At first I wasn't sure about this one. I think it bothered me that Vera and Edith's friendship felt so lopsided. Vera clearly was more serious and mature than childlike Edith. But I grew to appreciate that they responded to their losses and the trauma they endured in different ways. Whereas Vera suffered from survivors guilt, Edith chose to bury the past and almost live in a fantasy world about the future. But as time and the chapters pass, the author writes a more mature Edith and I grew to like her better. I appreciated that no matter what trials came their way, they worked hard to achieve the dreams that carried them through the war.  
This is a beautiful story about how the bond of friendship sustained two girls in the very worst and best of times.

This was a really beautiful story of friendship during the second world war. Can the love of friendship transcend time? When lives are at stake? I really enjoyed this. Historical fiction set during or around WWII are my favourite and this was another really great look at the lives of two Jewish women.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I ended up not finishing it, as my reading tastes have changed during the pandemic. But I definitely have some patrons in mind to recommend this one to.

An enjoyable historical fiction novel based on the author’s true story of her mother, who survived the Holocaust. It’s a description-rich story of Vera & Edith’s journey after WWII, with flashbacks of their experiences during the war. I loved the vivid and colorful descriptions of life in Venezuela at that time in history. It started out slow but picked up after the first couple chapters.
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

this is really such a sweet story, I loved the characters and really enjoyed the story. I really enjoyed the story and look forward to more from the author.

Vera and her best friend, Edith, both from the ghetto in Budapest, survived jumping from a train headed to Auschwitz, and a year hiding/working on a farm in Germany.
Vera was fluent in five languages, including English, and Edith, a trained seamstress had dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer. The girls managed to travel to Naples, found jobs -Vera at the American Embassy, Edith as a seamstress- and a place to live. Forging ahead into the future – World War II has been over almost a year; readers will travel across oceans and continents with Vera and Edith. As survivors of the Holocaust, a photo of Vera and Edith caught the attention of Samuel Rothschild, New York millionaire & philanthropist. He was quite taken with the young girls’ story and sponsored their trans-Atlantic voyage to America to begin a new life. Very surprising events lead Vera and Edith to Venezuela- to yet another continent, with new friends and different opportunities. Anita Abriel’s descriptions of Naples from a Vespa, the captain’s table on the Queen Elizabeth, and the nerve-wracking wait at Ellis Island, draw the reader into the story; discovering the fear, guilt and heartbreak of being survivors of the Holocaust.
Themes of emerging roles for women, family relationships, and developing empathy play an important part in Anita Abriel’s novel. Samuel Rothschild’s reminder that our “country was built by refugees with big dreams,” opens a wide lens and has great historical relevance for present day readers. The Light After the War is quite a journey; treacherous, true and rewarding. Readers will be inspired and satisfied after the long trip, just like Vera and Edith, who found new lives and a beautiful “light after the war.” GR

There was abundant focus on men and romance by the two main protagonists, this quickly grew tiresome and began to irk me. Vera and Edith were the most annoying characters I have read thus far. I found the romance to overshadow the trauma both these women faced, there was the same flashbacks repeated and re-worded throughout the novel.

I felt that the trauma and personal experiences of Vera and Edith were brushed over and were not the main focus of the story. There was one glimpse of trauma that we saw from Vera when she was waiting near the port outside of Caracas.

Vera was contradictory towards Edith when it came to love and men. She kept telling Edith to be careful, but then she married a man whom she met after a couple of months while still longing for another man who left her. Vera kept telling Edith to be careful around men, how they only want sex, and how not to get involved too quickly.

A lot of what happened to Edith and Vera seemed to be from pure luck and coincidence, it felt too far-fetched to be something that actually happened to them. This novel almost felt too light and carefree for the subject matter.

Vera and Edith seemed like the definition of best friends – doing everything together and living across the hall from one another in their apartment in Budapest. However, I felt like Vera and Edith were one dimensional as there was no character development, they fell into the same habits in the new countries they went to.

The plot of this novel seemed to be structured around each city they visited; it seemed very episodic and lacked a flow between them. I felt like each city was not connected to the next and were strung together very loosely.

I kept hoping for more: more substance from Vera, some character development from Edith, a plot that didn’t revolve around them looking for men or for romance, a plot that helped them to heal from the trauma that they endure. Sadly, I did not gain any of that.

Loved this historical fiction romance. The characters were well developed and I cared about their journey. The setting was beautiful. Overall a good historical read!

This is about the post war lives and loves of Vera and Edith, who managed to escape from a train headed to Auschwitz. This book was lighter than I expected, given the setting, and I wish we saw more of their struggles and how they came to adjust. The time during the war is in short flashbacks. But I enjoyed seeing how strong these women were, I could feel their bond.

It's very much a romance novel with good lifelong friendship. If you like historical romance then I think you'll enjoy this one.

Many of the stories of the Holocaust that I have read are about the atrocities that took place. The Light After the War by Anita Abriel begins at the end of the war. Vera and Edith's journey from Hungary to Naples is revealed slowly in flashbacks. The scars of war they both carry gradually emerge and carry through the story. The remainder of the story is about relationships - good and bad - and about careers. It reads in many ways like a romance about a young woman making her way in life.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/01/the-light-after-war.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Two friends narrowly escape concentration camp in WWII and journey through several countries after the war trying to heal themselves, find love and live with the past. Thanks to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Light After the War, by Anita Abriel, at the invitation of Atria Books, a branch of Simon & Schuster, in exchange for an honest review. This enthralling book is based on the true story of Ms. Abriel’s mother and her best friend, their escape from a train on its way to Auschwitz, and how they rebuilt their lives after the war.

