Our Darkest Night

I have been a fan of Canadian author Jennifer Robson since I read and adored her book The Gown two years ago. When I heard she had a new book coming out set in Italy during WWII, preordering this book was a no brainer for me. I simply had to have it in my greedy little Bookworm hands.

Inspired by true events, Our Darkest Night is a Historical Fiction story centred around a young Jewish woman and the lengths she, her loved ones and even perfect strangers went to in order to keep her safe from the Nazi regime. The first half of the book is slower paced as we get to know Nina, Nico and his family and witness what life was like for Italians living in more provincial settings during the war. The second half begins with a gut-wrenching scene that quite literally took my breath away. This scene pivots the book into a darker perspective of the war and Robson doesn't shy away from detailing the atrocities inflicted against Jews and those who attempted to aid them. 

Our Darkest Night is a good blend of history, family, and romance. I appreciate how Robson gives her readers a different perspective of the war, setting her story in a rural part of Italy during the occupation to show what life was like for small communities who may not have been on the war front, but who were not exempt from Nazi influence and abuse. I strongly suggest readers read the author's notes at the end of the book where she talks about her inspiration and her detailed research for this novel and how, by using her husband's Italian roots, she was able to give an authenticity to her rural Italian setting. 

There is a sweet romance within these pages, but the relationships that stood out the most for me were the close bonds of Nico's family. I sympathized with Nina and Nico and their unique situation, but I wouldn't call this a character-driven read. I would have loved to get inside their relationship and each of their heads a bit more - particularly Nico's feelings, details about his covert work as well as the POVs of a few of Nico's family members.

This is a well-researched and moving story. Feelings of hopelessness, fear, perseverance, and love are conveyed well to the reader and are balanced with historical detail. I read this book in one day and I went through the emotional gamut. Parts of this book made me sad, parts made me smile and parts made me so unbelievably angry. In the end, this is a story about family, sacrifice, endurance, and hope. In a time when evil, fear and desperation were rampant, Robson shows how the generosity and small kindnesses of strangers can be found in even the darkest of times. 

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Jennifer Robson

Genre: Historical Fiction (WWII), Canadian

Type and Source: Trade Paperback, personal copy

Pages: 384

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

First Published: January 5, 2021

Opening Line: It was long past time to be heading home.

Book Description from GoodReads: To survive the Holocaust, a young Jewish woman must pose as a Christian farmer’s wife in this unforgettable novel from USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Robson—a story of terror, hope, love, and sacrifice, inspired by true events, that vividly evokes the most perilous days of World War II.

It is the autumn of 1943, and life is becoming increasingly perilous for Italian Jews like the Mazin family. With Nazi Germany now occupying most of her beloved homeland, and the threat of imprisonment and deportation growing ever more certain, Antonina Mazin has but one hope to survive—to leave Venice and her beloved parents and hide in the countryside with a man she has only just met.

Nico Gerardi was studying for the priesthood until circumstances forced him to leave the seminary to run his family’s farm. A moral and just man, he could not stand by when the fascists and Nazis began taking innocent lives. Rather than risk a perilous escape across the mountains, Nina will pose as his new bride. And to keep her safe and protect secrets of his own, Nico and Nina must convince prying eyes they are happily married and in love.

But farm life is not easy for a cultured city girl who dreams of becoming a doctor like her father, and Nico’s provincial neighbors are wary of this soft and educated woman they do not know. Even worse, their distrust is shared by a local Nazi official with a vendetta against Nico. The more he learns of Nina, the more his suspicions grow—and with them his determination to exact revenge.

As Nina and Nico come to know each other, their feelings deepen, transforming their relationship into much more than a charade. Yet both fear that every passing day brings them closer to being torn apart.