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We Were the Lucky Ones
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We Were the Lucky Ones
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We Were the Lucky Ones
Audiobook15 hours

We Were the Lucky Ones

Written by Georgia Hunter

Narrated by Kathleen Gati and Robert Fass

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive—and to reunite—We Were the Lucky Ones is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds.

It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety.

As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century’s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 14, 2017
ISBN9781524751968
Unavailable
We Were the Lucky Ones
Author

Georgia Hunter

When Georgia Hunter was fifteen years old, she learned that she came from a family of Holocaust survivors. We Were the Lucky Ones was born of her quest to uncover her family's staggering history. She lives in Connecticut, USA.

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Reviews for We Were the Lucky Ones

Rating: 4.3479194166666675 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is such a wonderfully written story about a Jewish family struggling to survive during the war and the Holocaust. The book is a little hard to follow at first because there are so many family members and each chapter gives an update on what is happening to a different family member but once you get used to who everyone is, it's a lot easier to follow their plight. Any time I read about what the Jews went through during Hitler's reign and how especially the Polish community was decimated, it just blows my mind. I can't wrap my brain around the thought of how this could happen. Then I see what is happening now in America and I start to see how Hitler slowly took control. My heart always breaks when I read about what happened during the Holocaust and I look forward to paying my respects at the Holocaust Museum in DC soon. I know mass killings are happening in other parts of the country and I hope people never forget what happened in Europe. At least this family had a happy ending. I was also surprised to read the author's notes at the end that this was based on her family and a lot of the people portrayed were her family members including her grandfather. This was so well worth my time and don't be surprised if you shed a few tears.

    I received an advanced copy of this book through Penguin Random House's First to Read Program.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is an excellent historical novel based on the author's actual family. The Afterword explains that Georgia Hunter was a teen who knew little of her family's history. She did not have any idea that her grandfather and his family were survivors of the Nazi regime until after he died. My heart broke for her because she did not have the opportunity to learn all she did from him. My grandparents had their own extraordinary experience but I was also too young to understand that when they were alive.The Kurc family is a large well-to-do Jewish family in Poland. As war breaks out the adult children and spouses search for safety in different places inside and outside Poland. During an eight year period of separation there will be a Kurc on four continents. Communication is impossible since they have all had to flee and change identities.Had this been pure fiction it would have seemed beyond belief. This is Ms. Hunter's family and their history. It's truly amazing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The story of the Kurc family. The experiences of The Polish Jewish Family's devastating encounters events during the War. Defying such odds and the true story of the Author's Family Survival. Brazil, United States & France are the new homes to the Kurc survivors.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great read. Gripping and heartfelt. Filled with hope, courage, and love. Very family oriented. One of the best wwii historical fiction I've read. It kept me engaged and intrigued the whole time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If ever there was a family to request to accompany you to Las Vegas, this is it. A novel based on the author's Jewish family, all of whom miraculously survived World War II while living in Poland. It's almost too incredible to be true, but it is. By bravery, by cunning, by the kindness of friends and strangers, aand yes, by denying they were Jewish, the Kuruc family managed to come out of the war alive and relatively unscathed.When I started to read this book I thought, "Oh no. Not another holocaust novel." But this story of survival under extreme conditions is worth the read.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I feel slightly guilty saying this after all the four and five star reviews this book is receiving, but I didn't like it! Firstly, there were just too many characters. Despite being in various parts of the world their narratives were too similar and soon started to blend together. Each chapter focused on a different character (six couples in total) making the storyline very disjointed and almost impossible to connect with any of them. At the start I thought Nechuma, the matriarch of the Kurc family, was going to play a dominant role, but she too lost her uniqueness after a while.Whilst I admired the family's courage and their determination to survive the horrors of World War II, I think the execution of the novel was poor and often came across as non-fiction rather than fiction which, I suppose, wasn't surprising since it was based on the author's own family. Also, the book was written in present tense which I didn't like.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As I read this I kept saying this is clearly fiction. How could this Polish Jewish family survive all the harrowing nightmares World War II put in their way. And then I get to the afterword and find out the story is true, that it is based on the author’s family.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What an incredible story of perseverence and family loyalty. The will to live found in jewish people during the Holocost is astounding. This is a true story of the Kurc family’s story of survival during the second world war. It was told by various members of the family and took us to Russia, France, Palestine, Brazil. Toward the end of the book, I was so anxious for the war to end so I could read how this family survived this horrible time. If you like WWII holocost survivors stories, this book is recommended.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a well written WWII story. The story is based on true events from this author's family.

