Ideally, journalism uncovers what has been overlooked previously and rejuvenates stories that already have been told hundreds of times. While news often takes the form of who/what/when, some journalists are able to make plain facts personally relevant to the average passerby. This is the feat Sarah Wildman has undertaken in PAPER LOVE.

PAPER LOVE is Wildman’s attempt to reimagine her grandfather’s famed escape from Austria and the ensuing events during World War II from the perspective of the girl he left behind. When Wildman uncovers love letters to her grandfather after his death, she vows to find out what happened to the letters’ author: Valy. Besides being the object of his affection, Valy is a newly minted Jewish doctor who runs from Nazi encroachment first to the Czech Republic with her mother and then to Berlin. Wildman makes it her task to follow Valy’s footsteps and to see if she can uncover what happened once the letters stop.

"PAPER LOVE paints itself as a love story, a tragedy, and a singular experience of a terrifying period. It is all of those things, but what is most important to remember...is that it is the vestiges of a life, edited by a stranger."

At first glance, the subject matter is both an advantage and a disadvantage. While there appears to be a never-ending fascination with the events of World War II and the individuals who took part in it, there is also a feeling of weariness. Dishearteningly, humans have an awesome capability to become inured to tragedies, and horrifying stories become a source of exhaustion rather than interest. The strongest argument for Wildman’s work, therefore, becomes the individuality of the story she tells. It’s not the story of someone who affected hundreds of people or who changed history. It’s the story of an individual whose distinguishing qualities were character-based, and therein lies its strength.

Wildman did a significant amount of research, which she makes sure her readers understand, sometimes repeating bits and pieces multiple times within a very short span. Although she includes information from official and unofficial outside sources, her main trove of material comes from Valy herself: the letters she sent to Wildman’s grandfather.

While the letters, being the impetus for the book, are certainly an important part of the story, there is something truly discomfiting about reading the intimate missives of a young woman who never considered that she’d be exposed. While Wildman thankfully includes herself in the narrative and acknowledges that how much she reveals has to do as much with her as with Valy, it’s hard to feel completely easy giving yourself over to her. PAPER LOVE paints itself as a love story, a tragedy, and a singular experience of a terrifying period. It's all of those things, but what is most important to remember (and what doesn’t always come across as strongly as I would like) is that it's the vestiges of a life, edited by a stranger.

At many points, the author’s involvement brings Valy’s life closer. At others, it proves overpowering, diminishing the gravity of the book’s subject. Wildman’s book is at its best when maintaining this balance, when doing what she tells us she means to do: framing a demanding history for a younger generation.