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The Lost Letter: A Novel
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The Lost Letter: A Novel
Unavailable
The Lost Letter: A Novel
Audiobook9 hours

The Lost Letter: A Novel

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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About this audiobook

"A gorgeous and thrilling novel… Perfect for book clubs and fans of The Nightingale."PopSugar

A historical novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families. A heart-breaking, heart-warming read for fans of The Women in the Castle, Lilac Girls, and Sarah's Key.

 
Austria, 1938. Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher's fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance to send underground messages and forge papers. As he falls for Elena amidst the brutal chaos of war, Kristoff must find a way to save her, and himself.

Los Angeles, 1989. Katie Nelson is going through a divorce and while cleaning out her house and life in the aftermath, she comes across the stamp collection of her father, who recently went into a nursing home. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers an unusual World War II-era Austrian stamp placed on an old love letter as he goes through her dad's collection, Katie and Benjamin are sent on a journey together that will uncover a story of passion and tragedy spanning decades and continents, behind the just fallen Berlin Wall.
 
A romantic, poignant and addictive novel, The Lost Letter shows the lasting power of love.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 13, 2017
ISBN9781524776947
Unavailable
The Lost Letter: A Novel
Author

Jillian Cantor

Jillian Cantor is the author of award-winning and bestselling novels for adults and teens, including In Another Time, The Hours Count, Margot, and The Lost Letter, which was a USA Today bestseller. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

