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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
WWII violence — arrests, deportations, and some combat; the occupation's danger is persistent
Language
Barely any
Period language; minimal strong words
Sexual Content
Barely any
Mild romantic content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
WWII Jewish persecution — arrests and deportations depicted; The danger of forging documents — the consequences of discovery are death; Grief — Eva's losses accumulate throughout the war years; The 2005 frame — Eva's return to the wartime story and what she recovers
What this book is about
Eva Traube is a young Jewish woman in WWII France whose father has been arrested. To survive, she falls in with a resistance network that forges documents for Jewish children being smuggled to Switzerland. She and another forger begin hiding the children's real names in the marginalia of a medieval library book—so their identities won't be lost. The Book of Lost Names alternates between the war years and 2005, when an aged Eva sees the book in a news photo.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
WWII Jewish persecution — arrests and deportations depicted
The danger of forging documents — discovery means death
Grief — losses accumulate throughout the occupation years
The dual timeline — 2005 Eva revisiting what was lost and found
Reader Verification
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