While We're Far Apart [Kindle Edition]

Lynn Austin (Author)

Book Description

In an unassuming apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, three lives intersect as the reality of war invades each aspect of their lives. Young Esther is heartbroken when her father decides to enlist in the army shortly after the death of her mother. Penny Goodrich has been in love with Eddie Shaffer for as long as she can remember; now that Eddie's wife is dead, Penny feels she has been given a second chance and offers to care for his children in the hope that he will finally notice her and marry her after the war. And elderly Mr. Mendel, the landlord, waits for the war to end to hear what has happened to his son trapped in war-torn Hungary.

But during the long, endless wait for victory overseas, life on the home front will go from bad to worse. Yet these characters will find themselves growing and changing in ways they never expected--and ultimately discovering truths about God's love...even when He is silent.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Austin loves to blend storytelling and interesting history, with her newest novel no exception. She sets her characters in one New York City apartment building during the difficult years of WWII. Esther Shaffer, 12, mourns her dead mother and now faces her father enlisting in the army; Penny Goodrich, long in love with Eddie Shaffer, volunteers to care for his children, hoping to marry Eddie when he returns; and Jacob Mendel, a Jewish widower, struggles to find Hashem (God) amid his loss. Their lives intersect as Jacob rediscovers his faith, Penny discovers her past and her future, and Esther begins to understand life and love. Add family drama, D-Day, the Holocaust, arson, and young love, and you'll see why Austin is so popular. While her story is entertaining, it lacks the narrative flow of some of her other work; her characters grow and change, but the story reads more like a history lesson than a novel. Still, readers will find much to enjoy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time, has won five Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.

Product Details

• File Size: 569 KB
• Print Length: 416 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0764204971
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers; 1 edition (October 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004A90610
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,238 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read November 19, 2010

By jeff lynch

Format:Paperback

Loved it, loved it, loved it! Lynn Austin has a way of picturing a scene that simply draws you in. She has the ability to describe an event in such concise detail without the usual "fluff" that many writers bore me with. I could not put down the book. This was the first time I've read Lynn Austin, but it certainly will not be the last. Karen Lynch

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic November 15, 2010

By Hayley Kolb

Format:Paperback

While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin is a wonderful story. I've mentioned before how much I love "war stories" and this is a love story during WWII. This story gives a good perspective of the history of that era, and it paints a good picture. Austin is an amazing writer, and this is the kind of story that I will read again down the road. A classic in the making. Classics are the books you want to read over and over again. And with this book , I do.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Too depressing for too long May 1, 2011

By Ruth Adamson

Format:Paperback

This book is about 3 families and their struggles during WWII. A Jewish man is mad at God for taking his wife. Two children are traumatized by their mothers death and decision by their Dad to go to war. Adult Penny and her sister were verbally abused by their parents. This book was really hard to read because of the emotional pounding everyone gets for the first half of the book. No bright spots, just emotional beating after beating. It lightens up a little after that, and the last 3 chapters everything was tied up in a tidy bow. Except for the Jewish man, I felt that all of the trauma was too easily overcome and settled. This is not one of Lynn Austin's better books, it was a relief when I finally got to the end.

39 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WHILE WE'RE FAR APART September 23, 2010

By Louise Jolly

Format:Paperback

The novel opens in Brooklyn, New York in the fall of 1943 during WWII. Eddie Schaffer age 33 and his two children, 12-year-old Esther and 9-year-old Peter live in a small apartment upstairs from their landlord, Jacob Mendel. A year prior, Eddie's wife Rachel was killed together with his landlord's wife, Miriam. Eddie is having difficulty coping with Rachel's death and decides to enlist in the army throwing the entire family for a loop. The children had already lost their mother and feared losing their father in battle.

Eddie's mother, Grandma Shaffer, lives next door to the Goodrich family who has a daughter Penny, aged 24. Penny's parents are older, quite strict and have sheltered Penny her entire life, always telling her she had no more sense than a green bean. As a result poor Penny suffers from terrible fear of being on her own and afraid of the world at large, although she holds a job as a ticket agent at the local bus station. Unbeknownst to Eddie, Penny has had a crush on him for years and years and always wished Eddie had married her instead of Rachel. She cried her eyes out when she learned Eddie was getting married.

Now enlisted in the Army and ready to head off for basic training, Eddie needs someone to care for young Esther and Peter. His own mother, Grandma Shaffer is adamant that there is no way possible she can look after two young children and is completely dead set against Eddie enlisting but Eddie had already enlisted sending Grandma into quite a dramatic tizzy. Penny steps forward and offers to care for the children herself with her underlying motive being that Eddie will fall in love with her and marry HER this time....

Soon Penny and children are ensconced in Eddie's apartment, living above Jacob Mendel who is suffering with his own problems. His son, Avraham traveled to Hungary five years ago to study the Torah, met and married Sarah and they had a daughter together whom they named Fredeleh, but now all three of them are missing!