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Reviews for The Lost Letter

Rating: 4.327014265402844 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

211 ratings34 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "The Lost Letter" moved between Austria in 1938, at the start of the German Occupation, and Los Angeles in 1989. The two stories slowly unravel throughout the novel and merge at the end, although a bit unrealistically.I usually enjoy the historical story more in these books but I found myself totally caught up in the lives of Katie and Benjamin, as well as Elena and Kristoff who were living in Austria. These characters were all very sympathetic and I liked the secondary characters as well, especially Katie's grandmother."The Lost Letter" was about love, sacrifice, resilience and never giving up hope, and the mystery of the lost letter kept me engaged and entertained throughout the entire novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Katie Nelson, in the midst of a divorce and her father's losing battle with memory loss, loses herself in a search for meaning and connection following the trail of a lost love letter in her father's stamp collection. She begins connecting people and events between 1989 and the resistance in Austria in 1939.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Thank you to Penguin First to Read for the opportunity to read this book in advance.I'm giving this book a solid three stars, as I wasn't overly impressed/blown away by the writing style or the story, but nevertheless, The Lost Letter is readable and never came across as boring.The stories alternate between late 1989-91 in LA and 1938-39 in Austria. Both focus on love connections which are obvious from the start, and especially in wartime Austria, detracted from the overall seriousness of the being-Jewish-in-Europe situation. Furthermore, the internal thoughts the characters had to themselves seemed very melodramatic to me. There was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, which simplified the writing. This could easily have been read by a mature teenager and have the entire message of the book grasped and understood. To the author's credit, however, the conversations were realistic in the 1989-91 Los Angeles half of the story, though less so in German-occupied Austria.Everything about this was very clean and each issue/problem that arises has a clean resolve that you don't have to wait too long for. Very spic and span, if you're into that. No real mystery here. I also didn't feel that I gained new knowledge about the World War II time period, nor the East/West Germany time period in the late 80s and early 90s. As I said, this is not a boring read, but it is in no way challenging.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked this book, but it doesn't really stand out much for me among the historical fiction I've read. I was much more impressed with this author's earlier novel The Hours Count. In this book, the popular topic of World War II emerges in the form of an Jewish-Austrian stamp maker, his family, his apprentice, and a scheme to help Jews escape Nazi Germany - all of which comes to a head over fifty years later when a young woman in Los Angeles is trying to sell her father's stamp collection. I'd recommend this to fans of World War II-era fiction.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very interesting historical fiction. I enjoyed the story and the characters and thought it was well-written. I would definitely recommend this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love everything about "The Lost Letter" by Jillian Cantor. The publisher is Penquin Group, Riverhead and the publishing date is June 13, 2017. The genres of this book are Historical Fiction and Fiction. Kudos to Jillian Cantor for the beautiful storytelling and descriptions of the locations in this novel. The timeline of this story is both World War Two and in the time when the wall came down between East and West Germany, both significant times in history. The locations take place in Austria, Germany, England and the United States. The characters are complex and complicated. In the turbulent time of World War Two, there is betrayal and secrets. Some of the characters during this time period are brave and courageous and hold on to their beliefs of a free Austria. These characters take risks to survive the German occupation In the present timeline in the book, the wall is coming down between East and West Germany. many of the characters are looking for answers and are fighting for freedom. I love the way that the author has both past and present like puzzle pieces, that have to be put together I appreciate the research the author has done on stamps and engraving, and the significance in history. Everything about this book is amazing, and intriguing. I recommend this book tremendously! Happy Reading! I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Her father had been an avid stamp collector his entire life, Katie fondly remembers going with him to resale shops and garage sales, as he searched for unusual stamps. Now in a memory care unit, regressing to the past, Katie takes his collection to an appraiser to see if there are any hidden gems. A letter is found, unopened, addressed to a Miss Faber, bearing an unusual stamp. This will be the impetus for a search that will take us back to Austria in 1938, and to an Jewish engraver, his daughters and his young non Jewish apprentice.A new take on the importance of using stamps to send messages by the resistance and though this story was slow to seduce, it includes so much history that I was wondering over. Of course the sympathetic characters eventually won me over as did the clarity of the writing, and the seamless weaving of historical events. Dual story line but had no trouble following and in fact enjoyed both, one set in Austria and the other set during and shortly after the Berlin Wall was finally taken down.The author chronicles what is fact and how she came up with the idea for this novel, in her end note.. The Lost art of letter writing, so rare in this electronic age, but meant so much in the past. Left a record we won't be leaving, left traces when the people involved were gone. Wonder how we will be remembered, if at all? The ending is conclusive and satisfying if a little too sentimental, but then again there weren't very many happy endings in the Holocaust. ARC from publisher.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have enjoyed every book I've read by Jillian Cantor and this one is no exception. It's historical fiction, woven between two time periods;WWII and the late 1980's. It revolves around the WWII resistance in the form of forged stamps and a presumed love letter bearing one of those stamps. The letter is found undelivered in a stamp collection when the owner, Ted, is placed in a nursing home and his daughter, Katie, has the collection appraised. The search for the letter's recipient takes the reader to the UK and Germany. Through the eyes of the characters the reader witnesses not only Kristallnacht and the worries of those in the resistance but also the much more recent fall of the Berlin Wall. An excellent read that I wish would have gone on but admittedly was better left to the imagination of the reader.(This book was an arc provided to me in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication June 13.)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love reading books about WWII and this is one of the best that I've read. The characters and story are so well done that I read long into the night to finish it because I was so intrigued with the story.The novel has dual time lines - 1938-9 in Austria telling Kristoff's story and 1989 in LA telling Katie's story. Both stories are very interesting on their own and when they merge into one it's creates a fantastic story line. Katie takes her Dad's stamp collection to be appraised because her dad is in a memory care unit with early dementia. The appraiser finds an unopened letter with a stamp that he has never seen and he and Katie try to solve the mystery together. The other story line involves Kristoff, an apprentice stamp engraver working with the Farber family in Austria. As he is working and living with the family, the Nazis are approaching and finally arrive in the town they live in. Since the Farber's are Jewish, their lives are in grave danger. This is a beautiful novel about love and family and how the love and loss during war time can have repercussions that last for generations. It's wonderful novel and I highly recommend it.Thanks to the author and the Great Thought's Ninja Review Team for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely love this story. It's one of those books that you are sad when it ends. I will definitely recommend it to everyone I know.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I did not immediately like the narrator but she grew on me. Overall, this was a fantastic story and taught me a bit of history.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a great read/listen. I only clicked on this one because it was suggested after reading the nightingale but I’m glad I did. I’m sitting on the train to catch the last chapters of the book and did not expect to be flooded with emotions at the ending. Can’t remember the last time a book made me tear up.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's 1938 Kristoff is the apprentice of Frederick, a master stamp engraver in Austria. His employer is Jewish and while living with the family Kristoff learns more about the religion. When Frederick goes missing during the Kristallnacht Kristoff has to continue his work. He does this with the help of Frederick's daughter Elena, who's secretly a skilled engraver as well. Together with Elena Frederick doesn't only make stamps, he also forges papers and helps the Austrian resistance. It's a dangerous job and they can easily get caught. Kristoff and Elena are in love, but times are difficult. Will he be able to keep them both safe?

