A satisfying read

It's been a long time since I have found myself sobbing at the end of a book, but it happened today when I finished the novel I've been reading this week.  My traveling pal Cindy, recommended we read The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman at the same time.  The novel is set in Prague and Terezin, so it seemed like a good choice for the two of us to share, having visited both just this past January.  It's a Holocaust novel, which won't appeal to many, but this romantic tragedy has innate appeal for  people like us.

I will acknowledge a penchant for stories of love and loss (to quote the promotional materials for the book).  I'm a huge Jane Austen and Bronte sisters fan, and indeed this story did not disappoint my inner romantic.  That said, there was a kind of thrill in recognizing the artists and locations recounted in The Lost Wife.  The cover is a lovely hand-colored shot of a couple kissing by the Charles Bridge.

 
The book notes that Prague was not as severely affected by World War II as other European cities.  The U.S. Air Force conducted several bombing raids on Prague toward the end of the war, but on our January visit we did not see evidence of the damage which had taken place (1000 people had been injured, over 700 killed, and hundreds of buildings and historic landmarks had been destroyed).

Unfortunately, Prague was well known for an unfortunate association with the Third Reich.  Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most notorious Nazis, served as the Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor (Deputy Reich-Protector) of  Bohemia and Moravia.  Prague also takes pride in the fact that  Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík,  two young soldiers representing the Czechoslovak government in exile, assasinated the evil Heydrich.

As much as I loved the love story, the book really drew me in with the story of the main character's time at Terezin.  Our visit to Terezin had been a real mixed bag.  On the one hand, we did learn a great deal.  We spent most of our time at the Small Fortress.  It was an enlightening and disturbing visit, as I've written in a previous post, but I guess I had envisioned more time in the ghetto--the town of Terezin itself.  Our trip to the town itself was divided between the crematorium and the museum.  We felt a bit rushed through the museum, but we did see a mock-up of the Magedeburg Barracks, which allowed us to get a sense of what the living conditions must have been like.

I think this book is a must-read for anyone who has visited Terezin or who has an interest in the artists who were imprisoned there during the war.