In the tradition of The Lost and The Postcard, a powerful novel of loss and restitution in and after wartime, like a detective novel in reverse.
When young French woman marries and moves to her German husband’s small hometown, Bad Arolsen, she finds a world where no one discusses what the locals did during the war. She has no idea that her life will be changed forever when she accepts a job at the secretive International Tracing Service—founded by the Allies at the end of WWII to help trace the fates of millions of wartime dead and displaced. Meticulous and conscientious, Irene quickly becomes obsessed with her work—at the cost of her personal life.
Years later, she is entrusted with returning thousands of confiscated objects, recovered from the liberated camps. Irène pieces together the identity of each object's rightful owner, in order to give the descendants of the victims something to remember their lost relatives by. A faded cloth doll, a medallion, an embroidered handkerchief . . . every object contains its secrets. During her research, Irène meets people who will inspire and guide her from Lublin to Warsaw, from Berlin to Paris, to discover a past that concerns her personally. In so doing, she glimpses humanity—at its worst, but also, its best—and looking for the dead, she finds the living.
Weaving together the trajectories of these individual lives with the collective memory of Europe, this devastatingly beautiful novel is suffused with wisdom and compassion.
Genre: Historical
When young French woman marries and moves to her German husband’s small hometown, Bad Arolsen, she finds a world where no one discusses what the locals did during the war. She has no idea that her life will be changed forever when she accepts a job at the secretive International Tracing Service—founded by the Allies at the end of WWII to help trace the fates of millions of wartime dead and displaced. Meticulous and conscientious, Irene quickly becomes obsessed with her work—at the cost of her personal life.
Years later, she is entrusted with returning thousands of confiscated objects, recovered from the liberated camps. Irène pieces together the identity of each object's rightful owner, in order to give the descendants of the victims something to remember their lost relatives by. A faded cloth doll, a medallion, an embroidered handkerchief . . . every object contains its secrets. During her research, Irène meets people who will inspire and guide her from Lublin to Warsaw, from Berlin to Paris, to discover a past that concerns her personally. In so doing, she glimpses humanity—at its worst, but also, its best—and looking for the dead, she finds the living.
Weaving together the trajectories of these individual lives with the collective memory of Europe, this devastatingly beautiful novel is suffused with wisdom and compassion.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"The Bureau of Unknown Fates is a compelling, evocative, and highly original novel. With haunting, graceful prose, Gaelle Nohant reveals the horrors of World War II through the deeply personal lens of Irene, who works for The International Tracing Service to return confiscated objects recovered from liberated camps to the families of their owners. Working tirelessly to uncover the histories behind the humblest items-a handkerchief, a locket, a battered puppet-Ir?ne becomes a catalyst of healing for the descendants of those lost during the war. While The Bureau of Unknown Fates does not shy away from the heart-rending darkness of the Holocaust it also shows us humanity at its best; the resolution of each case brought me to tears, as did Ir?ne's personal journey. Most important, Nohant reminds us of the duty to remember, for in uncovering the stories of those we've lost, we honor them and make peace with the past. This is a meticulously researched novel with many layers that will stay with readers long after the final page. A must read!" - Adriana Allegri
"A journey toward knowledge and closure that reads like a gripping mystery stirring the heart as well as the intellect. At once, a spellbinding novel and a moral triumph." - Ellen Feldman
"This is an important book, intertwining history with a capital H and the personal quest of a determined archivist. Because it engages with themes that have long preoccupied me - the traces of the past, the memories held in objects and places, the indelible scars of history -Gaelle Nohant's novel touched me profoundly...an unforgettable read." - Tatiana De Rosnay
"A journey toward knowledge and closure that reads like a gripping mystery stirring the heart as well as the intellect. At once, a spellbinding novel and a moral triumph." - Ellen Feldman
"This is an important book, intertwining history with a capital H and the personal quest of a determined archivist. Because it engages with themes that have long preoccupied me - the traces of the past, the memories held in objects and places, the indelible scars of history -Gaelle Nohant's novel touched me profoundly...an unforgettable read." - Tatiana De Rosnay
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