    It's 1989 and Katie brings her father's stamp collection to Benjamin, a dealer, to have it appraised. Benjamin is immediately interested and when he discovers an unusual Austrian World War II stamp they start a search together to find out more about its background. Katie's father is in a nursing home and can't give much information about his collection. Katie is going through a difficult time as she's also getting divorced. Will she and Benjamin be able to uncover the truth behind the stamp and will this journey help Katie to heal a little?

    The Lost Letter is a beautiful story about love, loss and danger. The main characters are all incredibly interesting. I equally loved reading about the past and the present. Kristoff is kindhearted and generous. He would do anything to keep Elena safe, but she's determined and fierce and doesn't listen to anyone. Katie is a wonderful woman who loves her father very much. She and Benjamin are both lovely people and they have a special connection, I loved reading about the bond they formed. I couldn't wait to find out where both stories would lead and Jillian Cantor constantly kept me on the edge of my seat.

    The Lost Letter is an impressive book about a fantastic subject, stamps. I loved reading about the way they were made and their history. I also really liked the idea of the unusual stamp in the collection Katie brings to Benjamin and enjoyed going on a journey with them to find out more about it. The part about the Second World War brought tears to my eyes, as Jillian Cantor writes about it in a poignant honest way. Her story is gripping from beginning to end and has many fascinating elements. The Lost Letter is an amazing compelling book, I highly recommend this surprising and unique story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read the book,but is not on scribd to review,that said it was beautiful and it should really be more popular than it is.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautiful story! A little slow at times but the story came together well!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Enjoyable but a little bit of harequin romance. Loved the historical parts
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great engaging love story. I would read it again and again.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    One would think that a novel about Jews in Germany would be narrated by someone who knew how to pronounce German and the word, “Judaism”. An unfortunate choice which ruined the book for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A truly wonderful story! I loved the back and forth of the chapters between Austria and LA. It's nice to read such a sweet story during such a dark time in history.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not just another WW2 Jewish novel....this book is a keeper by a great author! I loved the familial connections from that horrid era to 1990. I learned that philately has to do with the study/ collection of stamps. And I stayed up way too late , at 11pm-ish I decided I could read another chapter, pages flew by and when I checked the time again? 1:30 a.m. I did wonder if I would run to safety, or stay and resist, and most likely die.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Thank you to Penguin First to Read for the opportunity to read this book in advance.I'm giving this book a solid three stars, as I wasn't overly impressed/blown away by the writing style or the story, but nevertheless, The Lost Letter is readable and never came across as boring.The stories alternate between late 1989-91 in LA and 1938-39 in Austria. Both focus on love connections which are obvious from the start, and especially in wartime Austria, detracted from the overall seriousness of the being-Jewish-in-Europe situation. Furthermore, the internal thoughts the characters had to themselves seemed very melodramatic to me. There was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, which simplified the writing. This could easily have been read by a mature teenager and have the entire message of the book grasped and understood. To the author's credit, however, the conversations were realistic in the 1989-91 Los Angeles half of the story, though less so in German-occupied Austria.Everything about this was very clean and each issue/problem that arises has a clean resolve that you don't have to wait too long for. Very spic and span, if you're into that. No real mystery here. I also didn't feel that I gained new knowledge about the World War II time period, nor the East/West Germany time period in the late 80s and early 90s. As I said, this is not a boring read, but it is in no way challenging.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    When Katie Nelson takes her father's stamp collection to an expert to see if there's anything of value, she doesn't expect anything will come of it. But when the appraiser, Benjamin, expresses interest in what may be not only a rare find but also an anomaly, a mystery is laid before her that she can't help but try to answer. And the journey takes her down a path that spans back over fifty years and exposes secrets and identities that have been long-buried and thought lost forever. Along the way, Katie also just might find some things she thought she had lost forever as well...

    When this book first started jumping back and forth between the 1989 "present" and the 1938 "past", I found myself wondering if there was any real connection or if it was just two stories being told side-by-side because of a single point of connection: a stamp. And the reality is that while that stamp is the key to much of the story and the connection, there is so much more here that reveals itself as you go. This is a story of love, of perseverance, of exploration, and of never giving up hope.

