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thistlereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
super_shawnna81's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
novabird's review against another edition
3.0
This book despite its easy to read style was very confusing for me to rate, because of the heavy content simply delivered. I can see now that it is through Lenka’s voice that we as readers remain detached as Richman uses numbness as Lenka’s emotional tone to ensure her survival. Yet my question that remains is as an artist how realistic is it that Lenka stayed as aloof as she did? Is the answer that her memories of her husband and her art were enough to sustain her, sufficient? We read nothing really in the way of witnessing other people around her for whom they would have had stronger responses to their situation of imprisonment in a work camp, other than a fight between two sisters, which Lenka coolly observes that it was hard to believe that they were sisters.
The Lost Wife, is labelled a ‘Romance,’ at my library with cute little red hearts on a white background. The irony of this is apparent to me as this novel read more as, ‘Historical Fiction,’ than as a, ‘love story.’ Yes, there was evidence of love in its many forms throughout the novel, from maternal, to fraternal. In reality, there was very little romantic love except for the idealized, early memories of Lenka and Josef’s relationship of a one-week marriage.
However, Richman’s writing has a beauty to it that is simple, clean, with some illuminating passages.
What moved me most is what touched Lenka the most and that was the birth of a blue baby. I could see Rita and her newborn son, Adi, and my heart twanged and my throat ached. Although I expected my tears to flow, they did not, and I wonder why. I think maybe it had to do with the foreshadowing of the color blue; by showing Josef’s son Jacob as favoring the color blue and being ‘different,’ by the blue paperweight given to Josef by his grandson, by the birth of Josef’s grandson, who had all the modern medical help in delivery and yet was born blue. That given the dire difference in birth circumstances, the reader had an expectation that Rita’s and Adi’s birth experience would not end as happily. During Lenka’s capturing the portrait of mother and child, we hear the strongest evocation of emotion when Rita ‘cries like a frightened animal,’ and Lenka’s ‘in an act of almost primordial desperation.’ Here again with the latter we hear a distancing effect Richman uses with Lenka’ voice by describing her experience as an act, instead of saying, ‘out of a deep primordial desperation.’.
Maybe it was the structuring of such short chapters, or the longer chapters separated into so many shorter passages, where you don’t really get a deeper chance to continue the narratives of either Lenka or Josef, but instead get quick sketches. Or, maybe it was the incongruency I felt with the blending of historical fiction and romance, where the underground art movement held my attention more. Or, maybe it was the different time frames used for comparison between the story of Lenka’s early life followed by a 52 year encapsulation of her marriage to Carl and Josef’s ongoing life did not match up that I think added to the distancing effect that I experienced.
But for some reason I had a feeling of detachment during my reading of The Lost Wife. Yet I know the visual ‘images,’ will stay with me forever, even as the characters themselves will definitely fade.
I am torn on how to rate this. “The Lost Wife,” has certainly had an impact on me both visually and factually and with the simple beautiful prose and these points will keep this work memorable in my mind. Yet the distancing effect created by Lenka’s voice and the way Richman constructed the framework of “The Lost Wife,” lost its promise of engagement. In some ways this is both a best and worst novel, so much so, that I can only fairly give it a straight up 3, when it could have been so much more had Lenka experienced greater internal conflict(like when she experiences desire for Petr) rather than a generalized nervousness and had the Lenka and Josef alternating sections had stronger parallels. As well, I can think of a much better and earlier meeting of Lenka and Josef. One in which Petr’s portrait of Lenka surfaces and is discovered by Josef and they are reunited earlier and this would have developed the plot line of the underground artist movement much better as well.
After thought: I wonder if Richman deliberately cast Lenka as dissociated from life, It is apparent that she did, so I think Richman could have better prepared the reader with a 'sudden' shift in her demeanor through an event, or with more difficulty shown a slow progression towards numbness, as it stands the explanation is left off for far too long.
The Lost Wife, is labelled a ‘Romance,’ at my library with cute little red hearts on a white background. The irony of this is apparent to me as this novel read more as, ‘Historical Fiction,’ than as a, ‘love story.’ Yes, there was evidence of love in its many forms throughout the novel, from maternal, to fraternal. In reality, there was very little romantic love except for the idealized, early memories of Lenka and Josef’s relationship of a one-week marriage.
However, Richman’s writing has a beauty to it that is simple, clean, with some illuminating passages.
“I had to teach myself that love was very much like a painting. The negative space between people was just as important as the positive space we occupy. The air between our resting bodies, and the breath in our conversations, were all like the white of the canvas, and the rest our relationship- the laughter and the memories- were the brushstroke applied over time.”
