Naomi Ragen has written several wonderful books about Jewish women, and this is an excellent addition to her repertoire. Highly recommended for readers of historical fiction!

An overly melodramatic telling of an important story-the back-story of the characters read like a soap,opera and the plot is just not urgent enough for me to continue with my reading. The only audience I coukd imagine this book for was a very unsophisticated one.

“The Enemy Beside Me” by Naomi Ragen is historical fiction, about the Holocaust experience written by a Jew. I have been a fan of Naomi Ragen for around 15 years and have read all of her books. This one takes us out of the religious communities she usually writes about and into Lithuania and the role its people played in the Holocaust. While it is a tough subject matter, it is handled deftly. The Lithuanian people aren't completely blamed, but it is clear that the sparks of antisemitism were there and easy enough to turn into a blaze. Main characters Mia and Darius are used to explore this heavy topic, and their character development isn’t as strong as the Holocaust story but its okay. The book shines a light on the fact that about a third of the 6 million or so Jews killed in the Holocaust were murdered execution style by local militia based groups, and not the Nazis or the military. That's more than were killed in Auschwitz-Birkenau. This book explores that dynamic and those events - including that countries like Lithuania have struggled to acknowledge their own roles in the Holocaust. This is such an important book to read, and I strongly encourage you to do so. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy.

The Enemy Beside Me was another winner from Naomi Ragen. This historical fiction book takes on what happened to the Lithuanian Jews during the holocaust and how that still affects the FMC decades later.
Interesting, absorbing and totally readable.

Milia is the head of an organization that brings Nazi war criminals to justice for the crimes they committed in the past. She is invited by Dr Darius Vidas to speak at a Holocaust conference in Lithuania. She’s hesitant to accept, but it’s important to her that people are aware of the atrocities that really happened in Lithuania. Everyone has wanted to bury the truth, and they don’t want to talk about what really happened. Milia and Darius find themselves getting more intimate than they expected as they get to know each other more and they talk about the past. The story is a tough honest look at the past. And I felt more and more engaged in that, along with Milia’s and Darius’s relationship.

THE ENEMY BESIDE ME
Naomi Ragen

Milia has been invited to give a speech at a Holocaust conference in Lithuania. She wants to make sure that her voice is clear, and that her words are not coerced or misconstrued. She doesn’t have a lot of faith, in fact, she has little. What she does have is hope. Hope that her message will be heard and that others will understand history better.

Hope is what drives her.

I truly feel that I do not know enough about the subject and that time in history to give a solid opinion one way or the other as to the correctness of statements made about the atrocities committed and spoken about in this book. What is spoken about is devastating and relayed with passion and a heartfelt desire to inform and enlighten others.

This is not light reading, but it was illuminating, and I felt stretched as a reader which I considered to be a great thing. Without a doubt my toughest read of the year. I found THE ENEMY BESIDE ME to be split between romance and historical fiction and I found myself wishing Ragen had left the romance out of it. I do not feel it lent to understanding the characters better or furthering the plot.

I’m glad I read THE ENEMY BESIDE ME, and I know this book is important. I would recommend it to select readers, however, I struggled with the material and ended up with a three-star rating.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copies!

THE ENEMY BESIDE ME…⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE ENEMY BESIDE ME by NAOMI RAGEN

This is a historical fiction novel based on a true story.

It was a heavy read, as they were many stories depicting the way they Lithuanians persecuted their fellow Jews.

It also deals with Holocaust denial and people rewriting history because they look bad. I found that part very interesting and not something I had really thought of before.

These stories are always hard to read, but they need to be read.

This is a very good read. Thank you to NetGalley and @stmartinspress for the gifted copy.

#basedonatruestory #wwii #historicalfiction #theenemybesideme #naomiragen #netgalley #netgalleyreads #holocaust #holocaustdenier #lithuania #lithauanianjews #israel #literaryfiction #stmartinspress #smpinfluencers #jewishstories #bookstagram

It's incredibly clear that history is a passion for Naomi Ragen as The Enemy Beside Me is inspired by true events and showcases so much of Lithuania's past. Without a doubt, this is a heavy book, but there is so much knowledge to be learned from reading such a powerful historical fiction.

It seems there is a thread of romance within many books of this genre, but Ragen does a good job of making it not become the focus. Milia Gottsein is head of the Survivors' Campaign, determined to bring justice to those that can no longer speak of the horrors they endured, while Dr. Darius Vidas is set on proving that not all Lithuanians were out to cause harm to the Jewish population and to prove that there were those who indeed did good. The two are brought together by Darius requesting Milia give a speech in Lithuania. There is a strong need for these two characters to understand what transpired in their lives, causing their perspective, and I loved how there was a melding and understanding between them.

This book shows you primarily the history and the facts in the first half, then slowly reveals the heart and personal accounts of those murdered in the second. Being written this way allows for so much learning and then so much heartbreak. As this book revolved around a part of history I somehow had no idea about, it broke my heart repeatedly and made me cry.

The audiobook narration is done really well; Gina Murray really acted the parts with respect and empathy. I also enjoyed the voices the narrator used for each of the characters' dialog, which made it easy to follow along with.

