Our Current Read

Meeting on September 9, 2025 @ 12pm

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying open nearby. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in sixty-five years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.

The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer—but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
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St. Jude's Book Club
What we have read and are planning to read next...
Date Title Author Rating Comments
Dec 2025 The Messy Lives of Book People Phaedra Patrick    
Nov 2025 Coronation Year Jennifer Robson    
Oct 2025 Family Family Laurie Frankel    
Sep 2025 The Book of Lost Names Kristin Harmel    
Aug 2025 In The Upper Country Kai Thomas 5/5 In the Upper Country gave us a lot to think about - not just through its characters and plot, but through the history and themes it brought to life. We explored ideas of freedom, belonging, and justice, and we considered how the stories within the novel connect to our own understanding of the past. While many of us will likely have to read it a second or third time to be able to follow all of the stories, we all learned so much about both the untold history of Canada and ourselves.
Jul 2025 The Clementine Complex Bob Mortimer 2.5/5 Members were very split in their feelings about this book. Some thought it was hilarious, with many laugh-out-loud moments. Others found it impossible to connect with the characters and didn't enjoy the frequent swearing in the dialog. We were all able to appreciate the detailed descriptions and silly moments with the squirrels.
Jun 2025 The Jane Austen Society Natalie Jenner 5/5 We were incredibly priviledged to be joined by author Natalie Jenner for this meeting. She shared the story of how this book came to be, and inspired us all. The group definitely wants to read the next book in the series.
May 2025 The Reading List Sara Nisha Adams 5/5 We were all really touched by this book. It brought up some incredible discussions about loneliness, grief, mental health struggles, and the importance of community.
Apr 2025 The Rose Code Kate Quinn 5/5 This book was loved by everyone, even those who were reading it for the second and third time!
Mar 2025 Anxious People Fredrik Backman 3.5/5 This was a re-read for some of the group, which gave us the opportunity to discuss what a second reading of a book can bring. The way that the narrator omitted descriptions of many of the characters until later in the book added to the mystery and caused some confusion. 
Feb 2025 The Lost Apothecary Sarah Penner 4.5/5 Another big hit with our group! This book spawned a lot of discussion about difficult marriages, women's roles in society, and when/if murder is ever acceptable.
Jan 2025 Remarkably Bright Creatures Shelby Van Pelt 4.5/5 This was a great choice for our first book. Many people in the group said that this isn't something they would normally pick up, and they were pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed the book.

Our ratings:

5 - Loved it! A new favourite!
4 - Really liked the book. Would recommend to others.
3 - It was a good book but not my favorite.
2 - It was just okay.
1 - I really didn't enjoy this book at all.