Under the Light of the Italian Moon
By Jennifer Anton
Publication Date: 8th March 2021. Publisher: Amsterdam Publishers. Page Length: 394 Pages. Genre: Historical Fiction/Biographical Fiction
A promise keeps them apart until WW2 threatens to destroy their love forever
Fonzaso Italy, between two wars.
Nina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave.
When childhood friend Pietro Pante briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother.
As Mussolini’s fascists throw the country into chaos and Hitler’s Nazis terrorise their town, each day becomes a struggle to survive greater atrocities. A future with Pietro seems impossible when they lose contact and Nina’s dreams of a life together are threatened by Nazi occupation and an enemy she must face alone…
A gripping historical fiction novel, based on a true story and heartbreaking real events.
Spanning over two decades, Under the Light of the Italian Moon is an epic, emotional and triumphant tale of one woman’s incredible resilience during the rise of fascism and Italy’s collapse into WWII.
Book Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚 ⭐ = A book in a million
📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down.
📚📚📚📚 = A really great read.
📚📚📚 = It was enjoyable.
📚📚 = It was okay.
📚 = Um...! 😕
My Review
Under the Light of the Italian Moon
📚📚📚📚📚
Under the Light of the Italian Moon is based upon the author's family history. It is a gripping and compelling story about Nina and her family. It is about strength in a time of adversary. It is a story of love, loss, and hope. It is a novel that once read, can never be forgotten.
We are introduced to Nina as a young child who looks up to her mother - her mother is a midwife and has delivered over a thousand babies. But when Nina grows up she falls in love, and with her beloved leaving for America, Nina is torn between the man she loves and her family. For Nina, this means she faces many difficult and challenging situations without the man she loves by her side - I could not help but admire her.
The era that this novel is set in was a challenging period for women in Italy, for Woman's rights suffered a terrible blow under Mussolini's fascist regime. He demanded that women should assume a role as wife and mother, and Mussolini introduced a number of measures to encourage reproduction. It really was a vile practice which basically meant women lost all authority over their own bodies. Their worth was weighed only in how many children they could bear. This really left a bitter taste in my mouth, but at the same time, the author has depicted the inner strength that these women had to find.
This novel is incredibly moving, so I do suggest having some tissues close to hand, but it is also the kind of story that once started is impossible to put down.
I thought this book was fabulous from start to finish and it certainly demands the highest of acclaim.
You can find this novel over on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Bookshop.org, I am Book Boston
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