Spoiler
What I really felt was the Jewish People’s resistance in singing, “Requiem,” as this showed that they were not defeated, and it made me think of hope in a dark place, choosing to sing despite the fact that they would be transported. I could hear them singing in beautiful defiance.What moved me most is what touched Lenka the most and that was the birth of a blue baby. I could see Rita and her newborn son, Adi, and my heart twanged and my throat ached. Although I expected my tears to flow, they did not, and I wonder why. I think maybe it had to do with the foreshadowing of the color blue; by showing Josef’s son Jacob as favoring the color blue and being ‘different,’ by the blue paperweight given to Josef by his grandson, by the birth of Josef’s grandson, who had all the modern medical help in delivery and yet was born blue. That given the dire difference in birth circumstances, the reader had an expectation that Rita’s and Adi’s birth experience would not end as happily. During Lenka’s capturing the portrait of mother and child, we hear the strongest evocation of emotion when Rita ‘cries like a frightened animal,’ and Lenka’s ‘in an act of almost primordial desperation.’ Here again with the latter we hear a distancing effect Richman uses with Lenka’ voice by describing her experience as an act, instead of saying, ‘out of a deep primordial desperation.’.
Maybe it was the structuring of such short chapters, or the longer chapters separated into so many shorter passages, where you don’t really get a deeper chance to continue the narratives of either Lenka or Josef, but instead get quick sketches. Or, maybe it was the incongruency I felt with the blending of historical fiction and romance, where the underground art movement held my attention more. Or, maybe it was the different time frames used for comparison between the story of Lenka’s early life followed by a 52 year encapsulation of her marriage to Carl and Josef’s ongoing life did not match up that I think added to the distancing effect that I experienced.
But for some reason I had a feeling of detachment during my reading of The Lost Wife. Yet I know the visual ‘images,’ will stay with me forever, even as the characters themselves will definitely fade.
I am torn on how to rate this. “The Lost Wife,” has certainly had an impact on me both visually and factually and with the simple beautiful prose and these points will keep this work memorable in my mind. Yet the distancing effect created by Lenka’s voice and the way Richman constructed the framework of “The Lost Wife,” lost its promise of engagement. In some ways this is both a best and worst novel, so much so, that I can only fairly give it a straight up 3, when it could have been so much more had Lenka experienced greater internal conflict(like when she experiences desire for Petr) rather than a generalized nervousness and had the Lenka and Josef alternating sections had stronger parallels. As well, I can think of a much better and earlier meeting of Lenka and Josef. One in which Petr’s portrait of Lenka surfaces and is discovered by Josef and they are reunited earlier and this would have developed the plot line of the underground artist movement much better as well.
After thought: I wonder if Richman deliberately cast Lenka as dissociated from life,
Spoiler
"And then it was as if my old heart finally tore open. I could feel the shell that I had so carefully maintained for all those years come undone. And the words, the feelings inside, seeped out like sap from an old forgotten tree."sonialusiveira's review against another edition
4.0
A love story that spans over 60 years beautifully written. Lenka and Josef were young lovers, and husband and wife for a couple of weeks before they have to be separated by war. It’s a beautiful story of their survival during and after the war. It is also a very well written and well researched novel. A must read for any fan of WWII stories.
devansbooklife's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful and moving book. I love how the author uses actual people in her book, sharing their real eperiences in her work of fiction. This book captivated me from the start and once I started reading it I couldnt put it down. Although, it's tone is somber and sad, the book was easy to read and emotionally charged.
cavereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
b00knrd's review against another edition
5.0
I have not read many holocaust novels. This is probably only my 2nd. I really liked the book. I am not a history lover either, therefore this was a wonderful book to give me both a great story about love as well as giving me a better idea of the horrors that my ancestors experienced. I'm sure this was only the tip of the ice berg. However, for me, it was enough.....for now.
apol27's review against another edition
4.0
wonderfully written, heart wrenching story...great bookclub discussion
beillumined's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to give this book 4 stars, because I really loved the characters, the writing, and the storyline itself. But what I didn't like was the timeline in how it was written, and how jumbled the two storylines were. I didn't mind that we went back in time with Josef and Lenka, but what I did mind was that they weren't on the same timeline. Josef would be much further ahead in his life than Lenka in the story, and I found myself confused at how old they were or what time frame they were at in their lives as the story moved back and forth between their points of view. I think it would have been better to keep them at the same time frame, or at least given us dates so we knew where we were in the story. I also would have loved to read more about their reunion at the end, rather than just a snippet.
Other than that, I found the story to be overall very heartwarming and touching and I loved both the characters very much, though I did feel more connected to Lenka's story as it was more in depth than Josef's.
Other than that, I found the story to be overall very heartwarming and touching and I loved both the characters very much, though I did feel more connected to Lenka's story as it was more in depth than Josef's.