From a Facebook post I made on Nov. 11, 2017, that seemed worth resharing.
Stumbled across a fascinating novel at the library the other day: "The Lost Letter" by Jillian Cantor. Set in a small village in Austria at just about the time of the diabolitcally hateful Nazi Kristallnacht attack. Flips back and forth from 1938 to 1989 (so far, have only gotten started but am finding the various characters intriguing and, of course, as a history buff, the history of that era is one that both draws and repels me.
Oh, and stamp collecting is a key element, as is their creation and multiple uses. So far, it's a stamp and unopened letter that ties the two times together. I doubt I've ever even mentioned having a stamp collection as it's something I haven’t cracked open in years, but that was the element that drew me to an era I might have otherwise chosen to avoid, especially since the jacket copy says at one point, "A beautiful, poignant, and devastating novel."
The book blurb I just looked up on Goodreads: " A heart-breaking, heart-warming historical
novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during
World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects
generations of Jewish families. For readers of The Nightingale, Lilac Girls, and Sarah's Key.
Austria, 1938.
Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher's fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance to send underground messages and forge papers. As he falls for Elena amidst the brutal chaos of war, Kristoff must find a way to save her, and himself.
Los Angeles, 1989.
Katie Nelson is going through a divorce and while cleaning out her house and life in the aftermath, she comes across the stamp collection of her father, who recently went into a nursing home. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers an unusual World War II-era Austrian stamp placed on an old love letter as he goes through her dad's collection, Katie and Benjamin are sent on a journey together that will uncover a story of passion and tragedy spanning decades and continents, behind the just fallen Berlin Wall.
A beautiful, poignant and devastating novel, The Lost Letter shows the lasting power of love."
Austria, 1938.
Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher's fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance to send underground messages and forge papers. As he falls for Elena amidst the brutal chaos of war, Kristoff must find a way to save her, and himself.
Los Angeles, 1989.
Katie Nelson is going through a divorce and while cleaning out her house and life in the aftermath, she comes across the stamp collection of her father, who recently went into a nursing home. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers an unusual World War II-era Austrian stamp placed on an old love letter as he goes through her dad's collection, Katie and Benjamin are sent on a journey together that will uncover a story of passion and tragedy spanning decades and continents, behind the just fallen Berlin Wall.
A beautiful, poignant and devastating novel, The Lost Letter shows the lasting power of love."
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