The Lost Wife

By: Alyson Richman

Narrated by: George Guidall, Suzanne Toren

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there's an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers. Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the strength of memory.

©2011 Alyson Richman (P)2012 Recorded Books, LLC

BEST book I have read in a long time

If you could sum up The Lost Wife in three words, what would they be?

I don't want to write any spoilers, but want to say that you MUST read this book. The story is happy, sad, heart-wrenching, satisfying, well written, etc. Just make sure to have a box of tissues handy - I cried through the whole last hour of this book. The author did an amazing job with this story, the chapters changing between the stories of Josep and Lenka. The narrators did a fantastic job. I highly recommend this book.

15 of 15 people found this review helpful

Lovely and heartbreaking.

What made the experience of listening to The Lost Wife the most enjoyable?

This book captured me from the start.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I sat in my car and cried at the end.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Love, Strength & Survival

Any additional comments?

This book is a beautifully written story of love and strength. The book spans 80 years in the lives of several families that intersect, separate and then join again over time. It is based on the lives of real people and speaks of deep familial love and struggles for survival in WWII Prague. The narrators each gave perfect voice to the characters they portrayed. At first I was concerned about the two alternating readers-- but it quickly made sense and added depth to the telling of the story. While the book speaks of desolation and destruction it also presents beauty, art, deep love and courage. A really wonderful recommended listen.

77 of 87 people found this review helpful

Beautiful Story

I've read/listened to a lot of holocaust stories, and while it is always excruciating to bear witness to such suffering and evil, I am always amazed and the resiliency of the human spirit. This narrative had an especially hopeful tone. If I have a criticism of the author it is just that I wanted "more". More time with the characters, more time in the epilogue scene... more insights in to what makes people survive overwhelming loss and cruelty.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

A MUST READ!!

Any additional comments?

Kudos to author Alyson Richman, and narrators George Guidall and Suszanne Toren for the most heart rendering book I've read on audible. I will be thinking about this story for a long time to come. I love the narrators' depiction of the characters and their story . I am overwhelmed and never read a book so quickly.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

So much, and yet - not too much!

This book found the important balance between tragedy and evil on the one side and strength and character to overcome it all on the other side. Sometimes an author can create a story about losing everything without losing oneself. In these stories the characters, while you mourn with them for their loses and for the impact of those loses on their lives, you still experience the resiliency of human spirit to make a life in the wake of it all. This book was so good I bought it for others as a gift.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Never read a book so fast

What did you love best about The Lost Wife?

Everything. I loved the way the two narrators wove the story of the star-crossed lovers chapter by chapter. I loved the character development and the way the accents were done.
I enjoyed the epilogue and felt the ending was perfect. This is one of the most endearing books I've listed to and I was sorry to have it end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Lost Wife?

Josef's careful descriptions of his feelings are precious. I felt that when he burned his letters to Lenka, he was putting to rest his restless longing for her. His dreams of his family being happy for him are foreshadowing for what is to come. Don't want to spoil the book by saying much more.

What does George Guidall and Suzanne Toren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The two narrators brought the characters to life and I could not possibly have gotten the same feeling I got listening to their voices. I was impressed by Mr. Guidall's recitation of the Kaddish prayer, which was very authentic. I would seek out more books narrated by him.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The meeting of the two grandparents at the end was memorable.

Any additional comments?

Run don't walk to download this book. I don't think I've ever worn my earbuds for so long!

59 of 73 people found this review helpful

Heartbreaking

If you could sum up The Lost Wife in three words, what would they be?

History, Memory, Humanity

What does George Guidall and Suzanne Toren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I really enjoyed listening to both narrators. I esp. enjoyed George Guidall's voice. They both did a great job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cried. I've never cried while listening to an audio before, but when Lenka's family is transferred to Auschwitz I finally cried. They had already been through so much and had experienced so much tragedy that my heart just ached for them and every single person that endured the horror, injustice and pure lack of humanity of the concentration camps. I can't begin to imagine living through the Nazi occupation. There are so many layers of grief and suffering that were caused by the occupation - families were separated across countries and oceans, some were left behind to endure or die in a camp, so many people were never able to say good-bye, or just live a normal life, full of normal happiness, suffering and longing. normal. I only imagine the guilt, the ongoing guilt knowing you survived while so many of your innocent family and friends died.

Any additional comments?

This could have been a 5 star book. I wish the ending would have been different. The 2nd half of the audio moves and flows so naturally, and so intensely in a way that it was hard to escape the images from my mind. And then the end of the story came and it just didn't do the rest of the story justice. I was wowed by this heartbreaking story of love and family. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Yes, you might cry but it will be worth it!

27 of 34 people found this review helpful

Thoughtful, sad but engrossing love story

Over the span of 60 + years, thru WW!! and concentration camps, 2 young Czech lovers stories are told by fabulous George Guidall as Josef and Suzanne as Lenka. This is a novel that translates wonderfully to audiobook, especially with such talented narrators.

Alyson Richman gives a brief synopsis at the end of the book about who the characters are modeled after and much of the story is fictionalized history. I was born in 1943 and it amazed me to think that I was a happy well fed baby with no fears, raised in Los Angeles with my mom and dad and grandparents while in Europe babies my age were being starved to death or simply murdered. Books like this are important-we must never forget.

The story is haunting and can't help but be very sad, but the inner strength of some of the people makes me wonder if people today could endure what these families went thru with the same courage and grace.

5 Stars-everyone should listen to this if only for its historical value.

37 of 47 people found this review helpful

Not Stellar, but Solid

Joseph and Lanka fall in love during Nazi occupation in WWII. Told from alternating points of view, the two take divergent paths and most of the book is spent on their quest to find each other, meaning, and simply survival be it from atrocities or boredom. The characters are fairly well developed as are the backstories. Entertaining, enjoyable, just not engrossing. There are so many other titles during this time period to be placed at the top of your lists, but this one is solidly in the middle. Great purchase if on sale.

44 of 58 people found this review helpful