    The thing that I did not care for much was the number of players and the way the chapters were laid out. There were just too many characters to keep track of. Just when I thought that I was getting to know someone, a new chapter begins with a new character. As I was nearing the end of the book, I thought that I knew who was who, another character was being introduced.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A magnificent and loving tribute to the Kurc family who miraculously survived WWII as Polish Jewish caught between Stalin and Hitler. I fell in love with this family and their beloved Poland through their eyes. What an amazing testimony to the power of family and what a story this is to tell. I hope it gets the audience it deserves and helps keeps this terrible and shameful history alive. Highest recommendation as one of the few books I'm better for having read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Thank you to Penguin First to Read for the opportunity to read this book in advance.What an astonishing piece of work. It's largely based on genuine events that occured to a Jewish family in Poland before, during and after the Holocaust and World War II.The author does a wonderful job of conveying the pain each family member felt being torn away from the others, how what was once normal, peaceful life, devolved into hell in the blink of an eye.I almost couldn't believe it, learning that an entire family of seven survived, as well as multiple grandchildren. They truly were the lucky ones, and I feel quite lucky that such a book exists and that the author was able to tell the Kurc family tale. Furthermore, that she was able to tell each individual tale of all seven original Kurc's. Quite remarkable the amount of detail Georgia Hunter was able to reveal about each singular journey that all five siblings and their parents suffered through.Such resilience, to survive through the most tragic and dire of circumstances, and to be able to gather nearly a decade later continents away from what once was their home, family fully intact, with additional members as proof of that resilience.How they all entirely managed to escape the fate of concentration camps is unimaginable, yet they did. Really incredible, brilliant story, and awe-inspiring.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a wonderful heartbreaking debut novel that was based on the lives of the author's family. This is a story of the Kurc family who survived World War II and all of it's atrocities. This book follows the Kurc family, the parents and their five children beginning in 1939,in Radom, Poland. The five children are following very different paths which makes the story even more intriguing. If you are a fan of historical fiction you will love this book! Not to be missed! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Spoken to many many survivors and never heard about so many family members surviving. Many facts I did not know.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    We Were the Lucky Ones is the harrowing story about a Polish Jewish family during the Holocaust and their miraculous survival. It's a story based on a real-life family and the author is the granddaughter of one of the adult children in the book. It is being marketed as a work of fiction and that, in many ways, is the strength but also the weakness of the book. As a factual account of the Holocaust and the annihilation of Polish Jews, I was deeply moved. Every pogrom, every round-up, every massacre and every instance of the liquidation of the ghettos, especially the Warsaw ghetto, made my teeth clench and my heart beat wildly. Every scene where it seemed possible that one of the members of the Kruc family might be jailed, or tortured or killed was unbearable. The historical context, the fact-based timeline, the exhaustive descriptions of the destruction of Polish Jewry is so just so vividly written I couldn't put it down. The challenge of the book for me was the characterizations of each of the family members (fiction) as they strove to survive. They did not individually come to life for me or seem distinct enough. The lack of any tension between them just does not seem real. No family members had cross words with each other, no disagreements, completely conflict free, and given the death and destruction all around them and the fear and terror that this created it's hard to imagine that every interaction was supportive and loving.We Were Lucky also made me think about what it means to be lucky. It could be easy to think that the Krucs were braver, tougher or more resilient than others but I detest this idea for what does it mean that so many ordinary and extraordinary people did die? It is unimaginable that those who died did not fight for their lives as hard as they could. Maybe we will never really know the how's and why's of survival but I think the author's title of the book and its emphasis on luck is on target and greatly appreciated.Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for allowing me to review this book for an honest opinion.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a wonderful historical fiction novel based on the true story of the author's family. As with all books about the Holocaust, it's difficult to read in parts but these are facts in our history that we don't want to forget if we don't want them to happen again.It's the story of the Kurc family, parents and five children who are Polish Jews and the story begins in the late 1930s. The Nazis are gaining power but the family continues to feel safe because they are prestigious members in their community. As the Nazis continue to take over Poland with their goal being to wipe out the Jewish community in the country, the family travel to different places in Europe. For the duration of the war, most of them have no communication with each other and no idea if any of the family is still alive. It's a well told story and follows each member of the family as they struggle to survive the horrendous conditions that were going on during these years.I strongly recommend this book. It's a story about WWII but more importantly it's the story of a family's love for each other and their ability to survive the worst conditions imaginable through their love and strength.Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Talk of war fills the Kurc family home in Radom, Poland. Addy, their son, is safe for now in France. His desire to return home mirrors the family members' devotion to each other. Even as they celebrate Passover, we realize they all will soon be disbursed. Soon the Nazi's occupy the city. Kurc family members, grasping to save the life they enjoy, alternately display courage and fear.Stories of families dispersed during the Holocaust will alternately lift your spirits and break your heart. We were the Lucky Ones is no exception, although, as the title suggests this story is special. Author Georgia Hunter's gift is to write reality with compassion, though it be in the form of fiction. Her characters are luminous, inspired by oral histories passed down through her own family. Don't miss the Author's note at the end of the book.Will the characters love, ingenuity and daring keep them alive? You will be gripped by their stories. Highly recommended.I thank NetGalley and Viking Publishers for an advance readers copy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was an excellent book narrating the story of one family during WWII. The hardships that they went through, how they endured, how they suffered, how they were estranged and how they found each other again.Their's was not an easy life. The book definitely described this. It also told of love and how the family took risks to save each other and to help bring them back together. It was especially sad to read about the things that Mila had to put her young daughter of less than five years old through in order to save her life. A family who were evicted from their stately home where they had lived for many years. They had put a lot of pride, time and money into this home. They were given a few hours to collect their belongings and leave. They then had to find a new home, one that was empty, in what was to become the "ghetto" and what was a two room apartment for four adults and one child. It was a trying time and a scary time for all of them. One which years would go by and they would not hear from each other. It was almost a decade before they would hear from their one son, Addy.This was such a sad story. Unfortunately, I know that were many of these. I did find it interesting though that these people kept on having babies. That part I just didn't understand. That being said, this was an interesting read, one that I found mesmerizing and one that I could not put down. I felt for these people, the author made them so real. I was engrossed in their daily lives and had to know what became of them.Thanks to Penguin Group Viking for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I'm not sure where to start in summing up my feelings on this book. My emotions ran the gamut as I read. I felt like a used up, wet dishrag afterward; too soppy to move, too emotionally spent to speak. This book is powerful, aching heartbreak wrapped up in hope and love, and tied together with beautiful writing.One of the things that makes this book exceptional is the underlying truth of the story. I don't mean the truth of the Holocaust, which is difficult enough to fathom in an abstract way. I'm talking about the truth of the characters, who are in fact loosely fictionalized members of the author's family. I cannot even begin to put myself in that place where they existed. I have no words for how I felt about their courage and absolute grace, while the world raged around them and against them.This is an impossibly difficult, emotional read, in part because of the truth of it, but also because of Georgia Hunter's writing. She puts us there, in the heart of the Holocaust, from beginning to end. She lets us feel what the characters felt. She shows us what they see. Hunter's research is impeccable. At the start of each chapter, she orients us with a short paragraph or two, with the year, place, and what was happening with the war at that time. Then she takes us deep into that place and time, like she has opened a curtain on the past. At the end of the book, the author shares how she learned about her family's history, and she updates us on all the family members we meet in this story. I am astounded by this family's resilience. We can all learn from their ability to move past unfathomable horror and not just survive, but thrive.*I was provided with an advance ebook copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group, Viking for the ARC of "We Were the Lucky Ones" by Georgia Hunter. I enjoyed this historical fiction genre and would highly recommend it. Kudos to Georgia Hunter for telling her family's story and the historical research into the timeline and family history. The novel starts at the beginning of World War Two, in Poland,and the author discusses how the Kurk family ,who are Jewish face the hardships and devastation of the Holocaust. There are three generations of Kurks, and the family is separated by countries and continents in an effort to survive. Georgia Hunter examines the various ways that the members of the family try to exist. One son heads to Brazil, another member of the family is with the underground resistance and forges documents, Two of the family pretend they are not Jewish.There are many everyday threats and dangers There are also marriages and babies born. .As the war comes to an end. the family members that survive tries to find information about other family members. I find that the author talks about determination, fear, survival, hope, love and family traditions.