The Lost Baker of Vienna

A Novel

De: Sharon Kurtzman

An historical novel inspired by the experiences of the author’s own family after the Holocaust, a sweeping saga about survival, loss, love, and the reverberating effects of war

In 2018, Zoe Rosenzweig is reeling after the loss of her beloved grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to her family during the war.

Vienna, 1946: Chana Rosenzweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother, and her younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn’t look like they’d imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe.

Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father’s recipes. Soon, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions. How will Chana balance her love of baking against her family’s need for security?

The Lost Baker of Vienna affirms the unbreakable bonds of family, shining a light on the courageous spirit of WWII refugees as they battle to survive the overwhelming hardships of a world torn apart.

©2025 Sharon Kurtzman (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“By turns mysterious, tender, suspenseful, harrowing, and moving, The Lost Baker of Vienna illuminates an important time and place little explored in WWII fiction. I was captivated from the first page of this story about Holocaust survivors in the war's aftermath and beyond, and can't wait for readers to get hold of Sharon Kurtzman's powerful must-read debut.”—Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Behaved Woman

“Inspired by an illuminating conversation with her mother about her family’s untold Holocaust-era past, Kurtzman has crafted an eye-opening reimagining of a period in history not often visited: the experience of the Jewish refugee in postwar Europe. A timely tale of hardship and hope, with strong, resilient women at its core.”—Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones

“The Lost Baker of Vienna is not a war story but a post-war story, resisting the easy route of survival-as-happy-ending and examining the darker side of rebuilding life in the rubble of a war zone. Young Chana Rosensweig arrives with her family in postwar Vienna, desperate to emigrate to America after surviving the concentration camps, eking out a living in a hotel kitchen. Chana's mother urges her to marry a man who can protect them from the dangers of a city ruled by Soviet soldiers, antisemitic neighbors, and black market criminals, but Chana dreams of using her skills as a baker to start a different kind of life—a life her great-niece Zoe is still untangling more than fifty years later. Sharon Kurtzman takes her own family history and spins it into something truly special, a tale of grit, bravery, and humanity that will not soon be forgotten.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network