The Girl from the Train

By: Irma Joubert

Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman

Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks.

As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They mean to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl's unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor.

Though spared from the concentration camp, the orphaned German Jew finds herself lost in a country hostile to her people. When Jakób discovers her, guilt and fatherly compassion prompt him to take her in. For three years, the young man and little girl form a bond over the secrets they must hide from his Catholic family. But she can't stay with him forever. Jakób sends Gretl to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families - so long as Gretl's Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered.

Separated by continents, politics, religion, language, and years, Jakób and Gretl will likely never see each other again. But the events they have both survived and their belief that the human spirit can triumph over the ravages of war have formed a bond of love that no circumstances can overcome.

“A riveting read with an endearing, courageous protagonist...takes us from war-torn Poland to the veldt of South Africa in a story rich in love, loss, and the survival of the human spirit.” (Anne Easter Smith, author of A Rose for the Crown)

“Richly imagined and masterfully told, a love story so moving it will leave you breathless. And deeply satisfied.” (Tamera Alexander, USA Today best-selling author)

“Captivating. Emotional and heart-stirring. Joubert masterfully crafts every scene with tenderness and hauntingly accurate detail. It’s a stunning coming-of-age novel that packs emotion in a delicate weave of hope, faith — and the very best of love.” (Kristy Cambron, author of The Butterfly and The Violin and A Sparrow in Terezin)

“A fresh voice and a masterpiece I could not put down — one I will long remember.” (Cathy Gohlke, Christy Award winning author of Secrets She Kept and Saving Amelie)

“The Girl From the Train is an eloquent, moving testament to love and its power to illuminate our authentic selves.” (Sherry Jones, author of The Sharp Hook of Love)

Full-length World War II historical novel

International bestseller

©2015 Irma Joubert (P)2015 Thomas Nelson Publishers

Stunning

Very interesting and entertaining story. I highly recommend it. Very good voice as well who did the reading.

Highly recommend this book

An exceptional turn page story and excellent narration. A realistic account of the disruption of families and of solidarity during WWII.

Provocative - good people blinded by prejudice

This is basically a love story or even might be considered a romance novel. But the real power of the story, to me, was how effectively it showed the negative effects of cultural and religious bias on good, well-meaning people. A young girl of German, Jewish heritage escapes Auschwitz by a twist of fate. She then spends parts of her life in a Catholic, Polish family and, later, in a Protestant, South African family. Throughout the story, cultural and religious biases for and against <take your pick: Jews, Germans, Polish, Catholics, Protestants, South Africans, and a few others> force the girl to hide part of her background and heritage to protect herself. She must pretend to be German, Polish, or South African at different times, always hiding her Jewish roots. The biases of her various adoptive families are sometimes overly positive ("Germans are too civilized to have participated in the holocaust") but are more often overly negative. The girl herself turns out to be highly resourceful, and the families she lives with are all quite benevolent. But she can never be totally honest and forthright, and at times this proves to be very difficult for her. For example, in one scene a holocaust denier brings back memories of her relatives who were, in fact, victims of the holocaust, but she doesn't dare bring up this fact.
The girl herself and the boy she befriends are a little too perfect to be real, but looking at the world from the girl's perspective is a most interesting way to see the effects of our human tendency to buy in to cultural and religious biases.

Interesting and beautiful story except the ending

It is a beautiful story and has me wanting to share it with my friends who live in Poland, but I don’t like the author’s choice on character development within the end of the story. Without giving anything away, it’s the best I can say.

the background of the story

i liked the historical reference the character and love of the people even with there difference

Excellent story covering the middle of the 20th C.

OK, granted it's a "chick book," but an engaging one. As usual, the women can look deep into the eyes (which are discussed at length, as well as other parts of the facade) and tell everything they would wish to know about men. That said, it's an intriguing story and well worth the read. It gives much info about wartime Poland & South Africa of the post-war & cold war period.

WW II Historical Fiction

I’m a sucker for historical fiction, especially this era. The story flowed well and kept me listening into the night.

A story worth reading!

A very touching and well thought out story. A pleasure to listen too!
The author does a wonderful job bringing this to life, as does the narrator.

Fantastic book and a wonderful story.

This book is so good, I listened to it twice. What a story of survival and belonging! It's a unique WWII and post-war story that follows the life of one little girl and her journey to freedom and family. Every book I've read by Ms. Joubert has been amazing. I wish more of her books were translated into English so I could enjoy all of them. :D

Surprise Ending

Solid story, with good character development, but not sure how I feel about the epilogue. Wish I could explain more clearly, without spoiling it. Best to say that I have mixed emotions regarding the outcome of their relationship. Performance by Sarah Zimmerman was also worth mentioning! She brought all of the characters to life, though she isn’t my favorite narrator...,;?