It was a miracle that Vera and Edith made it off the train to Auschwitz and an even greater one that they survived WWII by hiding and working on a farm. It's based on a real story, which makes it hard to argue with the unlikelihood of some of the events. This pair of young women took great leaps of faith and moved multiple times around the world to pursue love and careers and yet they never lost sight of each other. The story is partly told in flashbacks but they don't overwhelm the plot line. Vera is the stronger character (I would have liked more Edith). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the WWII novel who often wonder what came after.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Light After the War. Many readers have said the book world is flooded with WWII fiction, and I can’t deny that, but- there is still room for stories you haven’t heard. And Light is definitely one of those stories.

The novel is based on the true story of two young Hungarian girls ( I won't lie when I say I have an affinity for the Hungarian stories, as that lies in my ancestry), the best of friends and Jewish refugees, who miraculously survived the war together by escaping the train to Auschwitz. Over a decade you follow them from Budapest and Austria to Naples and Ellis Island, though the travels don’t stop there. You follow them as they rebuild their lives, suffer losses, learn who they are and simply- live.

I was surprised to still learn about things I didn’t know and the story captivated me the entire time. If you’re a fan of WWII fiction, this is most definitely a must read. You haven’t heard one like this yet. Well done Anita Abriel.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

These 2 women are survivors! After jumping from the train en route to Auschwitz, Vera and Edith face one challenge after another on their way to freedom. The story takes them from Austria to Italy to Caracas and Sydney. The book is based on the author’s mothers story. It is a hopeful tale of friendship, love, loss and survival.

Linda's Book Obsession Reviews "The Light After the War" by Anita Abriel, Atria Books, February 4, 2020

Anita Abriel, Author of "The Light After The War" has written an amazing, intriguing, intense, captivating and riveting novel. The Genres for this Novel are Historical Fiction, Romance, and Fiction. The timeline for this story is just after World War Two and goes to the past when it pertains to the events or characters. The author describes her characters as complex, and complicated. The themes that are in this book are friendship, sisterhood, family, love, and hope.

Vera Frankel and Edith Ban have grown up together in the same apartment house in Hungary. They are more like sisters, than friends. Vera and Edith are able to escape during the war and hide for 2 years in Austria.  The two of them manage to get to Naples and Vera gets a job at the United States Embassy. Vera is familiar with different languages. Edith has a talent for sewing and making dresses. Vera does fall in love with a Captain from the Embassy.

Vera and Edith are dealing with loss, and manage to live in several places, looking for a sense of purpose, healing from the tragic memories from the War, and finding themselves. This is a beautiful and well-written story depicting the tragedy of war and the aftermath. Anita Abriel vividly describes the characters, the landscape and the events in this story. I would highly recommend this intriguing and thought-provoking novel for readers who appreciate Historical Fiction.

I read a lot of WWII fiction as a teen and young adult. A lot of the stories were about Jews in concentration camps but the story always ended with the liberation of the camps, which disappointed me greatly. I wanted to know what happened after the survived the atrocities. How do you return to a life where practically everyone you knew is dead? The Light After the War focuses completely on life after the war for two teenagers who escaped the train to Auschwitz.

The story begins in 1946 when two young women, Vera Frankel and Edith Frankel, arrive in Naples, Italy. At 18, they are barely adults, but each other is all they have left. Edith's father had abandoned the family before the war. Vera's father had been sent to a labor camp when she was 14 and has not been heard from since. Vera, Edith, and their mothers Alice and Lily lived in Budapest before being sent to the Jewish Ghetto and finally onto Auschwitz. It was late in the war by that point and Alice knew their only hope was to escape the train, but there was only time for Vera and Edith to jump. These girls, best friends since birth, survived the last year or so by hiding (and helping) on a farm in Austria. After the war, when it was thought that their parents were dead, an American officer suggested they relocate to Naples. It is there that the girls begin to put together a life they never imagined they would be navigating alone.

