Maybe if you have a much greater tolerance for coincidences and del ex machina than I do, along with a higher tolerance for lackluster prose, you will enjoy this. I found it simply unbelievable from beginning to end. The cardboard characters fall in love at first sight, get over survivors' guilt with just a few games of chess with a rabbi, and find characters presumed dead thanks to the unlikeliest of circumstances. Eyes "sparkle" and characters "skip" just about every chapter. We're supposed to believe that two young Jewish middle-class women born and bred in Budapest were able to wait out World War II by helping an old woman maintain her farm after her Nazi-sympathizing husband broke his back following a propitious fall off a ladder. Those are just a few of the reasons I finished this book feeling not only disappointed but also angry that it was deemed fit for publication.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

First of all I'd like to thank NetgaGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. It's about two best Jewish friends who survive WWII and their lifes after. I like historical novels and this one was well written with characters one could easily relate to. A happy end predictable though. But it's a novel not a documentary. I recommend reading it.

Inspired by her mother's story, Anita Abriel's The Light After the War takes readers across the world following the paths of girlhood friends Vera and Edith from Budapest to escaping the Nazis and hiding out in Austria, to Italy and Venezuela.

Believing they had lost their families and loved ones, the girls try to move on with their lives after the war. Edith dreams of becoming a fashion designer and Vera had hoped to be a playwright but settles for copywriting.

The background of Jews migrating to more tolerant societies was new and interesting. There is referred violence and death relating to the Holocaust and the girls must resist predatory men, but there is nothing graphic in the story. The concentration is on their determination and friendship, and the charmed luck their beauty brings in the form of helpers and aides along their journey.

Easy to read and easy to digest, with star-crossed lovers and jealousy, the novel felt more like a romance than heavier WWII-era historical-fiction fare. The resolution will satisfy those who believe in fate and true love.

I was given access to a free book by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

This was a wonderful story about friendship, love, and survival during a horrible time in history. If you love WWII historical fiction, this book is the one for you!

Inspired by real people, this story of two Jewish girls Vera and Edith is very sad, but also hopeful. They survive the Holocaust but with great loss. The story moves right along with many twists and turns and the resilience of the characters is amazing.

The Light After the War by Anita Abriel follows two best friends, Vera and Edith as they struggle to start over after losing everything and everyone in WWII. Beginning in Naples where the girls landed after spending the war hiding on a farm in Austria, the girls find they have lost their families, Edith’s fiancé and any future in Budapest, where they were originally from. In Naples however both meet men who influence the trajectory of their lives and though both Edith and Vera soon move on to Caracas through a series of events, Vera in particular finds that the love she experiences in Naples continues to haunt her in the possibility of having lost the one love of her life.

I was really looking forward to this book as I have been a bit obsessed lately with WWII histories and historical fiction but, I found myself a bit disappointed by it. The story of the girls’ survival is told briefly in a series of flashbacks, and maybe this is due to it being an ARC but there was no afterward explaining what parts of the story were related to the author’s mother’s experience so I kept getting distracted trying to figure that out. I’m inclined to think it was the WWII experience that was borrowed from rather than the part after as the love story of Vera felt a bit contrived and unrealistic. Full disclosure though I’m not much of a fan of how often historical fiction seems to center on love stories when so much of history is just as exciting, so that is definitely a bias I take into my reading.

I also had some problems with the characters as Edith felt well defined and larger than life as did the character of Ricardo, but Captain Wight and Vera were so toned down it was difficult to picture them. The author seems to do well with vibrant passionate characters, but I couldn’t really picture Vera or how she would look very well, and Captain Wight at the beginning was difficult to read and I vacillated between thinking he would be the love interest and wondering if he would end up being a cad given his impulsiveness with her at times.

Overall it was informative as I did not know Venezuela was so welcoming to those Jews who had escaped from Europe and was sad to hear of how many were turned away by the US – it did remind me somewhat of The German Girl in that respect. I loved the focus on history in parts and Abriel shines in her ability to describe place as one could really picture each new environment the girls traveled to. I would definitely be interested in future books of Abriel’s as I loved how she transported the reader to each new country with lush and enjoyable descriptions. A fast read well-suited for armchair travelers and fans of historical fiction.

A novel of friendship and trial, set against a vibrant canvas of history and warfare. The central characters are richly drawn, but there was a predictability to the plotting which undercut the powerful themes explored.

Based on a true story of two friends growing up together in Budapest before WWII, surviving the war and after the war emigrating to Italy, then Americas – this novel shows what a true friendship means. A friendship tested through the hardest of possible times.

Naples, 1946. Nazis were defeated and the war was over. Now, the life is beaming with “the outdoor cafes overflowed with customers,” neighbors stop and talk to each other without any fear. “Neapolitans treat every day like a celebration.”

Vera Frankel and her best friend Edith Ban arrive in a vibrant city of Naples. Refugees from Hungary, who escaped a train heading for Auschwitz and survived the war on an Austrian farm. Now, they start their new lives abroad. They’ve been close friends since childhood. But Edith’s spirit is broken and Vera is the one who propels them forward. Edith’s way of dealing with her pain is to just fall in love and have fun. The more sober and responsible Vera gets a secretary position at American embassy.

