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    Finding Rebecca
    Finding Rebecca
    Finding Rebecca
    Audiobook9 hours

    Finding Rebecca

    Written by Eoin Dempsey

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Nothing could keep Christopher and Rebecca apart: not her abusive parents, or even the fiancé she brought home after running away to England. But when World War II finally strikes the island of Jersey, the Nazi invaders ship Rebecca to Europe as part of Hitler’s Final Solution against the Jewish population.

    After Christopher and his family are deported back to their native Germany, he volunteers for the Nazi SS, desperate to save the woman he loves. He is posted to Auschwitz and finds himself put in control of the money stolen from the victims of the gas chambers. As Christopher searches for Rebecca, he struggles to not only maintain his cover, but also the grip on his soul. Managing the river of tainted money flowing through the horrific world of Auschwitz may give him unexpected opportunities. But will it give him the strength to accept a brave new fate that could change his life—and others’ lives—forever?

    Revised edition: This edition of Finding Rebecca includes editorial revisions.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateOct 28, 2014
    ISBN9781491552322
    Finding Rebecca
    Author

    Eoin Dempsey

    Eoin Dempsey is the bestselling author of Toward the Midnight Sun; White Rose, Black Forest; Finding Rebecca; and The Bogside Boys. His novels have been translated into a dozen different languages and have been optioned for film and radio production. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Eoin moved to the United States in 2008 and currently lives in Philadelphia with his wonderful wife, Jill, and their three beautiful and crazy sons, Robbie, Sam, and Jack. Learn more at www.eoindempseybooks.com.

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    Reviews for Finding Rebecca

