out of bed in the morning is an effort. Edith is really trying to numb the pain of not hearing from her fiance Stefan and in her heart she knows she is never going to see him again. Vera gets a job working at the American Embassy, her boss is the handsome Captain Anton Wright, they fall in love and get engaged.

Both girls have lost so much, their parents, friends, relatives and only have each other. When Anton suddenly leaves her Vera experiences yet another loss and how much can she take? The girls get a chance to travel to America, of course nothing goes as planned, they end up stranded on Ellis Island and the only place they can go is Venezuela.

Here Vera meets Ricardo Albee, he's a car sales man, he's smitten with Vera, they get married and he's rather creepy. Edith starts her own fashion design business, she has issues with money and almost goes bankrupt.

I'm sorry but this is when the story gets a bit far fetched for me, I thought the story would be about how the mothers and daughters found themselves traveling on a cattle train bound for Auschwitz and how Vera and Edith survived the war? Yes they stayed on a farm for a year, but that's it, no real details, the rest of the story is about the young ladies going from country to country and their romantic interests. Not what I expected at all, I did enjoy reading about the girls friendship, yes they were very close and looked out for each other. I gave the book three stars and all opinions expressed in the review are my own.

Based on actual events from the life of the author's mother Vera Frankel ‘The Light After the War’ tells the story of best friends: Vera Frankel and Edith Ban. The girls grow up in a privileged family life in Budapest, Hungary until the Germans arrive. As they are Jewish the families of both girls become victims to the Nazi regime. The girls and their mothers are herded on a train headed to Auschwitz. The mothers, in an attempt to save the girls, manage to get them off the train in the hope they will survive the horrors of war. Vera and Edith do survive despite having to endure many hardships both physical and emotional . The girls are determined to live the life they had dreamed of when growing up in Budapest despite believing they have lost everyone they have loved. Vera dreams of being a writer and Edith a fashion designer.

The girls journey takes them across Europe to Ellis Island, America; Caracas, Venezuela and finally Sydney, Australia.
The story is heartbreaking at times and one can only imagine how the young women get up each day and face the world but that is what Vera and Edith did as each encourages the other when life becomes unbearable. Memories of their life during the war is woven into the telling of their life post war.

There is romance throughout the book but the power of friendship and above all the bravery and the strength and determination of the human spirit shines through.

I found ‘The Light After War’ an easy read and at times I did find the romance of Vera and Anton and then Ricardo a bit fanciful but on the whole I wanted Vera and Edith to live a wonderful life after all the horror and hardship they had endured.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for the advance copy to read and review. A historically interesting and gripping story of a period of history we should never forget.