Praise for The Last Woman of Warsaw
“This captivating novel is exactly what has been missing from so much ‘Holocaust fiction.’ Batalion gives these extraordinary women back their lives—and not just lives, but the full and profound and contradictory and vibrant worlds they worked so hard to build. I loved these brilliant women and it was amazing to be invited into the world they created.”
—Dara Horn, author of People Love Dead Jews
“Following her New York Times bestselling account of Jewish women in the Polish resistance during the Second World War, The Light of Days, Judy Batalion has crafted The Last Woman of Warsaw, a powerhouse debut historical fiction novel about two unlikely women who come together in prewar Poland to solve the puzzle of a third who has gone missing. Batalion masterfully harnesses her command of the era with nuanced writing to deliver a powerful tale, combining the harbinger of world events to come with female empowerment and a spine-tingling mystery. Brava!”
—Pam Jenoff, New York Times Bestselling Author of Last Twilight in Paris
“Judy Batalion’s debut novel sets a shimmering new standard for historical fiction. With a peerless gift for impeccable research and an extraordinary talent for capturing detail, Batalion transports readers to 1930s Poland with a few masterful strokes of her pen. The Warsaw she creates is as dazzling as Paris and as sophisticated as New York. Through Fanny and Zosia—two special women from opposite ends of Polish Jewish society, Batalion captures the confusing contradictions and heartbreaking truths of this moment in time. How can a world that values art and beauty so highly embrace so much hatred and ugliness? The Last Woman of Warsaw is a genuine masterpiece, and Judy Batalion is a genius.”
—Lynda Cohen Loigman, USA Today Bestselling Author of The Matchmaker’s Gift and The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
“Bold and fierce. Batalion’s meticulous research shines. The Last Woman of Warsaw follows two very different Jewish women drawn together by loyalty, danger and the woman they refuse to abandon. A powerful reminder of how ordinary courage — and women supporting women — shaped history in a moment that feels raw, real, and essential.”
—Rachel Barenbaum, author of Atomic Anna and A Bend in the Stars