    4/5

    106 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Wow! This is one of those books that will stay with me for a while.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Wow! It was such a great story! I didn't want it to end!
    • 5/5
      So heart wrenching but hopeful. I could not set it aside for a minute.
    • 4/5
      This is a very good book; interesting story. The scenes at the concentration camp and brutality are hard to listen to, though.
    • 1/5
      Ugh!! This book is not “read”by the narrator but “performed” - it even says so in the credits! Wish I had known that - I was expecting an audio book and not a dramatic reading. Was especially put off by the narrator putting on voices for the different characters - and giving all the women in the book a raspy whisper! What?! Wish I had just read the print copy although I’ve heard that it’s poorly edited with many typos - that would also have driven me crazy. I don’t understand the good reviews for this drivel.
    • 1/5
      Might be the worst book I have ever listened to
    • 4/5
      I liked Finding Rebecca by Eion Dempsey but did not love it. I have read many nonfiction books about the Holocaust and this is the first fictional one. Christopher is living on the British island of Jersey and is only six years old . His father brought his family there to escape the political climate in Germany, Christopher found a girl who was running away from her abusive mother and father, and she remans with her family but spends time with him and his family while growing up. At the age of fifteen, her father beat her again and she vowed to leave. Her father makes a plan to get her to London without telling his son. Later, Christopher's uncle comes for a visit and he accidently overhears about that her father had taken her to London. Jumping forward in the story, Christopher in an effort to find Rebecca joins the Nazis and works in Auschwitz with his accounting background in the area where the possessions are the Jews are sorted and it was determined what to would become of them.The book is well researched but I am not big fan if romance and did not like the way that it was handled in the book. Many of the events there fictional seemed improbable to me. The author needed to refrain from mentioning over and over again how seeing the prisoners made him sick to his stomach. Where the author stuck to the historical research he was fine. But some of the fictional story did not feel genuine. And I think that the ending could have been skipped. The twist at the end was not needed. I think that the author needs try writing non-fiction.
    • 1/5
      How can a book about the Holocaust actually come out cheesy and fluffy? Pondering that question is the best bit of this book
    • 5/5
      Wow! What a diamond of a book! It's powerful in its Holocaust brutality, in its vivid emotions, and characters. If you're going to read any fictional book on the Holocaust, make it this one. To me, it's the epitome of what a Holocaust fictional book should be. Now that mention of Holocaust brutality... Definitely keep that in mind while reading this. This book pulls no punches. It portrays the Holocaust exactly the way it was, with all the violence and evil that conveys. From gassings, shootings, and the destruction of miracles/hope, this book will tear your heart out, stomp on it for awhile, then give it back to you with some duck tape for good measure. So read with caution.That being said, the overall message of hope and love in this book makes up for the extremes it goes to in portraying the Holocaust. Through Rebecca's and Christopher's love story and the story of how Christopher is able to keep his humanity and save others, the reader gets a glimpse at how bright the human spirit can shine, even during the horrors of the Holocaust. Even though Rebecca isn't even physically present for a good half or more of the book, her presence as Christopher's motivation and her "spirit" keep her front and center in the minds of the reader. I liked that their relationship never got the pat happy ending that is so common in so many books. Even towards the end after the Holocaust has been survived and post-WWII Europe has scarred our individuals, there are still bumps in the road to happiness and a full relationship. Yet for all that, the love these two share is timeless and soul-deep. This is a romance for the ages.The struggles Christopher goes through to weave his way through horrors and mind-numbing evil is the meat of the story for me. I felt for him during every confrontation with the Final Solution and every failed rescue attempt (prepare the tissues, peeps!). His triumphs are all the more sweeter for these horrific failures. Christopher's constant fight to keep those he can safe and to somehow balance out the horrors of the Holocaust with his light is a story I never got tired of reading.One last note I have to point out is the author's efforts at historical research. Not only does the author plop his readers down directly into Auschwitz and Nazi-occupied Jersey through historical detail and atmosphere (though there's plenty of that!), but he incorporates actual historical events into the narrative. I've personally read about/heard about two distinct events in Auschwitz that really brought this novel home to me, to know these events actually happened (though maybe not exactly as written in this novel) just hit me in the gut. Fantastic job on the research, Eoin!I can't get enough of this novel. Though incredible historical research, a vivid and realistic portrayal of the Holocaust, and characters/romance that stay with the reader, this book is destined for the favorites shelf. It comes highly recommended if you're looking for a Holocaust historical novel to enjoy and think about.
    • 4/5
      I almost didn't read this, thinking that I've read plenty about the Holocaust and didn't know that I wanted to handle the horrors of that once again. And there is plenty of horror, although the sad part is that of course it is all true. This story follows Christopher from the time he is 6 years old and has just moved to Jersey with his sister and father, following the death of his mother. They are German, but have moved to Jersey where he grows up speaking English and having only minor association with Germans. He befriends and loves Rebecca as they grow up. Their lives begin to unravel as WWII arrives, and Christopher's German citizenship and Rebecca's Jewish identity cause their lives to move apart. The story moves back and forth between the horrors of WWII, and the childhood of Christopher, Rebecca, and their families. I wasn't totally sold on the ending, it jumped ahead and wrapped up a bit quickly. Overall, though, it was a touching and personal story with strong character development. It's definitely worth the read.
    • 3/5
      When Nazi's invade the island of Jersey, Christopher and Rebecca's lives are irrevocably changed. Childhood sweethearts (with a long and complicated past) are torn apart when Rebecca is forced to register as a Jew and later shipped off to a concentration camp. Desperate to save her, Christopher uses his connections to join the Nazi SS and gains a post in Auschwitz. I'm not quite sure who I feel about this book. It seemed to take a really long time to set up the relationship between Christopher and Rebecca. I think the book would have been more effective if it alternated between Christopher's time in Auschwitz and their childhood. Not a bad read, but this is not one I would find myself re-reading.
    • 5/5
      This book really touched me - an insightful account of the dark history of the Holocaust. The cattle trains arrived at the train station in Auschwitz. There were 1200 people on the train, built for cattle transport. The people huddled together on the train, their throats raw from thirst, and clinging to their children who would soon die. The SS went into the train with guns drawn and dead bodies were thrown out of the rail cars. The selection was started and two lines were formed, one of younger, fitter looking people and then the rest, the older people and the children. The line with the younger was about one or two hundred, and they were marched off to Auschwitz. The rest of the people, easily a thousand, were told that they were brought to Auschwitz - Birkenau to work and they'd be safe and well fed. They were required to shower and be disinfected. Much of the fear had been lifted and the people were herded through an entrance of a flat roofed building. But, the unthinkable happened - there were SS men on the roof, carrying metal canisters and wearing gas masks. The contents of the canisters were poured down the chimneys, and the screaming began. The story shifts to years earlier - 1924. Christopher Seeler has left Germany, with his family, to the island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands. When Christopher is 6 years old he finds a distressed 6 year old girl, Rebecca, on the beach. The story evolves around Christopher and Rebecca for a number of years.Time goes by and in the summer of 1939 there was fear everywhere. The Nazi hatred, led by Hitler, is like nothing ever known. The Nazi's blame the Jews for everything and begin a process of cleansing the population. The Nazi's invade Jersey and the five year occupation begins. Rebecca is identified as a Jew and deported to Germany in 1943. And the story unfolds as Christopher becomes an SS officer in Auschwitz and begins his search for Rebecca.This novel completely absorbed me from beginning to end. Finding Rebecca is a poignant and heart heavy story that will remain in your thoughts long after you read the final page. The novel is rich in historical detail with strong characterization. The topic of the Holocaust brings with it deep sadness - a horrible realization of what occurred at that time. The horrors that Hitler put on the Jewish people will stir you soul. On my list of favorite books. 5 stars.