Historical
1930s Warsaw. A Polish teenager raised speaking German must navigate identity, loss and survival after her sister disappears with her baby. Inspired by true events, Finding Ida is a story of war, love, and a lifelong search for family.
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1930s Warsaw. Two privileged sisters: Ida — glamorous and self-assured — and Luiza, the spirited tomboy striving to fulfil the ambitions their German-born father once held for the son he never had.
At just seventeen, Luiza's world is upended when her Polish homeland is occupied. Caught between two identities — raised speaking both German and Polish — she must now decide where her true allegiance lies. Meanwhile, Ida, newly married and expecting her first child, is living under Soviet occupation in the eastern part of Poland. When she vanishes, taking her baby with her, Luiza begins a search that will span decades.
In a cruel irony, the war that destroys Ida brings Luiza both adventure and love. But her life becomes driven by survivor’s guilt — a need to live not only for herself, but for the sister she lost.
Inspired by the life of the author’s mother, Finding Ida is a gripping family saga. It explores themes of faith, loss and forgiveness, and the enduring human drive to survive. At its heart, it is a story about identity and belonging.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
Warsaw 1930’s - Based on the authors mother, this is a story of suffering and the love that is needed to survive. It’s well researched. Heartbreaking.
I have a lot of books on my TBR so when I finish a book I usually delete it from my kindle because I know I’ll never have the time to re-read. But every so often I come across a book that I can’t bear to delete, that I would read again if I had the time, so I save it to a different folder - and this is one of those books. Definitely one of the best I have read this year! I couldn’t put it down. It tells the story of sisters Luiza and Ida, from when Luiza is five up until adulthood, and it’s a fascinating picture of life growing up in 1930s Poland - in some ways, more or less normal life, with the war just going on around them at first. They’re not Jewish, there are brief mentions of the Jews and the ghetto, but this isn’t a typical WWII book. We see Poland split by the Nazis and the Soviets, with Ida caught up in the eastern half, and it never ceases to amaze me at how the Nazis were actually the lesser of the two evils when it comes to the Red Army!
as if Marya hasn't succeeded and dont enough great things in her life she now has this stunning book to add to that. and what a book. this book bring us a winding story through people, times and emotions. and i had so many emotions flooding in throughout. this was such a beautiful read, and i feel a bit bad saying that considering some of what happens. but it was definitely beautifully written. each moment of this book Marya handles with enough truth but also sensitivity. it really did feel like she knew the very bones of her characters and somehow like she was there with them living it. as i too then felt like i could've been there breathing that same often scary air as the characters were. i love books around the war era. i haven't much touched upon the time from Poland location. seeing such a time span in the book for Luiza and Ida means we get to really see how the war and not just the Nazis effected there life. there was so much i didn't know! i dint think i could see more evil at that time than the Nazis but this was certainly eye opening to that too. i am in awe of anyone in this country going through what they did, to come through it with any survivable mental and often physical health. its unthinkable what so many went thorough. because we really feel connected to, and like we've got to know these two woman it was so much more horrible when they were parted. i as a reader felt that in the heart too. which is again such a compliment to Marya's writing. you care about these characters and are page turning until the end with the need to find out how this story would end. with a need to found out what these two woman's ending would be. stunning book made all the more powerful and brilliant bu the writing. and also i am once again thinking, thinking, thinking of one very important thing. how much love is the power of so many things and often the power to get through. seen that. i know that. and books like this only remind me of that.
Ida and Lou-Lou are such vibrant characters …I loved how idka imitated the cook and laughed so hard. Poland is a new country I’m reading about and so excited to see what the author has up their sleeve.
