Your Cart


Once We Were Home

On Sale
$14.99
$6.80
Added to cart

by Jennifer Rosner (Author)



"This forgotten history of displaced WWII children and the return to their roots [is] captivating, thought-provoking, enlightening, and bittersweet." ―Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist


"Rosner is one of my favorite authors." ―Lisa Scottoline, #1 bestselling author of Eternal


From Jennifer Rosner, National Jewish Book Award Finalist and author of The Yellow Bird Sings, comes a novel based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II.


When your past is stolen, where do you belong?


Ana will never forget her mother’s face when she and her baby brother, Oskar, were sent out of their Polish ghetto and into the arms of a Christian friend. For Oskar, though, their new family is the only one he remembers. When a woman from a Jewish reclamation organization seizes them, believing she has their best interest at heart, Ana sees an opportunity to reconnect with her roots, while Oskar sees only the loss of the home he loves.


Roger grows up in a monastery in France, inventing stories and trading riddles with his best friend in a life of quiet concealment. When a relative seeks to retrieve him, the Church steals him across the Pyrenees before relinquishing him to family in Jerusalem.


Renata, a post-graduate student in archaeology, has spent her life unearthing secrets from the past--except for her own. After her mother’s death, Renata’s grief is entwined with all the questions her mother left unanswered, including why they fled Germany so quickly when Renata was a little girl.


Two decades later, they are each building lives for themselves, trying to move on from the trauma and loss that haunts them. But as their stories converge in Israel, in unexpected ways, they must each ask where and to whom they truly belong.


Beautifully evocative and tender, filled with both luminosity and anguish, Once We Were Home reveals a little-known history. Based on the true stories of children stolen during wartime, this heart-wrenching novel raises questions of complicity and responsibility, belonging and identity, good intentions and unforeseen consequences, as it confronts what it really means to find home.



Review


“Rosner’s novel reflects personal interviews and in-depth research...She illuminates the complex and opposing political and religious viewpoints...Rosner’s heart-wrenching revelations in Once We Were Home will persist in readers’ minds for seasons to come.” ―Historical Novel Society


“[A] moving story about identity, family, and the meaning of home…An excellent addition to historical fiction collections.” Library Journal


“[A] complex tale about fear, survival, and what it means to be a family." Booklist


“A carefully crafted and heartbreaking book.” Kirkus


“An engrossing story inspired by the postwar lives of Jewish children who were hidden during the war. Fans of Jewish historical fiction will be moved.” ―Publishers Weekly



Categories: Fiction - Historical

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09XL7KSWW

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Flatiron Books (March 14, 2023)

Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 14, 2023

Language ‏ : ‎ English

File‏ : ‎ EPUB, 3.18 MB

Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported

Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled

X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Print length ‏ : ‎ 280 pages

You will get a EPUB (3MB) file

Customer Reviews

There are no reviews yet.