ONE GOOD THING by author Georgia Hunter. The story follows a young Jewish woman Lili, an Italian from Bologna studying in Ferrara. Lili lives with her best friend Esti and her husband Niko who are also Jewish, from Greece. The friends are all university students in Ferrara when World War II gains strength and they find themselves on the wrong side. Soon Jews are being aggressively targeted, Niko disappears and the woman, now along with Esti's young child Theo, keeps moving to stay safe. Throughout 1943 the women move from Ferrara to Rome, however, along the way Esti is captured by the Germans. Lili has a narrow escape taking Theo with her as she tries to reach Rome, in the middle of the raging war Italy is filled with enemies and allies.
This is essentially a story of a woman and a 3-year-old, her friend's child who keep moving, on foot, to stay safe from the Germans. The story vibrates with tension and fear where tiny joys come in the face of having a bite to eat after days of hunger. A smile and sigh of relief from having escaped capture or a giggle while finding something to laugh about while hiding in narrow confines.
I haven't read a World War II story from the perspective of German allies. This story is set in Italy and the central character is an Italian Jew. No matter what the setting or country is, the horror faced by a certain ethnicity is still terrifying showing the cruelty Germans unleashed on the world in their quest for victory. The path Lili takes to reach Rome, nearer to allies, for a semblance of safety resembles a game of cat and mouse. It was filled with tension, walking on fictional eggshells while trying to be invisible. I could feel the nervous energy filled with high adrenaline and could taste the relief of the moments they felt safe for a few breaths. While the world around her is burning and people living in constant fear of whether they'll see another day, Lili finds companionship, a modicum of safety and love from Thomas, an American soldier separated from his regiment. She shares her lodgings, modest rations, and gradually her dreams, aspirations and memories of a happier past with him.
It would be audacious to say I enjoyed the story given its elements of cruelty and human monsters running the show. What I would say is the story shows through its characters especially Lili the human resilience and survival instincts. It shows the delicate balance people had to maintain in the face of worst of the human nature. The story while set in the midst of war, is careful to show the lighter moments, the hope for a future where the war ends and everyone is able to breathe freely. It is human nature being tested and pushed to limits and how people stand amidst it, is what makes it a reading experience equally terrifying and joyous too.
For a World War II story set in Italy from the POV of a young Italian Jew with a 3-year-old in tow, pick up a copy and witness the heights of human good, bad and ugly.
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