How long do we hold one accountable for the decisions of their ancestors' previous sins? How big does your heart need to be to accept that some members of this generation do not have the same views of previous ones? When do individuals stand up and reject government propaganda?

This book is simply so well done.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

I have just finished this book by Naomi Ragen...a very powerful book that takes place in Lithuania after WWII. Coming from a family of Nazi hunters, like her grandfather and father before her, Mila becomes involved. She is invited to speak at a conference in Lithuania and she does so, speaking her mind. In doing so she becomes despised by many and a public enemy. As difficult as this book is to read, it is a must...the Holocaust must never be forgotten and here we are today facing antisemitism as it increases across America and more.

Immense Gratitude to #NetGalley and Griffen Publishing

This is a beautifully crafted novel with characters, I enjoyed spending time with this fact based fictional piece. This was a difficult read at times due to the monstrosities that occurred to the Jews at the hands of the Lithuanians. An aspect of history I was not familiar with as part of the World War II narrative. I highly recommend it for the historical fiction readers out there.

What a story! Heartbreaking and a history I did not know about in regard to the Lithuanian aspect.

A must read!!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

A lot of info dumping of very serious topics contained in a flimsy fictional narrative - I’d rather read a history book to get this information.

This book was a struggle for me. I think given the state of the world and everything going on in Israel (and against Jewish people worldwide) this hit too close to home for me. I found myself crying through the majority of the book and zoning off into a happier place. That being said, this book is SO important to read. The research was incredibly well done. The characters are wonderful and the questions that they are faced with are real, difficult and powerful. A well written story touching on the atrocities of the past and how to keep those stories alive in the future. A must read, even if it is an emotional struggle to get through.

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

A MUST READ! The Enemy Beside Me, by Naomi Ragen is a potent, moving, heartbreaking historical fiction novel (based on true events), about the Jews of Lithuania during WWII. Told through a third generation nazi hunter, a granddaughter of a holocaust survivor, searching for her family’s truth. I personally have learned new, terrible facts about this specific community, which I think that we should all know. A most powerful read! Loved the dynamic and suspense involving a unique Lithuanian professor and their interactions. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for this copy for review. All opinions are my own

A difficult but important book to read, Ragen has crafted a novel which tells the horrors of the Jewish Genocide at the hands of the Lithuanians during WWII. Milia is the granddaughter and daughter of two men who were involved in bringing to light and to justice the perpetrators of the horrible treatment and murder of almost all of the 220,000 Lithuanian Jews. When asked to speak at a conference in Lithuania, Milia meets Darius, a professor who thinks he understands what he is undertaking. Their friendship deepens s Darius finds out more about his own family history. In light of the Holocaust denialism that still exists, books like this are more important than ever. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Milia Gottstein is following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather in a quest to bring justice to the victims of the Holocaust. In Lithuania, the number of Jewish deaths was staggering. I had never heard about how bad things were for the Jews in Lithuania or for the people who helped them.

The book is a very sobering account of what went on and how Lithuania has tried to keep their atrocities out of the public eye. Milia was extremely focused on getting retribution for the Jewish people and bringing the war criminals to trial. Because of the this, Milia can appear combative at times and almost obsessive about her work.

In addition to the stress of her work, Milia was also facing a possible divorce, which in my opinion, did nothing to add to the story.

If for no other reason, this is worth reading simply to learn about how Lithuania treated their citizens during the war and how it seems as if today they are still in denial of their wrongdoing.

Many thanks ti NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.

A different perspective on the Holocaust, foremost, that of a Jewish woman helping to run The Survivors Campaign. Her manhunt for Nazi war criminals leads to many places, including the US, where these criminals fled and were assisted by the governments therein for far too many years. Told from many points of view, focusing on the Lithuanian atrocities, whose Jewish population had been 96% wiped out following Nazi law, is followed by gaslighting, scapegoating and excuses when the acknowledgment and reparation of the horrific actions would have been a better use of their time.
Flip side *One man’s quest to show the stories of the Lithuanians who were helpful in order to ease his shame and give an alternate view is where the story gets even more interesting. In his quest to “reinter (Jewish victims) with dignity, respect and true sorrow; to finally stop hiding the truth, however painful.” leads down roads not thought to be taken. Lies and truths unfurled as these two seemingly polar opposite people, on opposing sides of this atrocity, can come together to unveil truths and find forgiveness for their parts & also those who came before them.
Not only a detailed novel, but also an eye opener as many of these post war events are not well known by most people. An entertaining yet informative fictional depiction of a time in history that is both humbling and shaming on many levels. Well done.

Survivor narratives are a large part of the story of the Lithuanian conference making this book difficult to read. It is an important story and one that is told with passion by the author. Of the 220,000 Jewish people in Lithuania in 1941 approximately 95% were killed and as of 2009 fewer than 4,000 remained.

A powerful and thought provoking story. Very well researched and rich in historical detail.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had a hard time getting into this book, which made me enjoy it a little less than I would have if it grabbed me more strongly from the start.