The Girl They Left Behind

June 15, 2018

Romania-born Veletzos, who immigrated here as a teenager, bitingly portrays Bucharest during World War II and the subsequent Communist era in this story of the Jewish Natalia, abandoned as a little girl in 1941 and adopted by loving parents. As a grown-up, she has an opportunity to escape oppression, but can she leave lover Victor and her adoptive parents behind?

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September 1, 2018
In January 1941, as a pogrom descends upon the Jews of Bucharest, Romania, a fleeing Jewish couple must make a horrifying decision: leave their 3-year-old daughter behind or risk all of their lives at the hands of the Iron Guard. Their daughter survives, and her life arcs through some of the most devastating events of Eastern Europe.Soon adopted into a wealthy Christian family, the child is renamed Natalia and raised by loving parents, Despina and Anton Goza. After four heart-wrenching miscarriages, Despina is eager to shower Natalia with love, drawing the traumatized girl out of her shell. Anton, the owner of several successful stationery stores, dotes on Despina and Natalia, even buying Natalia a piano and engaging a teacher for the talented pupil. Although politically opposed to fascism, the Gozas' wealth shelters them from the atrocities visited daily upon their city's Jewish population. Meanwhile, Natalia's birthparents have been hiding in the attic of Despina's cousin, who helps them escape the country, yet from afar, they try to help their daughter. From the pogroms and bombings to the Soviet occupation and the fall of the Iron Curtain, debut novelist Veletzos deftly threads historical events through Natalia's life story as she survives the fracturing of her biological family, the destruction of her country, the stifling of her education, and cultural isolation from the rest of the world. As Natalia navigates a swiftly changing landscape, her adoptive father befriends Victor, a political revolutionary, who rises in the ranks of the Communist regime. In their times of need, it will be Victor to whom the Gozas turn again and again. But can he be trusted to rescue the fallen bourgeois family? Above all, can he be trusted with Natalia's heart? And will Natalia ever find her parents again?Never flinching from the bleak, this sweeping historical romance pieces together hope from the ruins.

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October 8, 2018
Inspired by the story of her grandparents, debut author Veletzos’s excellent novel centers on the devastation of Romania by Germany during WWII, and the country’s subsequent struggles under Soviet rule. During a pogrom in 1941 Bucharest, a young Jewish couple flees their home. Fearing their capture, they leave their three-year-old daughter behind in an apartment building, hoping that someone will take her in and care for her. Their daughter, Natalia, is brought to an orphanage and is later adopted by Anton and Despina Goza, an affluent childless couple. Despite the bombings and the food shortages, Anton, Despina, and Natalia survive the war with their family intact. When the Soviets invade Romania, the government takes over every aspect of their lives, including Anton’s store, and the Gozas are forced out of their home and must live in communal housing. Through all of their trials, Anton maintains his friendship with Victor, a younger man who once lived above his shop and is now a powerful government official. Natalia, no longer the impressionable girl Victor once knew, is now a beautiful, spirited young woman, and Natalia and Victor’s passionate romance becomes complicated by his allegiance to the Communist Party. Veletzos expertly weaves historical detail into a rich story about the endurance of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

October 1, 2018
In 1941, a desperate Jewish couple leaves their three-year-old daughter on a doorstep in Bucharest in the hope that someone will take her in until they can return for her. The little girl ends up in an orphanage and is adopted by Anton and Despina Goza, who name her Natalia. She grows up in cultured and comfortable circumstances, despite wartime deprivations, and not even her accidental discovery that her real parents are still alive diminishes the love she feels for the Gozas. Life hardly returns to normal after the Communist takeover following the war; in fact, the Gozas undergo severe hardships as members of the bourgeoisie and therefore "class enemies." Aid comes from Victor, a young student Anton once took under his wing and who has since risen high in the ranks of the new regime. Despite some clunky dialogue and exposition, the novel, which Veletzos based on her mother's life, is worth reading for its Romanian setting, and questions regarding Natalia's real parents and whether she will ever be reunited with them add an element of suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)