3*
Lidia de Angeles is a medical student in her early 20s when Mussolini and the Italian Fascist party ally themselves with the Nazis. She is in love with her childhood friend Renzo and is living with her doctor father in a beautiful apartment in Venice. On the first day of the new semester, she finds that Jews will no longer be allowed to study at the university which is a huge red flag about the future treatment of Jews in Italy. Renzo’s parents heed the warning and move the family to Switzerland, but Lidia’s father, ever the optimist, refuses to believe they’re at risk until the inevitable happens. Soon, Lidia (with a new identity as Catholic Elena) escapes the city and eventually joins the resistance fighters.
The parallel story in this time slip novel is about her granddaughter Lottie, a history teacher in London, who, upon her grandmother’s death, finds a Jewish prayer book, photograph, and cache of letters that reveal a snippet of Lidia’s past. She never shared what happened to her during the war, so Lottie decides to use her summer break to investigate. Conveniently, the two women who are able to share their memories are both still alive and in their nineties.
Although this story is compelling and heartbreaking as so many books about World War II are, I found the writing style problematic which made it difficult to remain engaged. Lidia’s story is from a 3rd person POV while Lottie’s is first person which generally wouldn’t be a problem. However, the transitions between the two timelines as well as the abruptness from one event to the next without enough details gave me whiplash. The tone was also too familiar, for lack of a better word. It would have been better if Lottie had narrated her own story without also writing her own dialogue (ex., “‘Wow. Just…wow,’ I said.”)
There are also plot points that strain plausibility. For example, why did Lottie wait until after her grandmother’s death to ask why she and her only child (Lottie’s mother) were estranged? We never get a satisfactory answer, even after Lottie uncovers Lidia’s past. All her mother says is that Lidia’s refusal to share her past made her feel like part of herself was missing. Why did Lidia tell Lottie that her daughter, who Lottie describes as an “ice maiden”, took after her husband in both looks and personality when David seemed very warm and loving? Why is Lottie’s breakup with her boyfriend described so dispassionately, especially if she uses it as an excuse to put off Alex, her new romantic interest? In fact, all of the romantic couplings in the book seem rushed with no evidence of chemistry but with declarations of love coming just a few days or weeks after meeting.
Since this book is based on actual events, why did the author used a fictitious name for the town where Lidia’s friend Rosina (the writer of the letters) lived? I always like to look up places, especially since the distance between Venice and Sant’Illaria becomes significant towards the end of the book. It makes me question which parts of the story are fictitious rather than true history.
As a huge fan of both time-slip novels and historical fiction, I was excited to read this story. Unfortunately, there were too many flaws for me to immerse myself and enjoy it. If you’re looking for books that do a much better job, consider Sarah Jio’s All the Flowers in Paris and Susan Meissner’s Secrets of a Charmed Life.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Books Go Social through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
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