Paper Love

Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind

By: Sarah Wildman

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Years after her grandfather's death, journalist Sarah Wildman stumbled upon a cache of his letters in a file labeled "Correspondence: Patients A-G". What she found inside weren't dry medical histories; instead what was written opened a path into the destroyed world that was her family's prewar Vienna. One woman's letters stood out: those from Valy-Valerie Scheftel, her grandfather's lover who remained behind when he fled Europe six months after the Nazis annexed Austria.

Valy's name wasn't unknown to Wildman - she had once asked her grandmother about a dark-haired young woman whose images she found in an old photo album. "She was your grandfather's true love," her grandmother said at the time and refused to answer any other questions. But with the help of the letters, Wildman started to piece together Valy's story. They revealed a woman desperate to escape and clinging to the memory of a love that defined her years of freedom.

In the course of discovering Valy's ultimate fate, Wildman was forced to reexamine the story of her grandfather's triumphant escape and how this history fit within her own life. In the process, she rescues a life seemingly lost to history.

©2014 Sarah Wildman (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Wildman's personal investment in this Holocaust-era narrative heightens the tension and raises the emotional stakes as her investigation unfolds." (Booklist)

Loved this story, made my heart sad

I really enjoyed this book. The story line was great and the narration was easy to listen to. At one point I felt like I was listening to the author.

Good book, mediocre narration

Listened to first half, finished reading on kindle bc of the narrator. Valy’s letters are beautiful as text but cloying when read with an overly dramatic voice that makes Valy sound like an imbecile.

Spoiler alert:

I also think that the author knew all along that Valy perished. It feels manipulative to string us along.

Not exactly a love story

For some reason, by looking at the cover of this book, I expected a love story of 2 people separated during WW2 but who somehow maintained their love affair through letters.

The only love letters are from the main character. They are desperate letters written by a desperate woman during a desperate time. I actually felt sad in regards to their content. You could feel her desperation imploring her previous lover to assist her to get out of Germany. But unfortunately, with little response.

However, for anyone who has done any type of genealogy this is an interesting case study. The main character is not related to the author, but was the former lover of her grandfather. But with any genealogy study one realizes how many facets a family member has that one may not be aware of. Also there are many connections to that family member that become of interest, and this is where the main character comes in.

Also, the author connects the characters of this book to historical events which makes them more interesting and relevant.

A must read

This is a riveting account of survivors and victims of the Holocaust and the generations that keep their memory and memories alive. A must read for all age groups, especially school ages. Never forget. Read to stop history from repeating itself.

Compelling and Personal Exploration

The story of Sarah Wildman’s dedicated search through Vienna, Berlin and Eastern Europe for traces of her Grandfather’s Jewish girlfriend, left behind under the Nazi regime when he came to the U.S., is deeply compelling.

I Couldn't Finish

I've picked up and put down this book several times over the past month. Maybe it's the author's interjecting herself into the story, maybe it's the repetitive thoughts (only slightly paraphrased), or maybe it's Tavia Gilbert's over-dramatizing narration...
I just can't continue this book. Maybe another narrator or an editor would have improved this book for me... but as it stands... I'm leaving this book behind.