In post-war Germany, The Living and the Lost gives us Millie, returning to Germany to help sort survivors. However, sort is a much nicer term for it. Millie is a tough character to like. She’s carrying a lot of guilt for a decision she made in the past, which we don’t learn about until we’re ending the book. I don’t feel that there was any reason to put off learning about what this decision was. If anything, it exacerbated this disconnect I felt from her, but that feels planned by the author.

Millie is self-pitying; she’s tightly wound, to the point it puts everyone around her on edge. She’s willfully blind to most things around her because she has an agenda, and no one will change her perspective. For those reasons, it’s hard to like her as a character. But you don’t have to love a character to like the story. Mainly because this is an aspect of the war that isn’t often written about in historical fiction. This book will wring out a lot of emotions in the readers. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along.

This story takes place in the aftermath of the war, in the rubble that is left of Berlin. Siblings Millie and David who had escaped to America when they were still kids are now grown and have returned to Germany in service of the United States. Millie is weeding out the Nazis from publishing and David is helping the displaced persons.

Though they hope to find out what happened to the rest of their family and you would think such hardships would draw them closer they have secrets from each other that keep them apart, even as room mates sharing an requisitioned flat. Millie seemed quite cold and unfeeling at first. It was difficult for me to like her, although it eventually became clear why she harbored such ill will towards the Germans even though she herself was one of them.

I mostly enjoyed the story but there were times when it veered off towards secondary characters and plot lines that it did temporarily lose my interest and gave me the urge to skim. It could just be that I have finally had my fill of World War II novels or it could be that this story just didn't flow as well as it could. This is normally my favorite time period for historical fiction so I was really excited to read this book.

This is the story of a family who tries to leave Germany but only the 2 older children make it to America. What happened to the rest of their family? The young adults go back to Germany after the war, and find jobs, but their primary job is finding their parents and little sister.

While the perspective of a German Jew who escaped the Holocaust and returns to her home to work in the denazification process is unique, this narrative was just all over the place. Transitions between the past and present were sloppy and confusing, and while the book's pitch focuses on Millie's story, it veers into her brother's POV and other minor characters a little too often. The characters felt flat and uninteresting, and the facts of Millie's job are just presented in a vague, assuming way.

I’ve read plenty of books about WWII. But this is the first I can remember to tackle post-war Germany and the attempts to put the country back together.
Millie and her brother David were young German Jews who were sent to the US at the very start of the Nazi regime. Their parents and younger sister were unable to get out. Now, they’ve returned to Berlin. Millie is assigned to the US Army, trying to sort out which Germans can be cleared to return to publishing. David is working on helping Displaced Persons.
Feldman does a great job of giving us a true sense of the time and place - the Occupation by multiple nations, the hedonistic atmosphere of Berlin, the black market, the spying. I really felt I learned a lot reading this. She also does a great job of expressing not only the rage of the “American” Jews who have come to help, but also their commitment.
The question raised here is how to move forward - to heal, to forgive, to overcome the survivor’s guilt. All the characters were interesting, but Harry Sutton captured my interest the most. He is the one most able to see the grey, to try to find empathy.
This book moved me both intellectually and emotionally. It would make a great book club selection.
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

Another WWII story for me! Well, another post WWII story that focuses on the rebuilding of Berlin. I will never get over the amount of devastation took place during the time in history. Lives, homes, relationships and so much more that has been lost forever.

Millie and her brother David have returned to Berlin from America after the war. Will they be able to find their family members that were left behind? Will they be able to overcome survivor's guilt? Will they find out what happened to their young sister that was left behind?

Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release on September 7, 2021.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Great historical fiction that shows the impact of WWII during and after the war. Strong characters and a gripping story. Highly recommend.

I found this book fascinating. Many of the historical fiction novels that I have read take place during WWII. But this is the first that gives you an idea of the aftermath. I have always pictured -the war ends, everyone heals and life goes on. This book dealt with HOW do we heal?

Picture yourself in Berlin right after the war. You need to work with the people there. They hate that the Americans have taken over their country. You are now in charge of giving people their lives back - you can displace them from their homes, you can help them find a job, etc. You need to figure out if they worked with the nazi's or if they just knew what was happening and turned their heads... Was it possible anyone didn't know what was happening?

Now with that awful situation, you are Jewish, and your family is missing, perhaps dead. I cannot imagine the emotions that I would be feeling. I cannot put myself in that situation although this book certainly tries.