    [Disclaimer: This review is based on an advance review copy received from the publisher as part of the First to Read program.]
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Lost Letter is a beautiful novel of historical fiction. In the late 1980's Katie is caring for her father who suffers with Alzheimer's Disease. Her father had been an avid stamp collector and she's beginning the process of evaluating/selling his collection. One stamp on an unopened letter brings a journey to the past and understanding in the present tense.Alternating between 1980's-1990's Los Angeles and 1930's Austria we learn about the stamp, the letter-writer and the intended recipient. Other than The Sound of Music I've rarely read of the Nazi occupation in Austria. And yes, the stamp has an edelweiss!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What a delightful read and definitely what I would call a “feel good” book! The story takes place in two alternate times and places: 1938-39 Austria, under the Nazi occupation, and 1989-90 Los Angeles. In Austria, the story focuses on Frederick, a Jewish stamp engraver, who — along with his wife, daughters Elena and Miri, and his non-Jewish apprentice Kristoff deal with the Nazi invasion and occupation of their country. In Los Angeles, the story focuses on 30-something Katie Nelson, a journalist who is dealing with a sudden divorce and her father — an avid stamp collecter — who has been stricken with Alzheimer’s. Obviously, stamps play an important role in the novel, and the author seamlessly weaves the alternate narratives together beautifully, throwing in a few well-placed surprises toward the latter part of the novel as well.This novel is beautifully written and well-researched; it is history mixed with fiction at its best. I truly enjoyed this heartwarming story and look forward to reading other works by Jill Cantor.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So, you may have to believe in co-incidences or maybe you're able to suspend reality just a bit, but I LOVED IT!

    Great characters, loved the historical background and the back and forth from present time to the war years.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Such a interesting read (listen to)... I love the mingling of timelines and the story of hope and restoration:)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    after a long time.. pleasant historical fiction. The part where the young meet again is expressed well.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Spell bounding. This book grabbed my attention to where I could t put it down. I highly recommend it.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The story opens with Katie, dropping of her father's stamp collection to a dealer to get it appraised. Katie fondly remembers going with her father to resale shops and garage sales, as he searched for unusual stamps, a gem he called them. Now suffering from dimentia/alzheimers, he is in a home, The Willows, and has told Katie she can keep his collection. She tells her father and he becomes very agitated. When she calls the dealer to tell him she is going to pick up the collection, he tells her he has found something and wants to meet her to discuss it. It is a letter that was addressed to a Fraulein Faber, but was never mailed and the stamp was one he had never seen before.

    The story is told with two narrators. Katie in the present, and Elena Faber in 1938/1939 in Austria. We learn about Elena and a young man named Kristoff. He is an apprentice engraver with her father Frederick Faber who is renowned for engraving stamps. In the present Katie and Benjamin, the stamp appraiser, follow up on the information they find about the letter heading off to Europe to see if they can find the mysterious Fraulein Faber and deliver her letter to her. We learn about the lives of all four of these characters and how they end up where they are now.

    This story pulled me in right from the first page. We know that there are risks involved with being Jewish in 1938 as well as the risk of helping the resistance. The story of Katie and Benjamin was also interesting and it was nice to see their relationship blossom. I did not know much about stamps and stamp collecting, but learned several things while reading this book. I found out about the importance of using stamps to send messages by the resistance. The characters were very sympathetic as is usually the case when reading books that took place during this time, but to actually have the ending that occurred in this book was a nice change, although some may see it as a convenient conclusion. I had no trouble following the double story line and enjoyed the way they came together. Historically, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust, the beginning of WWII were all well researched. The author's note at the end was very enlightening. She explained how she came up with the idea for this book, make sure you read it as well. Overall, a very satisfying read and one that kept me hooked right from the start. I want to thank the First To Read program for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Three words: beautiful, moving, and bittersweet. This book is a unique tale of the Austrian Resistance during World War II, centering around the love story between the daughter of a Jewish stamp maker and his apprentice. THE LOST LETTER is really historical fiction within historical fiction; the story alternates between the fall of the Berlin Wall (late 80s/early 90s) and the German invasion of Austria (late 1930s).In 1989, Katie Nelson, whose life has been upended by her divorce and caring for an ailing father, finds a curious stamp on a letter from the World War II era in her father’s extensive stamp collection. With the help of an appraiser named Benjamin, Katie is able to uncover the story behind the mysterious letter.I enjoyed this book very much, and was intrigued by both Katie and Benjamin in 1989, and Elena and Kristoff in 1939. What secrets did the stamp and letter hold? This book was a lovely blend of mystery, romance, and history. I do love vintage stamps, and this book gave readers a look at the intricacies of stamp engraving, and how they were miniature works of art. Highly recommended!Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through Penguin’s First to Read Program in exchange for an honest review.