By Hayley Platt
The Forest of Vanishing Stars, published in July 2021, is a World War II historical fiction novel set mainly during the 1940s. It is a captivating story about the Jewish people who survived the Holocaust by moving into the dense Polish forests and living off the land.
The protagonist, Yona, is two years old when she is taken from her bed in Berlin by Jerusza, who is almost eighty years old. The two of them live in the Polish forests, where Jerusza gives Yona an unconventional education that covers learning multiple languages, practical first aid, how to survive in the wilderness with few traditional supplies, and significant self-defence, including how to kill someone. Shortly after Jerusza dies at the end of the winter in 1942, Yona begins finding other Jewish people who are fleeing the Nazis and attempting to survive by living in the woods. Yona dedicates herself to helping the people she encounters survive the war.
This novel follows a chronological timeline, beginning in 1922 and quickly moving into the expected years of WWII. It is told from the third person perspective, but there is still significant character development on Yona’s part, and it is easy to understand her perspective and reasoning. It is particularly interesting watching Yona learn what it is like to interact with other people, as she has spent almost two decades with only Jerusza in the woods. Readers get to see her adapt to living in a communal setting with a group of people who have differing opinions and a need for both leadership and compromise. We also see her learning about romantic love and heartbreak, which can be unexpected in this subgenre of historical fiction.
Another unexpected, yet welcome, aspect in this book was the magical realism that Jerusza and, to a lesser extent, Yona are surrounded by. Jerusza believes that she knows things that other people don’t, and many of her actions are based around what she knows the future will hold. Her reason for kidnapping Yona at the beginning of the book is tied to her knowledge of far off events. Yona is less connected to this magical aspect. She knows when dark things are looming, but her foresight is not as prominent.
Harmel ends this book with a lengthy author’s note detailing where pieces of this story come from and where she did her research while writing. She outlines conversations she had with a Holocaust survivor who spent years in the Black Forest and survived some similar events to Yona and the people she travels with. From a reader’s perspective, this is greatly appreciated. It helps ground the story by separating the historical from the totally fictional.
Those who seek out the lesser known Holocaust stories and World War II historical fiction will appreciate this book.