Book Review: ‘The Light After The War’ Is An Awesome Novel Of Two Young Women’s Lives After WWII

Author Anita Abriel has taken the real life story of her mother and best friend from their lives during and after the time of WWII in Budapest to Naples to America to Caracas To Australia and turned it into a GREAT novel. It is early in the year but this might make my top 10 list for 2020. Just an expect story of two young girls that survived the Holocaust and were able to get on with their lives through determination, love and the friendship they have with each other.

Vera Frankel and her best friend Edith Ban have fled Budapest to Naples, with the hopes of starting a new life. Vera has a job interview with the American Embassy with Anton. Edith is still hoping that her finance has survived the camps he was sent to. Vera gets the job and soon finds herself in a romance with Anton and plans to get married. Then he suddenly disappears leaving a note for her. She and Edith decide to go to America to try and find him. They have a sponsor so they can get into the country. But things don’t work out and they end up going to Caracas.

Edith gets her dress designing business up and going. Vera gets a job and meets Ricardo and ends up marrying him. He’s an insanely jealous man and she soon learns this. She also gets pregnant. Then tragedy strikes and Vera has no choice but to more with her parents (who somehow survived being sent to camps) to Australia. She is raising her son and soon her past comes back and Vera may have a happy ever after. And Edith gets her business going and moves to Hollywood.

The story is told with flashbacks to their childhood and how they were with their parents and lost them and how they survived the Holocaust and get to where they are today.

Just a great debut novel. More books like this and Anita will be a force to be reckoned with.

You can pick up The Light After The War in stores on Tuesday, February 4th from Atria.