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I would like to thank Net Galley for my copy of We Were The Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter. This is her first novel and it was outstanding. A holocaust novel unlike any other, takes one Jewish family separated with the split of Poland by the Germans and Soviets. The story tells of each members hardships and struggles along with their joys and happiness during their 5 to 6 years apart before reuniting at the end of the war. The book for me was very slow at the beginning but after picking up I could not put it down. The book showed the importance of family and the will to survive the most horrible circumstances to come home after the war. A very moving book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    3.5 Any book about a Jewish family caught in the horrific web of the Holocaust is, by its very nature, going to be difficult reading. Heartbreaking. This is based on the lives of the author's family, something she didn't have a hint about until the age of nine. There are so many of these books, so many based on true events but what set this one apart is the scope of narrative. Starting in Radom, Poland, the Kurc family, mother, father, four adult children, the youngest son already in France, are happy, worried but sure things will be fine as long as they are together. It is, however, the beginning of 1939 and things will soon be far from fine.The family will soon be separated, take different but dangerous paths and this novel travels from Radom, to Lvov, which will soon be Russian occupied, to France, a Siberian prison camp , a prison in Northern Africa, South America and Italy. Not knowing who is alive or who is dead, individual or couples will do whatever it takes to survive. There is one touching yet horrific moment in Siberia, where one of the couples has given birth to their first son in freezing conditions. Every morning the baby's eyes are frozen shut and the mother must squeeze breast milk on his eyes Southey are able to open. Little touches like this help offset the large amount of people and places that this novel encompasses.The authors note at books end details not only her research but also how her family is now, where they are at, and what happened to those caught in Hitler's madness. The title of the book is explained and the reason for the title is amazing and unbelievable. ARC from Netgalley.Published February 14th by Viking.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Just wow! Must read! Heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautifully written! Heartwarming story of courage, love, sorrow and happiness.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Authenticity and I was able to relate to it. LOVED it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is an amazing story! Beautifully written in a way that makes it easy to keep track of many characters. A must read for a WWII story fan.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a really good book, it just took me literally YEARS to finish it. ( I bought it at an airport bookstore in August 2019 on my way to something or other) And that reason is because it while it was a compelling story I found that I couldn't binge read it because it was so (justifiably) depressing. So I just kept picking it up for a few chapters and then putting it down again only to remember I was still reading it a little while later. And that's not a bad thing. I really did enjoy reading it while at the same time I'm glad I'm done reading it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster with the Kurc family. I held my breath at times listening to the book, and I even got the library copy to continue to read at home in the evenings since I couldn't stop thinking about it out of the car! I laughed and I cried with this family. This is a WWII book that I will be recommending to others! I did get a bit confused at times with all of the members of the family, but it didn't take away from the overall book. I also love the Author's message and memories of her grandfather at the end. 5 stars!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My main hang-up as I was reading this book was that I found it unbelievable that so many members of the same family survived - often in incredible ways - the horrors of the holocaust. Then I found out that it was based on a true story. Wow! This book chronicles the stories of the siblings from a Jewish family that was from Radom, Poland. As the events of WW II and the holocaust start to unfold, the family is gradually seperated as the various members find ways to escape the Nazi regime. One sibling is in France, and eventualy makes his way to Brazil. One sibling is exiled to Siberia. For those left in Poland, hiding or passing as Gentiles are their only options. Time after time various family members come close to destruction, only to be saved at the last minute. Eventually they are able to reunite in South America after the war is over. It's an amazing story, one that fans of WW II novels will not want to miss.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This will possibly be my favorite book of the year. Georgia Hunter has created a truly beautiful and deeply moving tribute to her own family, who faced the horrors of the Holocaust head on. Stories passed along from generation to generation, coupled with the well-researched knowledge of the atrocities of WWII, come alive to the reader as we follow the lives of these characters who actually existed. This is a family to fall in love with. Their story of unbreakable courage, strength found within the bond of a family, and a relentless will to survive will take your breath away.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked this novel and I really appreciated the focus on pieces of WWII that are less focused in historical fiction. The setting of this book is wide and expansive, especially as family members spread out across the world in attempts to escape and survive the onslaught of World War II. Some struggled to navigate their occupied homeland while another managed to make their way to Rio de Janeiro. The family focused on is interesting, especially after I read the author's note at the end and learned much of the book was based on the author's own family. All that said, I did struggle a few times to stay engaged with this book, but I'm glad I made it to the end.