This book is both heartbreaking and heartening. We see Vera Frankel and her friend, Edith Ban, transform their lives as they journey across four continents in the joyful yet turbulent time following World War II.

This was another book I couldn’t put down – it has friendship and love, joy and sadness, fear and extreme courage. I followed Vera and Edith around the globe as both experienced love and loss, but prevailed, and created careers they loved. It had the perfect ending.

What made The Grumpy Book Reviewer grumpy?

• A lot of incorrect verb usage: Bring vs. take, Bringing vs. taking, Come vs. go, Come vs. gone, Was vs. were, Loaned vs. lent (loaned is not a word);
• Redundancies such as “wardrobe dresser” and “bread roll”;
• A question that ends with a period;
• A couple of missing commas.

A story of hope after so much death and despair. This book was an interesting account of post World War II instead of the many books that were based right in the middle. It was a little hard to get into this book but it was still a very good read.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Available now: The Light After The War by Anita Abriel

**** 4 stars, Loved it: The Light After The War is a must-read WWII drama, equally heartbreak and hopeful.

Recommended readers:

If you like novels with WWII history and drama
If you want an action-packed, historical read
If you like strong female characters

Here's my Rankings:

5/5 for characters
5/5 for plot
5/5 overall
REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:

Based on a true story, The Light After The War is about two Hungarian women, Vera and Edith, and their story of survival even after the World Ware II ends.

Though many WWII fiction are understandably based on survival stories during the war, Abriel uniquely focuses on what comes after - and the oftentimes overlooked periods of recovery and rebuilding. The recovery is very different for Vera and Edith and their story or survival, love and loss is both heartbreaking and hopeful.  Engrossing and real, The Light After the War is non-stop, fast-reading and will take you across the globe as Vera and Edith build their lives post-war.

Available now: The Light After The War by Anita Abriel

Another historical fiction book set in WWII times and it's about friendships and that checks both boxes for me. I think this is a great book about friendship and love and what it means to be a friend. It was a little slow starting for me but once I had a chance to read 50 pages in one sitting, it began to grow on me. I really liked that this story was the real story of the author's mother and her friend. I thought the characters were well developed and the storyline interesting. This is one of the better WWII books I have read, I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Historical fiction is not really my thing, but when I realized that contemporary author Anita Hughes had penned this book based on true events based on her mother's life, I was intrigued and I knew I wanted to check out The Light After the War. This incredible story tells one of survival, hope, friendship, and love. It's a great one to check out!

This wasn’t the path they had planned to be on, yet here they were. Edith and Vera had been best friends forever, living across from one another their whole lives but now, the war changed that. Creating a plan, scrunched together in the dark cattle car, these women’s lives would never be the same.

Waiting in the grass, watching for movement, watching for any signs of life, they left disappointed. They knew what they needed to do now and they moved quickly. Soon the world would be theirs, the war would be officially over and they could make their mark upon it. It was an impressive journey as the girls begin experiencing life on their own.

I enjoyed how the girls looked out for one another. Vera was the hard-working one, who immediately was concerned about money and tries to find employment so they can survive. Vera’s concerned about paying for rent, buying food, and taking care of her friend, Edith. She tries not to let her emotions get in the way. Believing that her boyfriend Stefan has died, Edith can’t get herself together. Her grief has led her to become very promiscuous, causing Vera to keep her eyes on her when men are around.

I liked how the characters of Vera and Edith were alike and how they were different. Vera is dependable, serious and her emotions are in-check. Edith is fun, to a point. Don’t go too far, or she will lose it. If you looked inside her, she’s all-over-the-place. They’re perfect for each other. Vera is Edith’s landing spot whereas Edith gets Vera out of her comfort zone. After the girls escaped out of the cattle car, they both realized that their parents weren’t so lucky and had died in Auschwitz. This is a heavy burden for the girls to carry, as this event replays throughout their lives.

Romance plays a big role in this book as Edith and Vera find themselves falling in and out of love. Over time, they both seem to want it and find it, so differently. I’m not one who enjoys a lot of romance but I did enjoy the twists and turns these two girls take when they start turning heads.

It’s a great book about friendship. I enjoyed Vera’s and Edith’s relationship and how it changed over the years. As the world recovers from the war, the girls begin a life together out on their own. Finding jobs, their life begins to take off and soon they’re meeting individuals and dating. I found the book intriguing as they began navigating their new lives. 4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Catching up on @netgalley reviews. I read this last fall on a train to #veniceitaly knowing I was headed to #napoli the following weekend. The cover was so enticing it seemed like the perfect #travelreading. It is the tale of two sisters and their survival during and after #ww2. Loosely based on the author’s family, I would have enjoyed more historical details because it an aspect of refugee survival I have not read before. Interesting ⭐️⭐️⭐️ novel to pass the time en route to #traveladventures. 📚📚📚 #reading #booklover #bookreview #bookrecommendations #italy #budapest #caracas #sisters

This book was quite delightful and I enjoyed it very thoroughly. I would definitely read this again and recommend it to others.