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4.8 out of 5 stars
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We Were the Lucky Ones: A Novel
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Customer reviews
- We Were the Lucky Ones: A Novel
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Top positive review
Excellent Read!
February 2, 2018
I absolutely loved this book. I have read many stories detailing the horrors Jews faced throughout Europe before, during, and after World War II....and expected this story to be similar. It was different...I connected with it far more that other stories of the same genre. Perhaps knowing it was based on the author's family made it all the more moving. It is a book that I finished a few weeks ago, but cannot stop talking about to friends and family. It is a story that has stayed with me. I highly recommend!
319 people found this helpful
Top critical review
So close to being great, but doesn't quite make it
March 20, 2018
This book is so close to being great, but misses the fence.Bouncing around from character to character for each chapter makes for a cumbersome read. Keeping track of characters that were left several chapters ago, to be reunited with them later and having to recall via the family tree provided where they fit in is rather time consuming. It takes a few rounds to keep them straight and often times felt like the characters were being abandoned. The story is amazing in that a family survives. This is one book that if done right will make a better movie.
41 people found this helpful
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February 2, 2018
I absolutely loved this book. I have read many stories detailing the horrors Jews faced throughout Europe before, during, and after World War II....and expected this story to be similar. It was different...I connected with it far more that other stories of the same genre. Perhaps knowing it was based on the author's family made it all the more moving. It is a book that I finished a few weeks ago, but cannot stop talking about to friends and family. It is a story that has stayed with me. I highly recommend!
April 16, 2018
Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention up front, but when I embarked upon this book I was expecting to read a story that would have fallen into the genre of “historical fiction,” i.e. a fictional account of a fictional family told against the backdrop of the all-too-real canvas of World War II. What I got instead was the astounding, near unbelievable, TRUE account of a Polish-Jewish family’s miraculous survival during this darkest time in human history. It is not until the epilogue/“Author’s Note” that we learn that the author’s Grandfather was in fact one of the main characters in her remarkable story.
The author acknowledges that her family elders, quite understandably so, were not eager to discuss the horrors of their past. Given the sparsity of details that were handed down to her, I imagine that a good amount of this epic tale can be chalked up to poetic license, so to speak, and that the writing of this tome entailed a good deal of “fleshing out” of a very skeletal handed-down (and oftentimes not first-hand) account. Nevertheless, the essence of this tale is true, and nothing short of miraculous, awe-inspiring and, indeed, life-affirming.
The protagonists here are Sol and Nechuma Kurc, their five young-adult children and their respective spouses. The story unfolds all over the far-flung corners of the globe during and after the Second World War: Poland, France, Siberia, Palestine, Argentina and, lastly, the United States. (Keeping track of the many main characters may have been a bit unwieldy, but the author handily provides a family tree at the book’s beginning, which I found myself consulting time after time.)
The aspects of this story that moved me most deeply were:
First, one cannot read this book without being struck by the perseverance and determination of the family members to provide for one another and simply to survive at the most elemental level during times of starvation, extreme weather, persecution and all the other privations of war-torn Europe. To say that We Were the Lucky Ones is a testament to the human spirit is to state the obvious.
Second, the love this family held for one another and the cohesiveness of the family unit – especially when all else was lost – was something that really touched me. There is a not-so-very subtle message here about what matters most in life. The instances of self-sacrifice (Halina for her parents and Mila for her daughter, to name just a couple) are particularly noteworthy.
Third, the family, having immigrated to the Unites States immediately post-war, made the utmost of their lives here, all going on to become successful in their chosen spheres. It strikes me that, as clichéd as it may sound, America is truly the land of opportunity for those who are willing to make it happen. As an American whose own Grandparents came here from Europe, I have to say that the author’s choice to bring this out brought a lump to my throat.
I don’t know if it’s even possible to describe a Holocaust story as having a happy ending, but if it is at all possible – considering the devastating losses to the world and to humanity at large - this family’s story had one. In fact, the book lightly touches upon the concept of survivor’s guilt: Toward the end of the book one of the characters muses about how none of them should have survived, and yet (against the odds) all of them did. They were the lucky ones….
A word about the unspeakably brave souls who harbored the hunted: people like Halina’s boss who was willing to vouch for her (on more than one occasion), or like the peasant family who hid Sol and Nachuma behind a false wall in their home, or the Mother Superior who ran an orphanage and who was willing to accept the falsehood that little Felicia was “Aryan” in order to spare her life. To paraphrase a sentiment of Anne Frank’s: despite everything, there truly are good people in this world. In a world gone mad, these courageous individuals are true heroes.