The main character seems so cold in the beginning, and then we start to find out why. Then she starts to see that maybe everything isn't black and white - there are shades of grey. She shows so much growth in this book, yet remains true to herself.

For so many reasons I want to give this book 6 stars.. But on the other hand, I had a really hard time connecting with the main characters. There is a reason for that, but it made it more difficult to get absorbed. into the story.

This book brought out a lot of emotion, which is good, But most of it was sadness, or anger or stress. This book was really intense.. I was almost exhausted when I finished reading it. . Was it an excellent book? yes. Did I love it? I am still deciding. The book gave us hope, but when I was finished, I still felt kind of depressed.

I do want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

The Living and the Lost is the story of two Jewish siblings who flee Berlin right before the Nazis can round them up and ship them off to death camps. Suspecting but not knowing the fate of their parents and younger sister, Millie and her brother David arrive in the United States where they find safety, but not peace. When the U.S. Army offers both of them a chance to return to post-war Berlin, each accepts for different reasons. Millie wants revenge. She wants to look in judgement upon the faces of the Germans who survive in their ruined city, she wants to root out Nazis and watch them pay for their crimes, but most of all she wants to hold out hope that somehow, someway, her mother, father, and sister survived the camps. She needs the impossible, even as reality faces her around every corner.

This was the first Ellen Feldman book that I’ve read, and I enjoyed it. I thought her writing was strong, and the storyline definitely held my interest, despite some terrible run-on sentences and archaic word choices. I’ve read quite a bit about WWII and the Holocaust, but I admit I know little about Germany after the war and what it was like for those who survived among the ruins of Allied-bombed cities. The Living and the Lost was an interesting glimpse into that world. I found Millie hard to like. I cannot pretend to understand what she has been through, but she is so unforgiving, so judgmental of those around her. Her guilt has twisted her into an individual who is unraveling and won’t or can’t understand the damage she is doing to herself and those around her. This return to Berlin is penance for a perceived sin and guilt that Millie cannot overcome. She is haunted by a past from which she cannot escape and unable to accept the future that waits for her.

I did think there were a few storylines and scenes that didn’t add to the overall story and seemed to be a dead end for some secondary characters, and I am not sure why there needed to be a plane crash after everything else that had happened, but overall I enjoyed the book and would read others by Ellen Feldman.

Millie and David Mosbach a brother and sister who return to Berlin, Germany after the second world war, each with a different agenda for going, yet both with questions about what had really happened when they were children escaping the Nazis and their rounding up of the Jewish population. Now back in Germany as adult and, working for different parts of the US government, they both need to deal with their many issues, regret, guilt, sadness and much, more from their past lives. They both need to get to a place where they can live their lives in a better frame of mind.
This author so far in the two books of hers that I have read, gives us different views of WWII, she picks individuals to work around, using their backgrounds and present and past experiences to propel the story.
This story is hard to read at times as the misunderstandings, of certain situations or the lack of empathy for both side who are trying to start over and to see each other in a different light.
I really like this authors writing, and her characters are always well developed and the story lines creative.
I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book.

The Living and the Lost, by Ellen Feldman, is a well-written, historical fiction. If you enjoy novels about or set during WWII, then this is a book you will enjoy. That being said, if you have read a lot of WWII/post-WWII novels, this one may seem a bit repetitive. I did enjoy reading the book but didn't finish it having gained any new knowledge of the period.

THE LIVING AND THE LOST by Ellen Feldman is a compelling story of a young German Jewish woman who returns to her native Berlin during the post-war occupation of Germany by the Allies, including American, British, French and Russian forces. I’ve read a lot of historical fiction set during World War II, but this story had a different perspective, focusing mostly on activities in Germany after the war has ended. Millie Mosbach and her brother, David, narrowly escaped from the Nazis just before the start of the war, but were separated from their parents and little sister. They are taken in by a kind and wealthy family in the United States who provide them with a home and an elite education. They remain in the US until the end of the war. With still no word of the fate of the rest of their family, both siblings are haunted by the atrocities against Jewish people during the Holocaust and can’t help feeling guilty that they have lived a relatively safe and easy life during that time. Now Millie and David are employed by the US government and find themselves back in Berlin working as part of the “de-Nazification” effort. Millie is so fueled by her hatred of the Germans, it is hard for her to be objective when interviewing German citizens for civilian positions in publishing. David’s job is to help displaced people start new lives, but he may be doing more behind the scenes than his sister knows. The author deftly interweaves the present day story with flashbacks and memories of the past. The raw emotions of the characters were portrayed with compassion and empathy. I was intrigued by this story of loss, sacrifice, resilience and forgiveness and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

