FICTION

The Lost Book of Bonn

by Brianna Labuskes
Morrow Paperbacks. Mar. 2024. 384p. ISBN 9780063259287. pap. $18.99. F
COPY ISBN
Sent in 1946 to the Offenbach Archival Depot near Frankfurt to help evaluate thousands of books plundered by the Nazis, Library of Congress employee Emily Clarke, herself a war widow, notices an inscription in a book of poems: “To Annelise, my brave Edelweiss Pirate, Eitan.” Emily’s quest to return the book to its rightful owner immediately consumes her. Flashing back to 1937, readers meet the young lovers Annelise and Eitan. Annelise belonged to the Pirates, a teen group rebelling against the Hitler Youth. Eitan was a Jewish boy who saved Annelise from a rapist’s attack. As Hitler’s regime strengthened, Annelise and Eitan grew into resistance fighters but also nurtured their innocent love. Aided by surprising allies, they had the grit to strive for the fulfillment of their highest hopes.
VERDICT Relying on well-researched facts about the Edelweiss Pirates, the 1943 Rose Street demonstration protesting the detention of intermarried Jewish men, and the astonishing work of the Monuments Men to recover looted art and books, Labuskes (The Librarian of Burned Books) has again hit the sweet spot in this story of passionate love, intense conflict, and ingenious resolution. Working with short, punchy chapters and a loosely connected timeline, she skillfully earns readers’ full attention.
Reviewed by Barbara Conaty , Jul 26, 2024
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