I was immediately drawn to Vera and Edith. The girls are likable and what they endured and continued to overcome is amazing. It was hard to believe at times that they were so young. Of the two, Edith retained the flightiness of a teenager - seeking love, admiration, fun, and fulfilling dreams. Vera, on the other hand, understood they needed jobs in order to survive. The Goodreads summary states that the book is based on a true story.

The descriptions of the places, food, and people make you feel like you are on the journey with Vera and Edith as they live in Naples, then travel to Ellis Island and onto Caracas, Venezuela and finally to Sydney, Australia. Throughout the story, you can't help but root for the girls. You want Edith to succeed at her dream of becoming a fashion designer and you hope that Vera will find her first love American diplomat Anton Wight. You feel their disappointments as keenly as if they are your own.

As Alessandra states in the novel, people need to study history, literature, and culture in order to empathy and that it is only through empathy that atrocities such as the Holocaust will never happen again. Abriel does a wonderful job of stirring empathy in the reader for Vera and Edith and by extension all those who suffered. And it wasn't in an overly preachy way or as if she is trying to make a statement about current political affairs. It is how empathy should be - seeing an individual and feeling their plight as if it is your own.

As the reader can see themselves as Gina, Marcus, Paolo, Signora Rosa, Lola, or Captian Bingham - characters who befriend the girls and want them to succeed, it is difficult to put the book down. You want to know what happens to the girls. When they are stranded on Ellis Island after their sponsor dies from a freak heart attack the day they arrived, you wonder will they be sent back to Europe where death follows them everywhere. (As Edith says, their loved ones didn't die once but keeping dying as they first believe the person is dead but then, perhaps years later, they get confirmation that the person is indeed dead).

I read this book in two days as the story flows so well, but I haven't stopped thinking about Vera and Edit. It is almost like I expect a letter from one of them to catch me up on their lives. That's how real these characters became to me.

If you love stories about the unbreakable human spirit, strong women who survived hardships that most people can never fully imagine living through, and entertains, then you definitely need to pick up The Light After the War. It will join the ranks of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See as a must-read epic WWII novel. Don't miss it!

My review is published at Girl Who Reads - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2020/02/the-light-after-war-by-anita-abriel.html

Anita Abriel’s debut novel, The Light After the War, touches on the Holocaust and the mass exodus of Europeans to South America and the USA after WWII. The focus is more on friendship, survivor guilt, and the struggle to get by <i>after</i> the war. This isn’t a story about WWII per se, but a story of trying to cobble together a life in the wake of a war. Normal has to be redefined. Expectations must be reset. Women spent the war taking care of themselves and others, yet they’re once again expected to live within the confines of old social mores that force them to pursue husbands for safety and stability and social acceptance.

The main characters are lifelong friends who are raised almost like sisters. Edith is talented but a bit flighty. She is understandably despondent over the loss of her fiancé and parents. She is portrayed as man-crazy, but I was left with the impression that her great losses during the war make her pursue life with abandon. She embodies carpe diem! She is going dance and party while she can, for who knows what tomorrow will bring. Vera is smart, but she quickly gives up her dreams to bring home the bacon. She is in survival mode. Vera’s heart is heavy with survival guilt; it is such a driving force for her that it seeps out of her pores. Even though Edith is the one actively looking for a man, it is Vera who repeatedly captures men’s hearts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and found it so engaging that I finished the book within a couple days. However, there were a few plot points that I found unbelievable enough that they cling to my brain as the most memorable events in the story. Even though the book is based, at least loosely, on the author’s mother’s life, I had a hard time believing that two teenaged girls would successfully escape from a concentration-camp-bound train. Equally difficult for me was the sudden disappearance of Captain Anton Wight as well as the story’s denouement (which I won’t give away).

The story is well paced and the writing is descriptive. There is just enough history included to make it a meaningful and enjoyable novel rather than a memoir. I loved Edith and Vera’s indomitable spirit and fortitude. Their loyal friendship and perseverance are great takeaways in any era.

