Review: The Light After the War

The Light After the War
 by Anita Abriel

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 320

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It is 1946 when Vera Frankel and her best friend Edith Ban arrive in Naples. Refugees from Hungary, they managed to escape from a train headed for Auschwitz and spent the rest of the war hiding on an Austrian farm. Now, the two young women must start new lives abroad. Armed with a letter of recommendation from an American officer, Vera finds work at the United States embassy where she falls in love with Captain Anton Wight.

But as Vera and Edith grapple with the aftermath of the war, so too does Anton, and when he suddenly disappears, Vera is forced to change course. Their quest for a better life takes Vera and Edith from Naples to Ellis Island to Caracas as they start careers, reunite with old friends, and rebuild their lives after terrible loss.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two women who have barely survived the war and this book is their recovery from it all.  Vera and Edith have been best friends since birth and through the swift thinking of their mothers they were spared a trip to Auschwitz and with the help of some strangers they made it through the war.  Throughout the book they move around to find their new normal and hopefully put down some roots.  

I have read so many books on World War II and I keep thinking I have read it all.  I loved that in this book the action takes place after the war and you are seeing these two young women pull themselves together and try to figure out how they want their post war life to be.  I am so thankful the author put two characters together who are both similar and different - they come from the same neighborhood and are the same age, but going into the war were in different places in life and have reacted so differently to the life they are now trying to build.  

My first Anita Abriel read, but will surely not be my last and thankfully I have all of her others books on netgalley, so can pick up my kindle and read them very soon!  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.