Young Esther is struggling in Sunday school asking the teacher why there are wars, why her mother died in the car accident and asks: "Why doesn't God just kill all the evil people himself". Her teacher tells the class they should pray for their loved ones who are off fighting in the war but Esther can't accept that as an answer and inquires: "Even if we pray and pray, God doesn't stop people from dying, so what good does it do"? How many of us have asked that very same question during our own journey of faith?

In the meantime, poor little Peter seems to have lost his ability to talk once his father went off to war and is frightened. He writes a note on his chalkboard for his sister saying: "I don't know what's wrong. I try to talk and nothing comes out. Help me!" Esther doesn't know what to do and won't ask Penny for any help as she despises Penny and thinks that she is trying to replace her mother. But Penny, at this point, couldn't be much help as she herself has no self-confidence, always telling herself she can't do things and always makes a mess of everything. These put-downs are old tapes playing in her head that her parents have pounded into her since she was a young child. They continue to treat Penny as a child and make her feel as though everything that happens is her fault. Yet somehow she found the inner strength and courage to move out of her parents home and care for Eddie's children.

Downstairs, Jacob Mendel has lost his Jewish faith completely. Esther and Peter visit Mr. Mendel after school each day to help him around the house. Esther begins to seek answers about God, prayer and faith from Mr. Mendel but he doesn't know how to help Esther or what to say to her. He too has lost faith in his religion and his God. He finally explains the story of Joseph and the coat of many colours and tells the children that: "Faith is believing even when you cannot see it". But, does Jacob himself still really believe that?

Due to Esther's persistence and questions, and Peter's sad eyes, Jacob was beginning to come out from under the veil of darkness and unbelief he had been under for the past year and a half. Jacob decides that he and the children will invite Penny in celebrating "Purim", which is the feast of "Queen Esther" from the Bible. Keeping with tradition, Jacob tells the children that instead of him telling the story, they will each read the story together with everyone taking a part. Of course, Esther will play the part of Queen Esther and Peter will be Hashem (The Man or God). They will also bake the traditional "Hamantaschen" (cookies). During Jacob's planning of the party he realizes he is truly happy.

As the relationship between Mr. Mendel, the children and Penny begins to grow, they come to learn together about faith, loss, love, and forgiveness. There are so many other exciting parts in this story that I don't want to give anything else away. But there are a few morals in this story that I believe are important for all of us to remember.

We need to remember that God is always there, even when we can't see Him or hear Him. Even when we think our prayers are not being heard, they are, just not always in the way we'd like them to be. It is and has always been God's will that shall be done, not ours! Even during silence and painful hardships, God is still there. Sometimes we must travel through hardships in our lives in order for us to learn something or to understand something. Without hardships we wouldn't be able to grow in our faith. We need to trust God and live our lives as humble servants, even when we cannot see, even when we feel tired of looking and want to give up. God is ALWAYS there, even when He is silent.

This is also an important story that talks about the atrocities that were placed upon the people of Jewish faith during the war, in my opinion, one of the saddest and most hurtful of all times in history.

Lynn Austin has once again written a riveting story. A story that you'll remember long after the last page has been turned. It's the type of book you'll want to read again and again. This is one story you can't miss!! Read more ›

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I just wanted to get home a little sooner December 6, 2010

By L. Phipps

Format:Paperback

Lynn Austin is one of my favorite authors. With that being said I felt it took way to long to get to the conclusion or the end. I felt that by taking so long to get to the end the ending itself was rushed. I would have like to have learned more about Mr. Mendels son and his wife and their story in capitivity. The story weaves many tales together and is well written it just doesn't have that passion that some of the other books have had. It is a well written novel just a little to long and tied up to neatly at the end.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars While We're Far Apart- A beautiful book! October 17, 2011

By D. Shuster

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been downloading only free Kindle books as I want to take my time to really build a library. I just finished reading "While we're Far Apart" and I am so happy I picked this one. I don't think it would have ever found it's way into my hands otherwise. It is beautifully written. Tells a wonderful story of different people, from different families and faiths, who come together while WW2 rages. I started it yesterday, wanting to savor it, but throughout today, I kept putting it down and picking it right back up again. I don't feel, as one reviewer suggested, that it was like a history lesson. I learned a couple things I did not know, but everything blended into a beautiful story of finding love, lost love and new love. I am not the best writer as far as reviewing, but I highly recommend this book as a touching read. I will be looking for more of Lynn Austins books. I will most definitely pick up this book and read it again and again. It is staying on my Kindle.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars If you love someone, nothing will stop you... October 13, 2011

By Mel

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love Lynn Austin, so I had high hopes for this book. Though I don't think it was quite as good as some of her other books (Refiner's Fire series), I did enjoy it. I love that the "Far Apart" theme was carried out in many ways through the various characters and the fact that Mr. Mendel kept reinforcing the idea that we should stop at nothing to find those we love.

The author did a good job developing the characters. I genuinely cared about what happened to them and felt the anguish of Esther as she desperately searched the news for information about the area her father was. Mr. Mendel was probably my favorite character. I felt his heartache throughout the book and loved how he grew as a person throughout the story.

More About the Author

Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time, has won four Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#51 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#78 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

#87 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#51 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#78 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

#87 in Books > Religion & Spirituality