Read That? Read This! World War II Italy

It’s a rarity when you find historical fiction novels that take place in places not including France, Germany & Poland, which is why I did a piece listing those novels https://booknotions.com/world-war-ii-novels-not-in-france-germany-poland/ . When it comes to World War II Italy, finding a good historical fiction novel taking place in Italy during World War II is like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily, I was able to find two diamonds in the raff.

In The Light Of The Sun by Angela Shupe

Almost a year ago, I read, In The Light Of The Sun. The year is 1941 when the whole world was at war for the second time. Caramina Grassi dreams of leaving the Philippines to train in Italy to become an opera singer like her older sister Rosa. War unfortunately disrupted her plans. Caramina and her family must survive in the jungle & find music; it is a force all its own to get through the tough times. Halfway around the world in Florence, Benito Mussolini has taken over Italy & at a certain point Rosa becomes part of la Resistenza. Caramina realizes that performing is not just the stage and that the biggest performance of her life could mean life and death not just for herself but for those in la Resistenza. In the author’s note, Angela Shupe mentioned putting a little bit of her family history in the novel along with research. It’s on the slower paced side but I enjoyed it. I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Angela which you can read here.

https://booknotions.com/qa-with-angela-shupe/

Daughters Of Naples by Diana Giovinazzo

This past summer, I had the pleasure of reading Diana Giovinazzo’s second novel, Daughters Of Naples. The year is 1940 & the three Cozzolino sisters, Leta, Marcella & Bianca live together in their quaint home in Naples during the tyrannical reign of Benito Mussolini. Leta runs her mother-in-law’s Violetta De Rosa’s dress shop while her husband Anto is at war. Marcella is an apprentice to a midwife who has a boyfriend, Giovanni, who’s part of the fascist party. Bianca, the youngest sister, works at the library where her boss hides books banned by the government. While Bianca is the youngest sister, she is the first sister to join the resistance & her sections were my favorites to read from. Not only because she and I share the same name, but we also have a love of books and she isn’t willing to sit on the sidelines. Here is the Behind The Book that Dianna I did with Diana!

https://booknotions.com/behind-the-book-with-diana-giovinazzo/

Honorary Mentions: Stones In Water & Fire In The Hills by Donna Jo Napoli 

In Stones In Water, Roberto & his best friend Samuel sneaks away to see a movie in their Italian village. Little do they both know, German soldiers would round them up & pack them away in a train off to a work camp. Samuel has a dangerous secret, he’s Jewish. If it’s discovered Samuel is Jewish, he’d be killed. Roberto and Samuel vow to stand together, no matter what horrors the work camp brings. In the sequel, Fire In The Hills, Roberto joins the Italian Resistance. I remember devouring most of Donna Jo Napoli’s novels whether they were historical fiction or fairytale and mythological retellings mixed in with historical fiction & Stones In Water & Fire In The Hills is no exception.