The sanctity of life and the belief that life is something worth fighting for are not new concepts to Holocaust literature. This book ranks right up there with the best in the lessons it has to impart.
All in all, edge-of-your-seat story-telling, with an extremely poignant ending. Definitely recommended.
The author acknowledges that her family elders, quite understandably so, were not eager to discuss the horrors of their past. Given the sparsity of details that were handed down to her, I imagine that a good amount of this epic tale can be chalked up to poetic license, so to speak, and that the writing of this tome entailed a good deal of “fleshing out” of a very skeletal handed-down (and oftentimes not first-hand) account. Nevertheless, the essence of this tale is true, and nothing short of miraculous, awe-inspiring and, indeed, life-affirming.
The protagonists here are Sol and Nechuma Kurc, their five young-adult children and their respective spouses. The story unfolds all over the far-flung corners of the globe during and after the Second World War: Poland, France, Siberia, Palestine, Argentina and, lastly, the United States. (Keeping track of the many main characters may have been a bit unwieldy, but the author handily provides a family tree at the book’s beginning, which I found myself consulting time after time.)
The aspects of this story that moved me most deeply were:
First, one cannot read this book without being struck by the perseverance and determination of the family members to provide for one another and simply to survive at the most elemental level during times of starvation, extreme weather, persecution and all the other privations of war-torn Europe. To say that We Were the Lucky Ones is a testament to the human spirit is to state the obvious.
Second, the love this family held for one another and the cohesiveness of the family unit – especially when all else was lost – was something that really touched me. There is a not-so-very subtle message here about what matters most in life. The instances of self-sacrifice (Halina for her parents and Mila for her daughter, to name just a couple) are particularly noteworthy.
Third, the family, having immigrated to the Unites States immediately post-war, made the utmost of their lives here, all going on to become successful in their chosen spheres. It strikes me that, as clichéd as it may sound, America is truly the land of opportunity for those who are willing to make it happen. As an American whose own Grandparents came here from Europe, I have to say that the author’s choice to bring this out brought a lump to my throat.
I don’t know if it’s even possible to describe a Holocaust story as having a happy ending, but if it is at all possible – considering the devastating losses to the world and to humanity at large - this family’s story had one. In fact, the book lightly touches upon the concept of survivor’s guilt: Toward the end of the book one of the characters muses about how none of them should have survived, and yet (against the odds) all of them did. They were the lucky ones….
A word about the unspeakably brave souls who harbored the hunted: people like Halina’s boss who was willing to vouch for her (on more than one occasion), or like the peasant family who hid Sol and Nachuma behind a false wall in their home, or the Mother Superior who ran an orphanage and who was willing to accept the falsehood that little Felicia was “Aryan” in order to spare her life. To paraphrase a sentiment of Anne Frank’s: despite everything, there truly are good people in this world. In a world gone mad, these courageous individuals are true heroes.
The sanctity of life and the belief that life is something worth fighting for are not new concepts to Holocaust literature. This book ranks right up there with the best in the lessons it has to impart.
All in all, edge-of-your-seat story-telling, with an extremely poignant ending. Definitely recommended.
April 10, 2017
I've already posted my review on Goodreads, but I'll post it on Amazon too.
First off, thank you Penguin-Viking for allowing me to read this beautiful ARC. I've been given this ARC for my honest feedback.
The following review is my mere opinion. I will start with the dislikes, move on to the likes, and my own personal thoughts.
What did I dislike about this novel?
Absolutely NOTHING.
What did I like about this novel?
1. The characters. Even though I know it's based on a true story, I enjoyed the characters.
2. It made me cry, laugh, and cry a ton.
3. Finding out more about what the Jewish community really went through in order to survive.
4. Well-written. Hats off to Mrs. Hunter. I'm an instant fan.
5. The careful research that went into making this a novel.
6. The patience Mrs. Hunter must have had. Not many writers want to talk about their family's history. It takes so much time to research and fact-check. Kudos to Mrs. Hunter.
7. The ending and the acknowledgement. For the first time, I feel completely satisfied and that's hard to achieve.
Now for my personal thoughts.
