The Girl from Venice
By Siobhan Daiko
A heart-breaking page-turner, based on actual events in Italy during World War II.
Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini's racial laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice in 1943, she must flee the city to save her life.
Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh Nazi reprisals and Lidia’s own ardent anti-fascist activities threaten to tear them apart.
Decades later in London, while sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after her death, Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book, unopened letters written in Italian, and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge’s Palace.
Intrigued by her grandmother’s refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots. There, she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother’s past, but also some surprising truths about herself.
Publication Date: 29th June 2021
Publisher: ASOLANDO BOOKS
Page Length: 300 Pages
Genre: Romantic Historical/Women’s Fiction
Publisher: ASOLANDO BOOKS
Page Length: 300 Pages
Genre: Romantic Historical/Women’s Fiction
MY THOUGHTS
At the start of World War 2, Lidia De Angelis is living in Venice, studying to become a doctor, when it is announced that all Jewish students have been expelled from the university. In astonishment, she has to return home, and tell her father that she cannot continue her education to join him in tending his patients. Around them, other Jews that they know are leaving the city, including Lidia’s sweetheart, Renzo – but Lidia’s father is convinced that the war is over and that they are not in danger.
In 2010, the isolation Charlotte feels is amplified when her Gran passes away, leaving behind a house full of memories, and a mystery – there are certain keepsakes, some old letters and a picture, that point to her Gran’s past, but it was a time that her Gran had refused to talk about. Desperate to find out about her Gran’s life, and to try and find where she truly belongs, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of the past.
Two women, two different eras, yet they are walking the same roads. Both Lidia and Charlotte go through things, through life-changing events, and everything starts in Venice.
I absolutely loved reading about Lidia. She was certainly my favourite character in this book. With her father refusing to leave the city, Lidia, despite her own trepidations, stays. She cannot bear to be without him. When Lidia’s fears come to life, she has no choice but to leave, to get away before she loses her chance. She changes her name and travels away, going to live with Rosina Zalunardi and her family. Rosina and her brother, Antonio, introduce Lidia to a life outside of the city, and even to one away from their farm. The partisans are up Monte Grappa. Lidia cannot sit by and pretend to agree with the fascists. So she takes matters into her own hands and climbs the mountain.
The least likely place Charlotte is going to find answers would be the hotel she is staying at. Yet, the hotel owner and manager catches her eye and, making friends with both him and his sister, Charlotte has the help of people who have lived in the country for their whole life and, of course, they speak the language. Alex and Fransesca happily help Charlotte on her quest, however improbably finding out her Gran’s story seem to be, and Alex finds his heart warming to Charlotte. While I preferred Lidia’s chapters to Charlotte’s, the relationship blossoming between Alex and Charlotte was beautiful to read about. Charlotte is not ready to get close to a man again, and Alex is incredibly respectful of this. However, it seems that they can both only stay away from each other for so long.
The adventure that Lidia’s life leads her is extraordinarily emotional. Joining the partisans may give her the feeling of being able to protect herself, but she can’t protect everyone. Every time a patrol goes out, she spends the whole day worrying until they return safely. Her limited medical knowledge, and fluency in English, is put to use, and her determination pushes her through the toughest of times. When an English soldier, David, joins their ranks, Lidia finds herself growing closer to the foreign man, as they both wait, hoping, not only for the Allies to take back Italy but to provide them with the weapons and supplies necessary to join in the fight. Lidia’s relationship with David is very similar to Charlottes and Alex. They don’t want to get too close to each other, but they can’t help it, and they clearly care deeply for the other.
There are scenes in this book that will have you wishing for a different outcome, and hoping that everything will end up alright. This book does not gloss over the horrors of war, nor the treatment many prisoners suffered, but this adds to the story. This is a realistic novel, based on actual events, and that is what makes these scenes all the more heart-breaking. This happened to real people, the suffering and fear depicted is not fictional.
This is the sort of book that you don’t want to put down. You won’t be able to read it fast enough to satisfy the need to know what happens next, and when it ends, you will feel almost lost without it, as Charlotte feels lost before she learns where she belongs. Siobhan Daiko is a new author for me, but I am definitely going to be looking up more of her books.
Available on #KindleUnlimited
Siobhan Daiko
Siobhan Daiko is an international bestselling historical romantic fiction author. A lover of all things Italian, she lives in the Veneto region of northern Italy with her husband, a Havanese puppy and two rescue cats. After a life of romance and adventure in Hong Kong, Australia and the UK, Siobhan now spends her time, when she isn't writing, enjoying the sweet life near Venice.
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