The Light After the War follows two friends who escaped Auschwitz after the end of WWII. I really enjoyed reading a book set after the War and in settings other then Europe. Vera and Edith end up leaving war torn Naples and that is when their journey begins.

I enjoyed the two friends relationship with each other, the romantic angle was lacking for me. Both girls have gone through so much, however the loss and pain they went through are not conveyed well in the book. Overall I did enjoy the story and would recommend it to anyone that loves WWII fiction.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

Two best friends - Vera & Edith stick together through the war and afterwards as Hungarian Jewish refugees trying to figure out their lives at the ripe age of 19. I loved the idea of this novel and appreciated the nuance of these countries and their response at refugees surviving WWII in Europe. I struggled with the connection and the plot holes. I really had a hard time buying some of the incredulous events that took place - not sure if some of it was used for shock factor, but it was a lovely book without those devices to try to hook the reader.

Edith falls in love fast and wants to design dresses, while Vera takes life a bit more seriously and does whatever she can to ensure that they will survive another day. The characters were a little flat and while I was invested in Vera's story, I got some of the characters confused (Capt. Bingham & Anton) and had a hard time accepting the neatly tied up ending. I am curious to research the author's real life story that inspired this one, so will be looking into author interviews on this one. Looking forward to see this author publish more in the future.

The author based this book on her mother’s experiences escaping the Nazi death machine. It’s truly a remarkable story and it’s clear in the closing paragraphs that one reason she wrote this it is to make sure that no one forgets the atrocities. Vera and Edith grew up in Budapest in a intimate Jewish community, friends since early childhood. They were lucky when it mattered and resourceful when it mattered. And what a journey - Budapest to Naples to New York City to Caracas to Australia and Hollywood.

I was disconcerted by the jumping around in time. It was disruptive and I’d have to go back to reread to get the gist of that section. That and the inner dialogue of recrimination, guilt for her mother’s sentence in Auschwitz and her obsession over Anton. I got to where I’d use skip to the next paragraph every time I saw his name. But that’s just me. It was a very enjoyable read.

Interesting book based on a true story of World War II and survival after escaping from a train transporting them to Auschwitz. Vera and her best friend Edith survive living in a barn on an Austrian farm. until the end of the war. With a letter of recommendation from an American officer Vera gets a job at an embassy. She falls in love with Captain Anton Wight and after a quick romance and engagement, he disappears. This story takes these women to Ellis Island with hopes of entering the United States so Vera can find her Captain. After being turned away they move to Caracas and life continues.

This is a heart-wrenching story of survival, love, tragedy, true friendship, faith and hope. Vera Frankel and her best friend Edith Bar have lived across the hall from each other ever since they were born 3 days apart in the same hospital in Budapest, Hungary. When they are teenagers, after Vera's father is sent to a work camp, the girls and their mothers are sent first to the ghetto and then put on a train for Auschwitz. Alice, Vera's mother, comes up with a plan to shove the girls off the train on one of their stops. The girls survive being shoved off the train and it is up to them to survive without the Germans finding and killing them. This is a fantastic read of what happened after that and is inspired by the author's mother's survival during World War II. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster/Atria for the ARC of this riveting page-turner in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a WWII Historical Fiction fan.

The Light After the War by Anita Abriel is a beautifully written story. Vera and Anton were my favorite characters but there are many characters in this book that I really, really like. The Light After the war was at times tearful, sad and happy all rolled in one. Have kleenexes ready. If historical fiction is one of your favorites you will want to read this book. The author Anita Abriel (Anita Hughes) writes at the end the book was inspired by my mothers experience during and after World War II.

Using her mother’s life as inspiration, Anita Abriel writes an uplifting story about two Hungarian women who managed to escape from a train headed for Auschwitz. In the years that follow, the women manage to survive and follow their dreams in spite of their hardships.

Vera wants to become a writer and is the most level-headed of the two. Edith is interested in fashion and romance. The two grew up as neighbors and are as close as sisters. They have a healthy balancing relationship throughout the story.