This book is set in Berlin shortly after the end of WWII. The allies are working to rebuild Germany. There is concern that former Nazis not be placed in influential positions going forward. To help with this effort many German born Americans are recruited. The story focuses on a brother and sister who had escaped Germany at the beginning of the war. They have returned to help their adopted country but also to seek missing family members. Needless to say there are a lot of emotions involved in their situation. The sister has to come to terms with a decision made in their past. Berlin is a desperate broken place full of desperate people trying to survive. The author does a good job of evoking this.
(this review is of an advanced reader copy)

A rich, historical fiction novel. Hope and sorrow mingle in this post war story. The writing is very atmospheric and captivated me.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book made me really think about the survivors of the Holocaust. As the main character begins to confront the demons of her past, she begins to realize that some of her memories are not quite in line with reality. I cried during some of the depictions of courageous people working to free themselves from awful situations. I would like to use this book with an older high school class. This book deals well with some very sensitive topics with true finesse.

I loved this one! Like a few other reviews have mentioned, it takes place in the period directly after the war which is a period that few WW2-era books address. I found the main characters' stories compelling and the descriptions of post-war Berlin grim but added context and background to the story.

I am avid fan (and reader of) WWII historical fiction, though I haven't read much post-WWII histfic, which I'm trying to rectify, and this novel is a good place to start. It was an engrossing & eye-opening read and I'm thankful the publisher invited me to read it. I'm not sure it would have come up on my 'book radar' otherwise.

This book was definitely hard to get into at first. Through no fault of the writing at all - in fact, the writing I thought was particularly good. Moreover, the reason this one was hard to get into was that it felt like just another WWII novel that kept explaining things that we all already knew (those of us who read enough of these books, at least). However, when you actually take a step back and look at it through a new lens, one that views it through two siblings who have escaped before the war started and really are trying to help rebuild, it came together quite nicely. Once actually in the story, though, it was much more easy flowing and less rocky to navigate.
This being said, I found it somewhat hard to relate to Millie (as I think most of us would, having not gone through the events that her and David went through), until I got more into the story line. It was interesting to view a theory from Millie's perspective, especially as she was reflecting back on what those who actually fought the war had lost. The dichotomy of those who were on the home front and those who were actually fighting the war - who actually had it worse? I think this novel does a great job of actually exploring the different facets of war and how terrible it truly is for all those involved.
The time period of this book is actually one that seems to be underrepresented to me (could just be my reading tastes, though!). I find it hard to see books that actually deal with the fallout of WWII immediately after-the-fact. Sure, there are plenty of books about the cold war, but I seldom come across a book that is set in the latter half of the 1940s.
Overall, I give this a solid 3 stars and would recommend this to people who are looking for a good WWII novel that offers differing perspectives.

I’ve read so many WW2 books and this one is different. It started off interesting but then it became very confusing. It was wordy and just didn’t keep my attention. I do think some historical fiction fans of WW2 will enjoy this book.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

4.7 stars, rounding up.

Things I loved:
Each of the characters had nuance, conflict, and layers upon layers.
The author did an amazing job at showing without telling. For example, the author never says "As a German Jew, Meike . . . but gives the reader plenty of clues in the first chapters to show why Meike speaks impeccable German and understands loss, allowing the reader to connect the dots.
As someone who speaks German and has been to Berlin multiple times, I loved the little details, the German words, the mentions of Tiergarten, and Zehlendorf, etc.
Because of the author's variety of characters, none of whom were touted as perfection, the author was able to deal with heavy topics with grace, without being preachy. Instead, we saw how the four principal characters (Meike, David, Theo, and Harry—all expat German Jews) dealt with their hatred, loss, grief, shame, and guilt in the face of the horrors of their lives, each in a different way, none of which was ideal.

Things I didn't love:
The pacing. Though the flashbacks were enlightening and necessary for the story, they grew too frequent and too long (or perhaps not enough was happening in the present timeline to balance things out) for me to stay entrenched in the story. I found myself skimming to get back to the present.

All in all, an amazing story told with nuance and subtlety. Looking forward to reading all of the author's other works.