What are you waiting for? Go buy this book already! It will make you laugh, cry, cry some more and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I won't give anything away. You have to be willing to have a box of tissues nearby. It also makes me thing of my ancestors. What they went through to make it this far. Would I ever write about my family's history? No. I don't have the patience. We cannot deny the painful part of our prior history. We need to learn from it and do better as each generation passes. I cried, I honestly did. It made my stomach churn and drop. But this is a book about sacrifice and love. I know as a mother, I would do anything to save my children. But this family is simply remarkable. Yeah, maybe some parts were dramatized but Mrs. Hunter took me there. I could imagine the horrors her family went through. If this book doesn't make you feel something, I don't know what else to tell you. I plan on buying this book on hardcover and it will remain a treasure for the rest of my life. What we need is a whole lot more love in this world and a lot less hate. Thank you, Mrs. Hunter. Bless you and your beautiful family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story. I'm sure it was painful for her to write this. I could only imagine.
First off, thank you Penguin-Viking for allowing me to read this beautiful ARC. I've been given this ARC for my honest feedback.
The following review is my mere opinion. I will start with the dislikes, move on to the likes, and my own personal thoughts.
What did I dislike about this novel?
Absolutely NOTHING.
What did I like about this novel?
1. The characters. Even though I know it's based on a true story, I enjoyed the characters.
2. It made me cry, laugh, and cry a ton.
3. Finding out more about what the Jewish community really went through in order to survive.
4. Well-written. Hats off to Mrs. Hunter. I'm an instant fan.
5. The careful research that went into making this a novel.
6. The patience Mrs. Hunter must have had. Not many writers want to talk about their family's history. It takes so much time to research and fact-check. Kudos to Mrs. Hunter.
7. The ending and the acknowledgement. For the first time, I feel completely satisfied and that's hard to achieve.
Now for my personal thoughts.
What are you waiting for? Go buy this book already! It will make you laugh, cry, cry some more and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. I won't give anything away. You have to be willing to have a box of tissues nearby. It also makes me thing of my ancestors. What they went through to make it this far. Would I ever write about my family's history? No. I don't have the patience. We cannot deny the painful part of our prior history. We need to learn from it and do better as each generation passes. I cried, I honestly did. It made my stomach churn and drop. But this is a book about sacrifice and love. I know as a mother, I would do anything to save my children. But this family is simply remarkable. Yeah, maybe some parts were dramatized but Mrs. Hunter took me there. I could imagine the horrors her family went through. If this book doesn't make you feel something, I don't know what else to tell you. I plan on buying this book on hardcover and it will remain a treasure for the rest of my life. What we need is a whole lot more love in this world and a lot less hate. Thank you, Mrs. Hunter. Bless you and your beautiful family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story. I'm sure it was painful for her to write this. I could only imagine.
January 24, 2018
I would normally avoid a book written about this dark period of history. But I absolutely loved We Were The Lucky Ones. Beautifully written and fast paced. Each chapter is filled with hope and the amazing strength of spirit of each character. I finished it last night and I found myself thinking about the Kurc family several times today. Terrific read!!
May 26, 2018
What a great book. Everyone should read this book, especially all of the WHINERS we have in our society these days. When you have a bad day, pick up this book and count your blessings. This isn't a light or easy book to read -- and I knew it would not be. What an amazing story. I've done some of my own family research and know how difficult it can be. Georgia Hunter did MAJOR research and then wove the stories of her grandfather, his five children, their four spouses, plus extended family members in to an very moving novel. I'll never forget this book. It made me cry harder than I've cried in a while over a book. My suggestions for a second edition would be:
1) Expand the family tree -- there are a lot of people in this book! The family tree in the front was very helpful but I had to make lots of notes to keep track of all of the people. It was worth it.
2) After kilometers, put the miles in parenthesis: 500 kilometers (310 miles). I know, I know, we Americans were supposed to convert to Metric a good 40+ years ago. It is shameful. I was able to Google it but a conversion would be a nice enhancement
3) Translate more Polish and Yiddish words for us.
Adding the historical events between chapters was very helpful, with good explanations.
Beautiful, heart-wrenching, awe-inspiring and amazing experience.
We are the Lucky Ones for Georgia Hunter getting inspired to research and write about her family history.
Oct 2019: I just re-read this book and it is even better the second time around. What a story!
1) Expand the family tree -- there are a lot of people in this book! The family tree in the front was very helpful but I had to make lots of notes to keep track of all of the people. It was worth it.
