Smuggled: A Novel Audiobook

" This historical fiction novel sounds like it would be a perfect fit for me. The heroine, Eva, is a very young child who is smuggled out of Hungary into Romania during World War II. She's sent to live with her aunt and uncle. She's given a new name, a new history or backstory, and, of course, new documents that hide her Jewish identity. She's forbidden to speak of her old life, forbidden to speak her own language--at least after the first two weeks or so. She's forced to adapt really, really quickly. Unfortunately--for me--the novel barely covers the war years. It seems like we're just getting started to know this frightened young girl renamed Anka, when, we're rushed at a very alarming pace through her childhood years, teen years, college years, and adult life. Almost half the novel is spent with her as an adult in the late 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s. For readers who truly want to know all the gritty little details about what it might have been like to live in Romania during the Communist years, this one may be just what you're looking for. The novel is very dark. Of course, it would almost have to be dark. In some ways the bleakness of the novel was almost too much for me. Especially as it traces just how far the narrator--Eva/Anka--will go to survive. I did NOT want to read about her personal life in that much detail. (This one is far from clean, trust me.) Smuggled isn't a bad novel, it's just more of a not-for-me novel. I was hoping for more of a child/teen perspective/experience about World War II and maybe the early years of Communism--but I wasn't expecting it to cover quite so many years. And the attention to detail varies so much! There were things that I would have loved to read about--the war years, what it was like to live in hiding, have a secret life, what was it like to learn a new language, to be placed in a new family, etc. How she *really* felt about both her aunt and uncle, did she have a hard time adjusting, did she make friends, was it easy for her to go to school and have a 'normal' life after the war, what was it like to go to school, etc. How did it feel to hide her Jewishness for so many years--so many decades? If you're looking for a novel about an oppressed woman that endured much...then this might be for you. "

" I am saving my comments for our K80s Book Club, but this is a powerful, haunting read. "

" This was a good book, but I had a hard time getting attached to any of the characters. "

" As a high school sophomore I found it a bit hard to comprehend the text because in history we don't focus on the government of Romania and Hungry. Overall I thought the book was well written, however I wish there was a little more to the ending. "

" Took me a while to get into it and a bit more graphic sexually than I prefer. "

" I really enjoyed this story. If you are a history buff, I would recommend it. "

" I thought this was an interesting book and kept me engaged through out. I thought the ending wasn't very developed and a little to simple, but overall a good book. "

" A well written novel about a young Jewish girl forced to give up everything and everyone she knew and cherished to avoid the possibility of discovery by those looking to prosecute her kind. Eva's tale is a great look into an often misunderstood time. "

" The sort of book that makes history come alive. "