N A L Trade
Featuring: Mario Rava; Giovanna Bellini; Giorgio
320 pages ISBN: 0451237080 EAN: 9780451237088 Kindle: B006CUA1N8 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
In this dazzling debut novel by Margaret Wurtele, we meet
Giovanna Bellini. Giovanna and her family enjoy an idyllic
life in the Italian countryside. But when World War II
erupts, Giovanna's peaceful world comes crashing down on
her. Not only must Giovanna and her parents cope with the
terrible war consuming Italy, but Giovanna's brother,
Giorgio, has been missing for over six months. When Giorgio
was recruited to fight alongside the Nazi soldiers, he
decides to desert the army in favor of joining the local
partisans and helping the Allies.
As the war begins to cripple life in Italy, Italians are
forced to share their space with Nazi soldiers. When
Giovanna begins volunteering at the School of Santa Maria,
she encounters Nazi soldier, Klaus Eisenmann. Giovanna
becomes fascinated by the handsome and mysterious soldier
who quickly becomes equally captivated by Giovanna. As the
war escalates and Giovanna's life is in jeopardy, she finds
a loving protector in Klaus.
Although only seventeen years old, Giovanna decides to help
the Allies defend Italy against Germany. Giovanna secretly
makes contact with her brother, Giorgio, and begins
supplying the partisans with food and supplies. When
Giovanna steps into the harsh world of the partisans
fighting for Italy's freedom, she meets Mario Ravo. Maria is
severely injured, and Giovanna decides to to help him. Her
need to save his life leads her to a frantic search for a
place to shelter him from the Nazi soldiers. But Giovanna's
friendship with Mario will create an outrage among family
and friends, who fear Giovanna's association with him could
cost her her life. Mario is not simply a partisan helping
the Allies. Mario Ravo is also Jewish, but Giovanna can't
ignore the undeniable bond developing between them.
Margaret Wurtele has written a World War II novel which
beautifully stands out among the genre. THE GOLDEN HOUR
vividly brings to life the destruction caused by Nazi
Germany in Italy. But Wurtele also humanizes Nazi Germany
with the creation of Klaus Eisenmann.
Giovanna's friendship and eventual infatuation with Klaus
shows a side of Nazi Germany seldom encountered in novels. I
was also impressed with the depth Margaret Wurtele wrote
Giovanna. Wurtele created a self empowered young woman
determined to follow her heart amongst the dangers and
atrocities of World War II. Profoundly moving, THE GOLDEN
HOUR whisks readers into Giovanna Bellini's seventeen year
old heart as she explores her feelings for Klaus and later
for Mario.
"A young Italian woman risks her life to defy the injustice
surrounding her in Margaret Wurtele's The Golden Hour, a
touching novel of forbidden love in war-torn Italy.... It is
autumn 1943 when German forces invade the peaceful vineyards
and olive groves of Giovanna Bellini's village in Tuscany.
At first, the seventeen-year-old finds herself fascinated by
the dashing Nazi officers. She has yet to come face-to-face
with the harsh realities of war. Her life changes when her
brother joins the resistance and recruits her to smuggle
food. What begins as a lark takes a drastic turn when she's
asked to hide a wounded freedom fighter, for Mario Rava is
not just a partisan--he's also a Jew. As Giovanna helps
Mario heal, their bond deepens. But the world around them is
in upheaval, and terrible truths are slowly being
revealed--truths that will endanger countless lives, as well
as the love that has grown between them..."--
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