2) After kilometers, put the miles in parenthesis: 500 kilometers (310 miles). I know, I know, we Americans were supposed to convert to Metric a good 40+ years ago. It is shameful. I was able to Google it but a conversion would be a nice enhancement
3) Translate more Polish and Yiddish words for us.
Adding the historical events between chapters was very helpful, with good explanations.
Beautiful, heart-wrenching, awe-inspiring and amazing experience.
We are the Lucky Ones for Georgia Hunter getting inspired to research and write about her family history.
Oct 2019: I just re-read this book and it is even better the second time around. What a story!
March 9, 2017
While only the second month into the year, I can say with certainty that Georgia Hunter’s debut novel WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES is my favorite book of the year. Definitely one of the books that I will cherish. It is not only a poignant story, written so eloquently and with such heart, but the fact that it is based on the true story of her family makes it that much more special. The book is about a family of Polish Jews who were separated during World War II and what became of them. At many times, this is a difficult book to read, as it should be, given the subject. But because it is so hard to read, all the more reason to do so.
I don’t remember the last time that I was so moved by words on a page, characters with such determination, and the evil that lay before them. To read page after page about the destruction of the war, the harsh reality of their living conditions, the brutality of the Nazi regime, and what the Jews were literally stripped of. It is a lesson in humanity, in history, and in how Poland was desecrated. As a third-generation immigrant, like Hunter, my grandparents came from Poland, and while they were in America before the war, nothing has impacted my heart more than reading this book. Surely my grandparents left behind friends and family and felt similar heartache as the Kurcs did with their beloved country.
There are many lessons to be learned from reading this book other than how people cope with great sadness. It is about resilience, the strength of the human spirit, family, and love. Hunter is a writer to watch. Hunter's ancestors would be so proud of what she has done with this book. She has not only written a remarkable piece of literature but the effort that she put forth to gather her family’s history seems to have been no small feat, as you will learn. As a Jew and a human, I feel it was an honor to read WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES, to learn about every member of her family. I feel like I know each of them. They were the lucky ones and so are we to be given this book.
I don’t remember the last time that I was so moved by words on a page, characters with such determination, and the evil that lay before them. To read page after page about the destruction of the war, the harsh reality of their living conditions, the brutality of the Nazi regime, and what the Jews were literally stripped of. It is a lesson in humanity, in history, and in how Poland was desecrated. As a third-generation immigrant, like Hunter, my grandparents came from Poland, and while they were in America before the war, nothing has impacted my heart more than reading this book. Surely my grandparents left behind friends and family and felt similar heartache as the Kurcs did with their beloved country.
There are many lessons to be learned from reading this book other than how people cope with great sadness. It is about resilience, the strength of the human spirit, family, and love. Hunter is a writer to watch. Hunter's ancestors would be so proud of what she has done with this book. She has not only written a remarkable piece of literature but the effort that she put forth to gather her family’s history seems to have been no small feat, as you will learn. As a Jew and a human, I feel it was an honor to read WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES, to learn about every member of her family. I feel like I know each of them. They were the lucky ones and so are we to be given this book.
February 27, 2017
400+ pages read in just 3 days.... yes it is that good. Such perseverance to survive against insurmountable odds .
December 22, 2018
The daughter of survivors, I have been hearing Holocaust stories since the time I could hear.
My parents’ stories, also set in Poland (Tarnopol & Oswiecim), are remarkably similar to the events depicted in Georgia Hunter’s, We Were The Lucky Ones. The difference, however, is in this particular family’s fortune to survive… intact!
A brilliant narrative and haunting retrospective, We Were The Lucky Ones transported me to a place and time, connecting me with the stories that not only permeated my childhood, but which also shaped my existence. Devouring each word, I held my breath, I cried and I rejoiced with the Kurc Family, thanking the author not only for this glimpse into her family’s history, but also for a glimpse into mine. Pictured Above: The Rosenfelds (my mom on left), Tarnopol, Pre-Ghetto.
My parents’ stories, also set in Poland (Tarnopol & Oswiecim), are remarkably similar to the events depicted in Georgia Hunter’s, We Were The Lucky Ones. The difference, however, is in this particular family’s fortune to survive… intact!
