In Nazi-occupied Italy, keeping secrets could be deadly…
Genoa, 1944: Widowed and alone, Anna Pastorino has been surviving on her wits since the Germans invaded. The daughter of a prominent Jewish antifascist, Anna lives a hidden life in her small flat near the harbour… until an RAF bomb destroys her only shelter.
When a Jesuit priest approaches her offering help, she has no choice but to accept. She follows her new friend, Father Vittorio, to a safe house above a printers’ shop in a quiet street near via Assarotti.
But the Tipografia Guichard is more than just a refuge. It’s a forgery workshop: a key part of the secret rescue operation headed by Massimo Teglio, the “Scarlet Pimpernel” of Genoa’s persecuted Jewish population.
Drawn into a world of clandestine resistance, Anna discovers a new sense of
purpose, a circle of friends, and a passion that brings her alive.
Soon, the little flat above the shop holds more secrets than anyone could imagine. As Anna grows closer to both Teglio and Vittorio, she must confront a past trauma of her own: a secret that might endanger her and everyone she loves.
Kat Devereaux was born near Edinburgh, and lived in the United States, Russia, France, Chile, Germany, and the Czech Republic before finally settling in Italy. She is a writer and translator with a special focus on Italian literature.
My thoughts: I’m not usually keen on war novels, but I found this one both interesting and enjoyable. Inspired by real events and real people who worked tirelessly under risk of arrest and death to help Italy’s Jewish community escape the Nazis and fascists during World War Two.
Blending fact and fiction together through the characters of Anna and Father Vittorio who help the real life Massimo Teglio and don Francesco to forge identity papers to help fleeing families leave occupied Italy for safety in places like Switzerland, Britain and the US.
Father Vittorio wrestles with his health and with the fact he is falling in love with Anna – not only is he a priest, but she’s Jewish, there is no world where they can ever be more than friends and allies. And that’s before he learns something about her that blows up his world.
Anna meanwhile falls for the handsome pilot turned hero Massimo, widowed like she is, their relationship is fleeting but leaves a deep impact Anna feels for the rest of her life. In reality, Massimo continued to risk his life to save Jewish people from the Nazis and went on to live a long life reunited with his daughter and family, despite the deaths of his sister, brother-in-law and their children in Auschwitz. He is rightly remembered as a hero.
This is a bittersweet romance amid the horrors of the war, the risks everyone in this book is taking to help save the lives of innocents brought to life, while also bringing the real-life heroes to a wider audience.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 