It's hard to communicate how painfully offensive and badly done this book is. From the start, it becomes clear that the writer neither understands, nor particularly care about Judaism or Jewishness. Charles as a character barely seems to exist. He is a cipher, a poorly drawn and ill-fitting caricature of a survivor. His Jewishness does not seem to affect him. His thought processes rarely center what is actually happening. His mind turns to sex when he leaves Auschwitz. He galavants about his Nazi minder's village, seemingly unconcerned about the suffering he has left behind. When a German woman bemoans a soldier's death, he simply wants to wag his finger and scold her in the most sterile of terms of how "war is about land and not people!" That he is a minority whose people are being subject to genocide seems to mean absolutely nothing to him.

The writer had done almost no research whatsoever. He does not understand how gas chambers worked. How Jews in the camps were actually treated and acted (portraying them as legions of servile sheep to the slaughter with no nuance). Karel/Charles wins some favor by playing to the Nazis with a Heil Hitler salute. Except it was explicitly illegal for Jews to do this. That a Jew would think it would help in Auschwitz is mind boggling.

Perhaps the one credit to the book is the relationship between Karel and his Nazi abuser is portrayed as just that: abuse. But in a book about an abuse victim reclaiming his identity, as Karel does, The omission of identity is shocking. Throughout the entire climax, Karel does not think of himself as a Jewish man. He does nothing Jewish. His reclamation is not about him being Jewish. He does not say berakhas, he does not participate in Jewish holidays. That he is Jewish doesn't seem to register.

Kensington Books should be embarrassed. This book is Boy in the Striped Pyjamas levels of bad and appropriation. Some of this would be easy to excuse, but we REALLY need to have a talk with how gentiles approach Jewish narratives in the Holocaust. Richards could not have cared less about doing justice to a survivor's story. His Q'N'A is full of privilege, reeking of offensive statements. Saying how own voices are good "in theory," he strawmans the entire argument of appropriation, reducing it to "but then should I not write any BIPOC characters," ignoring the massive difference between character and telling someone else's story without sensitivity. He claims we need more Black authors, and more Asian writers....but he very notably does not list Jewish writers. Despite telling a Jewish narrative in a field where Jewish voices are often erased in favor of gentiles.

And then he claim the commonality he shares with his character is "deeper" than being Jewish or a Holocaust survivor. It is a gobsmackingly shocking thing to say and a horrible example of Jewish erasure.

I hope there is a chance to learn from this criticism. But this is a bad book. It is a horrifyingly offensive book. It is unfortunately, a very antisemitic book that believes it is not and there is already too much like that on the market.

We Are Only Ghosts:
“He understands he has just knocked on the door to madness.” In 1968 New York City, a former prisoner of Auschwitz comes to find the family, more so the Nazi Officer, that took him from the camp and had him live in their house as a servant, fulfilling the needs of both the house and the officer.
This book dealt with some heavy subject matter, peeling open Holocaust- a word with such ubiquitous cultural and historical inflammation, and forced the reader to peer into just one man’s story throughout this period of time. As a reader, we’re confronted with some realities and scenarios: homosexuality has always existed, humans need to express their sexuality, how do you do so when the backdrop is the literal Holocaust? Perhaps that sexual identity is the crux of the whole story, and not necessarily reliant on the main character, Charle’s, Jewishness. Could this book have been set in another time period? Perhaps, but then that would take away from some of the discomforting yet necessary realties we have to consider when remembering the Holocaust in a constructive way.
By the end of this book, we’re left with an understanding that Charle’s was, yes a victim of the Holocaust, and yes, certainly gay, but not much more than those two things. There were moments for the author to really let us see who Charles is: when he first sees Berthold in 1968, when his father dies, when he’s taken to Berthold’s house in Poland, when he’s forced to watch his mother and sisters die, when he finally gets his birth certificate back. But with each opportunity it seems that the character is merely a straight-man for the events around him, ironically lacking any real personality or motives- whether that was intended to parallel the plight of a lost Jewish identity or not isn’t an idea that is played with.
Ultimately the only thing we truly come to know about Charles is that he’s outlandishly horny. Maybe that is the true plight of man, to place sexual desire above all other things, but… there’s a time and place. Or perhaps that’s exactly the point– the time and place might not be the most couth, but the necessity is still there. For instance: “The Obersturmfurher smiles at the understanding in Karel’s eyes.” Almost immediately after Charles has been taken out of Auschwitz, he’s thinking about sucking dick. Auschwitz and sucking dick don’t seem to belong in the same sentence, but here we are. And then that is all we are left with. The author didn’t take the time to dive into the intricacies of such a relationship- between that of a Nazi Officer and Jewish prisoner from Auschwitz. There was something there but was ultimately not expounded upon in any meaningful way.
There was so much meat that this book had to offer, so many outlets for the author and reader to explore together, but instead, any poignancy is left to the reader to extrapolate on their own. A lot of questions were presented, and the reader has the option to answer them on their own, separate from the author.
I recommend this book for the avenues the narrative offers the reader, but not necessarily for the narrative itself.