A brilliant narrative and haunting retrospective, We Were The Lucky Ones transported me to a place and time, connecting me with the stories that not only permeated my childhood, but which also shaped my existence. Devouring each word, I held my breath, I cried and I rejoiced with the Kurc Family, thanking the author not only for this glimpse into her family’s history, but also for a glimpse into mine. Pictured Above: The Rosenfelds (my mom on left), Tarnopol, Pre-Ghetto.
April 20, 2017
I have read a lot of Holocaust literature and other WWII material. I had read excellent reviews before my book club chose this for next month, so I was ready to read it. I was not at all disappointed and have recommended this book to many others. It was excellent especially for a new author. I knew how it ended, but still the unexpected and the how did it happen kept me turning pages! The characters seemed very real and the events obviously real. I really liked how many stories within the over all story of survival there were, each one different but with a common thread of love, bravery, quick thinking, and some luck.
June 24, 2019
Once I was 1/4 through this book I could not put it down. I read until 3:30am this morning, and after sleeping, finished the book just after noon today.
It’s 3:30pm now, and I have to write this review.
The author’s writing is beautiful, and the book was edited well. I find it terribly distracting to find grammatical errors, but I don’t remember, for sure, seeing any in this book. There may have been one that I noticed, but I continued through it without a second thought because whatever was happening in the story at that moment was so engrossing that I couldn’t be bothered with the slight annoyance of a grammatical error. I may also have just read it wrong, in a hurry to find out what happened next.
I don’t usually cry over books(or movies). I may get teary-eyed every once in a while, but that’s rare.
This story had me choking back the tears a few times, my lip quivering in heartache, my stomach turning in fear and disgust. It was awful, but I couldn’t stop reading. I had to know what happened to each member of the Kurc family.
Following in chronological order, from just before the start of the war, each chapter of the book is written in 3rd person POV of one of the family members, wherever they are located at that point in time. The chapter starts with that family member’s name, their location, and the date. Most chapters end with a date and historical fact of the war that tie in with the chapter, really helping the reader grasp the enormity of what exactly was happening.
I was grateful for the edition of the family tree at the beginning of the book, so I could refer back to it when trying to keep mental track of who was who throughout the chapters.
Without giving too much away, there are many surprises and happy moments in this book. It’s definitely not all anguish and despair, even though it may seem that it might be in the first half of the book.
Books like this often leave me wanting more, wanting to know what happened next. Where did the remaining survivors go? How was their life in the years following the war?
The final chapter, Author’s Notes at the end, and Since Then section gave me a sense of closure on the story. The end was beautifully written, just like rest of the book. I feel like I can sleep soundly tonight, not worrying what happened to the survivors of the Kurc family.
Paula McLain’s quote on the cover sums it up well, “Will leave you breathless... a brave and mesmerizing debut.”
It’s 3:30pm now, and I have to write this review.
The author’s writing is beautiful, and the book was edited well. I find it terribly distracting to find grammatical errors, but I don’t remember, for sure, seeing any in this book. There may have been one that I noticed, but I continued through it without a second thought because whatever was happening in the story at that moment was so engrossing that I couldn’t be bothered with the slight annoyance of a grammatical error. I may also have just read it wrong, in a hurry to find out what happened next.
I don’t usually cry over books(or movies). I may get teary-eyed every once in a while, but that’s rare.
This story had me choking back the tears a few times, my lip quivering in heartache, my stomach turning in fear and disgust. It was awful, but I couldn’t stop reading. I had to know what happened to each member of the Kurc family.
Following in chronological order, from just before the start of the war, each chapter of the book is written in 3rd person POV of one of the family members, wherever they are located at that point in time. The chapter starts with that family member’s name, their location, and the date. Most chapters end with a date and historical fact of the war that tie in with the chapter, really helping the reader grasp the enormity of what exactly was happening.
I was grateful for the edition of the family tree at the beginning of the book, so I could refer back to it when trying to keep mental track of who was who throughout the chapters.
Without giving too much away, there are many surprises and happy moments in this book. It’s definitely not all anguish and despair, even though it may seem that it might be in the first half of the book.
Books like this often leave me wanting more, wanting to know what happened next. Where did the remaining survivors go? How was their life in the years following the war?
The final chapter, Author’s Notes at the end, and Since Then section gave me a sense of closure on the story. The end was beautifully written, just like rest of the book. I feel like I can sleep soundly tonight, not worrying what happened to the survivors of the Kurc family.
Paula McLain’s quote on the cover sums it up well, “Will leave you breathless... a brave and mesmerizing debut.”
