Counting Lost Stars: A Powerful Story of Hope, Survival, and Love During Wartime Chaos

Counting Lost Stars by Kim van Alkemade is a dual timeline story following two women: Rita Klein in 1960 NYC and Cornelia Vogel in 1940s The Hague. Both are dealing with life-altering events (we meet Rita in a home for unwed mothers and Cornelia during the Nazi occupation of Holland). While these events don’t necessarily connect the two women, they propel each forward into unexpected directions that will eventually bring the two stories together. Interestingly enough, given the timeframes we’re in and all the events and themes presented by this story, what actually connects the two stories and the two women is technology, in the form of a bygone computer system (namely the Hollerith system that utilized punch cards) that the Nazis used to identify the Jews and suspected Jews in ensure they succeeded in their drive towards the Final Solution (eradication of all Jews). This story, composed of seemingly disparate characters and events, comes to life in the hands of a skilled writer like van Alkemade. The settings, both big and small, and the characters (not just the two central ones but also Jacob Nassy, the young man, a holocaust survivor, who Rita encounters and falls for, and Leah Blom, the young Jewish neighbor of Cornilia’s who ignites a firestorm of first love for both of them) and the intricacies of the technology are all wonderfully realized. The research here, especially regarding the computer system – what it does and how it works – is astounding and could have been…

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story. It takes an interesting approach to World War II Holocaust history, taking a different route than other stories that I’ve read. While you do know that people are dying, I feel like this story focuses less on death and more on survival than most Holocaust novels. This book takes place in alternating chapters, mostly alternating between World War II (1941-1944) and 1960. Toward the end of the novel, the story is all set in 1960. While this book doesn’t focus on death as much as many other similar novels, it does address some issues that might be controversial, especially for the time periods when this story takes place. There are some same-sex intimate relationships happening both in 1941 and in 1960, which would have been pretty scandalous at the time. There’s an unmarried woman who has recently given birth in the 1960 part of the novel. As a warning to readers, one character attempts suicide. While we don’t get the graphic details, it might be difficult for some readers to handle. The main reason that this is not a 5-star book for me is that things feel too happy. Maybe, that sounds weird, but it just feels like things fall into place a little too easily considering the subject matter of the book. For example, everyone who knows about the same-sex relationships seems 100% fine with them, which really doesn’t feel realistic for that time period. I don’t want to ruin the book, so I won’t go into details with this, but there are also…

“Counting Lost Stars” is a compelling and amazingly well-researched historical novel. In 1960, a young unmarried woman who has been forced to give up her baby for adoption helps a Dutch Holocaust survivor search for his lost mother. The author seamlessly moves between two time lines, depicting the shattering events of Nazi occupation in the Netherlands in 1941 and the moral landscape of Eisenhower era New York City. Fascinatingly rendered, with remarkable historical detail and taut suspense, the author also gives us two main love stories, delivered with warmth and admirable complexity. With its captivating, multilayered plot, indelible characters and rich prose, “Counting Lost Stars” is not only an important historical novel, but an astonishing literary achievement.

After reading the other reviews, I have a bit of a different take on this book. First off, I thought it was very good. I also paid for it - no advance copies for me. I stayed up late last night to finish it. Besides my interests in the Holocaust and what happened to unwed mothers back in the day (See "The American Girl" and "A Little Ray of Sunshine" for other takes on unwed mothers.), I was fascinated by the use of punched cards during the Holocaust. I was in college in 1972 - 1975 pursuing a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and most of my programming was done using punch cards. I can remember carrying boxes of them across the university campus to the computer center. (no internet back then) To discover the horrible way the Germans put these tabulating machines to work to tabulate and sort all the citizens of the Netherlands was disturbing. To follow the thoughts of the main character as she dealt with this and what she ended up doing is mind blowing. Yes, to quote another reviewer, "things do feel too happy", but the novel still gets its points across. Each card was a person. When sorted, the ones kept were for Jews, which meant a person forced to wear a yellow star. The main character tries to save the cards of the "lost" stars. It would be interesting to know if this actually happened and the authorities were able to determine the outcome of the "stars" as happened in the book. "Counting Lost Stars" reminds me a bit of "The Book of Lost Names".

It is rare that I feel equally invested in both stories of a dual timeline, but I was fully absorbed in both Cornelia’s and Rita’s storylines. Cornelia’s tale began in the 1940s with the German invasion of Holland. Readers will feel the same conflicting emotions as our young protagonist weighing her own safety against the safety of those she loves. The chapters in between follow Rita as she tries to figure out what life could look like after giving birth to a child out of wedlock in 1960’s New York. The way their stories connected was quite satisfying. Some readers may find that too many topics are attempted to be addressed, including: homosexuality; post traumatic stress; sexism, specifically against women in computing and in the matters of sex and children outside of marriage; and racism. This reader, however, thinks that life is complex and Van Alkemade’s story reflects that. And she does so with a cast of characters you will enjoy rooting for! The focus on the early development of computers and coding was a unique focus for a historical time period that has been much written about. Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this title!