LOC. 413: “hew own cup of coffee” should be “her own cup of coffee”?
LOC. 588: “you doesn’t know enough to connect you?”” should be “who doesn’t know enough”?
LOC. 1036: “someone kind of manager” should be “some kind of manager”?
LOC. 1703: “exists the taxi and” should be “exits the taxi”?
LOC. 2248: “l ghosting in his memories” should be “ghosting in his memories”?
LOC. 3535: “barks angry dog snarling” should be “barks like an angry dog snarling”?
LOC. 3573: “AGAINST hand. Karel continues to” should be “against hand. Karel continues to”?

Thank you Netgalley / Kensington Books for the Advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Publication date:  20 Feb 2024

Completed reading in just 2 days and that explains how excellent the writing is!!
Set during WWII,  this story is about Charles,  a young Jewish boy living in war-torn Europe, who at seventeen along with the family was deported to Auschwitz.
Unfortunately or fortunately he was taken in by a Nazi officer to his basement as a slave and something more. This officer turned out to be both his saviour and torturer.
This is not a typical holocaust tale,  but it has more to it.
Just loved how the story has been narrated,  suffice it to say,  this is one of the best books that I've read in recent times.
Well deserved 5 stars 💥💥💥💥💥

Incredibly powerful, profound and moving. Definitely aimed for those who are older so I wouldn’t recommend to anyone under the age of 18, but I loved it!

Told in two timelines, the (linear) present and the (nonlinear) past, this book follows a nam of many names, whom we know of as Charles at first. He was 17 when he was taken to Auschwitz, with his parents and sisters.

Quickly, he, alone is taken in by a German Nazi, Berthold, outwardly as a slave, but secretly, in his basement at night, a lover. Now, 27 years later, Charles is going about his days as a free man in America when Berthold begins to frequent the cafe in which Charles works.

What proceeds is the story of Charles in all its glory and wretchedness. He can’t seem to decipher his feelings about Berthold. On one hand, he knows this man was evil to him, to Jewish people, but he was also kind and loving to him.

I was leery about reading this at first, not wanting to read a book where a German Nazi was potentially romanticized and made out to be heroic in any way, but I am so SO glad I did because this wasn’t so much the case.

Instead, this is a story of Charles and everything he endured. My heart bled for this man, his journey, and his pain. I was sobbing openly through the depictions of his terrible treatment, the treatment of his family, the conditions in the camp, as well as during the moments of his triumph.

This was a beautiful and incredibly painful story where this man faces his demons and decides whether to seek retribution or not.

A wholly unexpected five stars.

This isn’t a novel I would recommend for students in grades K-12, but it is an excellent work for college students. This story is a juxtaposition between the authentic love of two individuals during the aftermath of a loveless, hateful war. This novel gives a slice of life narrative of what love is during a time there is so much hate. The characters are developed and the different settings throughout the novel will take you a a journey that you will not soon forget. Excellent!!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with this kind of storyline. A survivor of the Holocaust must face the ghosts of his past when the Nazi officer to tormented him comes back into his life.

That’s heavy!!

The entire book has an overwhelming sense of unease and melancholy. Not in a bad way but this is not for someone that is looking for a light read.

I commend the author for the story they told. I really enjoyed reading the Q&A at the end that explained how the idea came to life and why the author felt it was important to be told.

Thank you NetGalley, Jeffrey L. Richards, and Kensington for the opportunity to read We Are Only Ghosts. I have written this review voluntarily.

I had to push back all my pending reviews to talk about this book first!
I finished the book yesterday and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since!

The story:-
It is 1968, and Charles Ward is head waiter at Café Marie in New York City. Charles wasn't always this person - he used to be a different boy, in a different land at a time when the world was light years away from his present life!
Until one day, when an older couple walk into his cafe and just like that, all those years and walls and defenses against his past life crumble away!
For here is the woman who was never pleased with his work no matter how hard he tried! And here is the man who had owned his body, his soul and his life all those years ago when he was 17years old, in Auschwitz in 1941.
The man who had been so tender and so brutal to him and was in some convoluted way responsible for saving his life!

