Books like The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

Julie Orringer’s debut novel follows András Levi, a Hungarian-Jewish architecture student who arrives in Paris in 1937 with a scholarship and a mysterious letter. As he becomes entangled with its recipient, he learns a secret that will alter his fate. Meanwhile his brothers—one studying medicine in Modena, the other pursuing a stage career—are drawn into the escalating catastrophe of Europe’s war, forcing each brother and their family to confront persecution, displacement, and the fragile bonds of love. Set against the backdrop of pre‑war Paris, the grand opera houses of Budapest, and the chilling winter of the Carpathians, the book weaves themes of war, Jewish identity, family, and the enduring power of art. Orringer’s prose blends romance with historical detail, charting a family’s struggle and resilience in the darkest hours of the 20th century.

First publish date: 2010