Even though the story follows the lives of both women, Vera is the main focus throughout. From a farm in Austria, the women travel to Naples in search of employment. While there, Vera falls in love and becomes engaged, but events occur that prevent the marriage from happening.

Vera and Edith end up in Caracas, where both their careers take off. Edith makes a name for herself with her women’s fashions and Vera becomes a copywriter. Their lives seem to come full circle while they are in Caracas. Loved ones from the past reappear. At times, things didn’t seem very uplifting, especially for Vera. Luckily things have a way of working out and in the end, this story has a happy ending.

The story does make references to the concentration camps, but not in any great detail. The main focus is moving past the sorrow and making a life for themselves.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review

This is the story of Edith and Vera who grew up together in Budapest born only three days apart. They are sent with their mothers on a train to a labor camp. Edith and Vera are able to escape by jumping from the train. They find a farmhouse in Austria and stay there for a year until the war is over. They hope to gain news of their families and Edith’s true love. When they get the news that no one survived, they are given the opportunity to go to Naples and start anew. Vera gets a job at the American Embassy, and Edith works as a seamstress. The story contains love, loss, triumph and recreating themselves. It takes them from Naples to New York where they are unable to enter the country. They then travel to Caracas where they are both able to establish themselves and start careers. Life begins anew with an engagement, a windfall, a successful career and the most surprising news.

Inspired by a true story, the characters and story are most interesting and inspiring. I felt the writing while not poor by any means, a little lacking for the story being told. Serious subjects were described aptly, but I felt that somethings were glossed over or not given the attention that they deserved., which is why I only gave it three stars. That being said, the characters were well developed, and I did feel compelled to keep reading.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I did not expect to get fully engrossed with this one initially but I definitely felt invested in the lives of Edith and Vera. How their friendship shapes their experiences/lives is one amazing tale. At such young age, they experience such horrors, love, travels, struggles to survive, marriage and family. Their friendship is so endearing and heart-warming as they stay together and take care of each other in their troubles. They are not silly young women who just wither away, instead they fight hard to earn their living and make their lives. They are inspiring both with their relationship and their struggles in professions too.

They are of opposite personalities and still stuck with each other in time of need. It slightly felt like they had adventures in different countries more than struggles at quite a few places. Still it felt worth to get pulled into their lives.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced copy!

A heart wrenching read a book about two friends who jump off the train to Auschwitz and share with us their lives after ww2.Based on the authors mother’s life this is an emotional read a book I was immersed in.#netgalley#atriabooks

Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It takes places after WWII and focuses on two Jewish girls who have survived the war. There are flashbacks to incidents that occur before and during the war but most of the action takes places after and goes from Italy to New York to South America to Australia. Loved all the locations and the fact that while there were sad things that happened it was overall an optomistic story.

I only found one part a bit unbelievable but it was a page turner for me!

This was a wonderful surprise of a book. This is the story of Vera and Edith as they escape a train heading for Auschwitz and how their lives change after the war.

This book was a bit different from any 'usual' WWII story. It deals with the horrors, challenge of survival, friendships and a bit of romance.

My thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release in February 2020.

What I love most about this book is that it is based on the life of the author’s mother. The Light After the War tells the story of two Jewish women who survived the Holocaust. The book follows the lives of Vera Frankel and her best friend Edith Ban after WWII, with flashbacks to scenes during the war.

The book touches on some heavy topics such as survivors’ guilt and regret which are intertwined with the lighter subjects of hope and romance. I found that this book fell in that in-between place of not being unlikable, but also not being extremely enjoyable. There are aspects that I really appreciated learning more about, while other parts of the book I had a difficult time resonating with.

My review will also be posted on Instagram @rosetree_bookreviewer closer to the publication date.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria books, and Anita Abriel for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was entertaining and heartwarming, and its being inspired by a true story makes it better! Engaging and easy to read, too