What I loved:-
This is not a typical Holocaust story.
At first it seemed to be a wistful, emotional, melancholic tale about a man who had left his younger, queer, Jewish self buried in the past. The man who refused to look too closely at the strange relationship that had sprung up between himself and the warden of his prison camp - the warden for whom his feelings of affection and hate would forever be intertwined!
Midway into the book, the story shocked me with a change in tone and it took me a while to figure out how I felt about that! Good, I decided!
The story moved out of the past and into the present, bringing with it an edge of danger, of action and a whole new power dynamics between the two main characters !
The beautiful and heart-wrenching conclusion left me exhilarated and sad at the same time, that I had finished the book!

This book releases on 20th February, 2024 - watch out for this one, I have a feeling it will blow you away!

We Are Only Ghosts
By: Jeffrey L. Richards

5 Stars

This is a novel of war, suffering, and identity. This is a story that spans decades and many locations. This is the story of a man. This is the story of Charles.

Charles has worn many faces. He has been a ghost in the background of many cafes. He has also been a Jew and a part of the Holocaust. He was a victim and a savior. Since the age of 15, he has battled to simply survive. Along the way, he battles with who he is and the man he will become.

This book was simply amazing. It was powerful as a war novel. It was also a powerful story of sexual identity. Charles was an amazing character and his story will grab you, heart, and soul, and stay with you for a long time. The pain, the suffering, and the triumphs in this story can be felt coming from the pages.

I have ready many books and this one is one I can say will be with me for a long time. It gives a different view to the war and life in general. This is a must-read. I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this amazing ARC.

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

Wow. . .this title was everything that I had hoped for and more! This title tells a unique and original character-driven story shaped by the holocaust and its aftermath. Well-imagined, written in beautiful and exacting prose. When I first read the description of this title, I was immediately hooked, but I wondered if Richards would be able to tell such a tale in a believable way and with humanity and insight. He absolutely does so! Beautiful and captivating! I hope that this book gets the attention it deserves!

We Are Only Ghosts is a thought-provoking novel of a Holocaust survivor. Charles/Karel in some ways seems to be a picture of Stockholm Syndrome. He maintains an attraction/affection(?) with respect to the Nazi who, in a way, saved his life. He remains loyal (for lack of a better word) even in the face of Bertoldt's absolute cruelty and inhumanity. I had never read anything by Jeffrey L. Richards before this book, but I intend to read more. He writes compellingly and carefully about damaged souls while not leaning on stereotypes as characters. I would point out that there are some fairly graphic depictions of sexual situations and those scenes may be more than some readers can tolerate, but there was nothing gratuitous about it. The story was about a survivor of the Holocaust and the power structure that made the horrific abuse he suffered possible. And while it was terribly dark to read at times, it was also a novel of hope, of personal triumph, and of finding the good in awful places.

Despite being set during the Holocaust, this is not your typical Holocaust book. It does at times, go into the harrowing details of life in the concentration camp, but that is not the focus of the story. It is the journey of the main character that gives this book its backbone. Charles navigates a brutal relationship that echoes those of Lolita and My Dark Vanessa. I can understand how this book has been compared to A Little Life due to its heart wrenching moments where the reader can feel the sorrow, melancholy, and pain of the main character. Each step in the journey had me pausing to ask, "What would I have done?" as I'm sure the narrator intended. Things are not black or white in any world, so it was hard to guess what would happen at the conclusion. I found myself sitting in silence after the last page.

#WeAreOnlyGhosts #NetGalley

This book!

This is one of those books that I have to sit with for a bit before writing an in depth, thoughtful review....But wow. I would definitely recommend. 5/5 stars.

I will update my review across all platforms once I have gathered my thoughts.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read the early!

5/5- highly recommend, holy grail books

I immensely enjoyed the journey of Karel from 1968 New York, to 1941 Czechoslovakia and back again. This novel is reminiscent of John Boyne- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Hearts Invisible Furies- in the portrait of a young queer man grappling with the trauma of his past. I enjoyed the exploration of identity, and reclaiming what has been stolen from you. On a lighter note, I appreciate when the title of a book is intentional and referenced within, rather than a marketing afterthought. The concept of victims being ghosts of their former selves, and invisible to their abusers is stunning and thought provoking.

-Thank you to the author, Jeffery L Richards, Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.