At the end, they both find loves, but those loves have unexpected twists.

Edith wants to be a fashion designer and Vera aspires to be a playwright. And all that may come true in the land of opportunity. They receive a chance of sailing to New York. But at Ellis Island, they are forced to detour. They sail farther to Caracas, Venezuela.

The story moves quickly with simple prose.

It has some atmospheric descriptions giving the time period engaging dimensions. The description of vibrant Naples and welcoming Caracas are very distinctive.

The story brings flashes of the past when girls were growing up in Budapest, giving the characters dimensions to better understand them what made them who they are and what drives them forward.

It was also interesting to read about Caribia “ship that left Vienna in 1939 as the borders of Austria were closing. It set sail for Trinidad,” but the Jews were not welcomed there or at any British colony, and finally Venezuela welcomed them. It’s uplifting to read about such places, which make a difference in humanity.

It is an easy read, but what is striking about the story is how after their escape, their lives seem to fall onto the right path very easily. If it weren’t based on a true story, I’d have a bit difficult time believing the events. Despite this and the very simple prose, the story is engaging and kept me engrossed as I wanted to find out how and where they settled and how their friendship endured.

There are also some unnecessary repetitions. Vera not telling Edith this or that was obvious from the story and didn’t need repetition.

What an incredible novel!

The Light After the War centers around two best friends, Vera and Edith, during WWII. The women miraculously escaped getting taken to a concentration camp and ultimately end up being hidden by an Austrian family and live in their barn until the war was over. Not knowing the fate of their families, the women move to Naples to try and pick up the pieces of their lives. At this point in this emotional novel, I absolutely knew I would not get any sleep until I finished!

I found The Light After the War extremely moving, but the fact that this book is inspired by a true story made it all the more powerful! I found the storyline very well written with great pacing. Anita Abriel does a fantastic job with balancing love, loss, romance, and sorrow. There were several moving parts in this book that will keep you on the hook, but I have to say there are some seriously surprising twists and turns that will leave your jaw hanging open! The Light After the War is a 5 star novel that I highly recommend to every historical fiction fan! This book is definitely on my 2020 favorites list!

A beautiful novel focused on the lives of two eastern European women, close friends from childhood, during and after WWII.

A beautifully written story of two best friends who travel through life having lived through the worst of times. Their resilience and bond is what guides them as they navigate the world having survived the horrors of WWII. Their lives are shaped by the sacrifices their parents made to ensure their safety and both women keep close to their hearts the loves that were lost along their journey. However, the power of love endures forever. The storyline is very well developed and the author creates characters that we really care about. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful story.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This story about love, friendship survival and resistance is outstanding. The book follows two best friends as they try to survive the horrors of WWII thru the Ghetto, a transport to Auschwitz, hiding on an Austrian farm and living in Italy, Venezuela, America and Australia. The story follows Edith Ban and Vera Frankel as refugees trying to survive despite terrible losses. The book is loosely based on Anita Abriel’s mother’s story of surviving the Holocaust with her best friend. The story is well told with flashbacks inserted throughout the book to explain previous events that impacted the story. The characters are well developed and their stories are very emotional and stay with you long after the book is finished.

This book was such a disappointment that I couldn't finish it. It was so unrealistic and the characters, especially Vera, were so naive and really unlikeable.

If you were a fan of "The Lucky Ones' I believe you will love this story. It is inspired by the true story of two Jewish women who survived the Holocaust. Extremely well written and spanning the ages, it really gripped my heart. I am biased to any World War II stories, being a Jewish WOC, but I believe anyone liking this era of historical fiction will find it heart touching. The story of this solid friendship surviving the ages and all the love and loss that comes with it is well worth a read.

"The Light After The War" was inspired by a true story. This is the story of Eva and Vera two Jewish best friends, who grew up basically as sisters and what happens to them after WWII. There are sections where they are taken back to what happened during the war, but this is about what happened after. This book was good. I liked reading about what happened to the characters after the war. I haven't read a historical fiction book from that perspective yet, most are during the war. It gives you a sense of hope. It was good.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

The Light After the War
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I grew up In Budapest, my father was in a labor camp during the Holocaust, many of my father’s siblings perished in Auschwitz, so this book was of much interest to me. I was unfortunately greatly disappointed. This was a fairy tale at best, contrived and predictable from the very beginning. Vera and Edith are lifelong friends, they grew up In Budapest together. They both escaped from a train headed for Auschwitz in the most ridiculous and unbelievable plot I have ever seen. A Nazi officer accepting schnapps from Jewish deportees, then falling asleep, give me a break. The story goes back and forth in timeframes, as the two friends navigate from their escape to their lives after the war in Europe and South America. I found the back and forth fragmented, it was hard to tell when or why at points in the novel the story went back in time. I could site many events which were just unbelievable, such as how people found each other, the media’s interest of just two Hungarian refugees, etc. but I will stop.
At the end, everything is tied up neatly with a ribbon, just like in a fairy tale. I am generous giving this book three stars, only because it was an easy, quick read with many references to my native country and culture.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

A sweet story of survival and love after World War 2. Great read! It is nice to see Anita Hughes nice writing as Anita Abriel. This is loosely the story of Anita's mother after World War II.