The Book of Lost Names

When Eva returns to the library to tell Geneviève to leave for her own safety, Geneviève instead devises a way to save Rémy. She concocts an alternate story about his false papers, one that makes him a German ally inconveniently living in France rather than a French citizen conspiring against the German regime. Hopeful that this plan will result in a few weeks of jail time for Rémy rather than death, Eva agrees to accept her help in creating the new documents.

Geneviève bears the brunt of the research into Rémy’s possible new identity while Eva finishes a set of documents for a new round of children. Geneviève returns with the perfect cover story, and Eva then dedicates the next few hours to making Rémy the perfect set of documents. Père Clément comes to collect them, as he plans to be the one to spring Rémy from Nazi custody. Three days later, Père Clément returns without Rémy, who has chosen to stay in northern France and share his experience with explosives with the resistance. Eva is both grateful that he is alive and heartbroken that he has not sent any message to her through Père Clément.

After days of working herself to the bone, Eva returns to the boarding house to find Mamusia in a state of reflection on what would have been her and Tatuś’s 30th wedding anniversary. As Eva tries to comfort her, Mamusia slams the door in her face. Eva retreats to the comfort of the church library to work on more papers, losing track of time. While exiting the library to take a walk around the sanctuary, she hears and sees Père Clément speaking with a German officer, promising him the delivery of a list of names. Eva is shaken by this turn of events. Although she wants to believe that Père Clément is “playing some sort of long game” (248), she can’t ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something is wrong.

A distraught and confused Eva returns to the boarding house knowing that she must find Joseph and ask for his assistance. She knows she cannot ask Père Clément as to Joseph’s whereabouts and decides to visit Madame Travère, the woman who houses the Jewish children. Though initially suspicious as to the reasoning for Eva’s visit, Madame Travère trusts Eva enough to tell her that she can find Joseph at a farm on the northern edge of town where “the résistants [...] have been gathering for months now” (252).

When Eva arrives at the farm, the men working in the fields stare intently at her. The woman who answers the door pretends she has no idea who Eva is talking about when she asks for Faucon. Defeated once again, Eva knows the only person she can turn to now is Madame Noirot, the bookstore owner. On the way there, she notices that she is being followed by the same German officer she saw in the church the previous evening. Upon reaching the bookstore, she reveals to Madame that she witnessed Père Clément speaking suspiciously to a German soldier. Madame Noirot suggests that Eva speak to Père Clément directly instead of alerting the resistance men, who often “react before they have all the facts” (256). Eva agrees to give him the benefit of explaining himself, since “it had been Père Clément who had given her life here a purpose” (257).

On her way to the church, Père Clément steps out from the shadows and confronts her. Although Eva feels threatened by him, he assures her that he would never betray his faith or her. He leads her to a bakery owned by Madame Trintignant, who directs them to the back of the shop and locks the front door. The German officer from the church waits for them, and Père Clément calms an anxious Eva by telling her that Erich, the officer, is a close friend who has been giving the resistance tips about German movement and raids. Eva does not believe that a Nazi can be trusted, but Erich reminds her that he only “wear[s] the German uniform” (261)—in reality, he is a good and honest man who can no longer bear the weight of the Nazis’ barbaric activity toward the Jews. Remembering that these tips allow the Jewish children to be moved safely across the border, Eva agrees to trust Erich.

As the war continues, the Nazis press France to deliver more of its men to the Third Reich. Because of this, thousands of men join the resistance and take up arms against the Germans. Eva knows that Rémy is still out on the front lines and often hears his name mentioned in numerous bombing attacks. While she fears for his life, it is comforting to her to know that he is still alive.

One morning, Père Clément and Joseph burst into the library where Eva and Geneviève are working on documents. Joseph reveals that the Germans are getting closer and closer to the resistance fighters who are hiding in the woods. Because these new men are from different areas of France and do not trust him yet, he asks for all the documents Eva has currently made for them to move the men further away. Something about his request makes Eva suspicious, but she decides to trust the man she has known for so long because she knows that Rémy will be one of the men Joseph saves. After Joseph leaves, Geneviève confesses that she and Joseph have been meeting in secret for romantic dates, and Eva allows her to go wait for his return.

Joseph’s journey is a success, but he returns with disappointing news for Eva: There was no sign of Rémy, and no one knew his whereabouts. Eva knows she must listen to Père Clément and “trust in God and wait for him to send [her] a sign” (269), but she thinks God has more important things to worry about than her simple love life. A few weeks later, Eva is finishing up a batch of documents and opens the Book of Lost Names to record the children’s information. She spots a newly-added code that did not come from her hand. As she follows the code, it spells “Je reviendrai a toi”—“I will return to you” (271). She knows now that Rémy will keep his promise to her.