*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*
The Lost Gift to the Italian Island by Barbara Josselsohn is a heartwarming and gripping novel that expertly weaves between fact and fiction. This is the second book in the historical fiction, Sisters of War series that follows Giulia after she escaped Parissi Island after the Nazi attack. This instalment dives deeper into the political and racial tensions that occurred during the Second World War. The dual narrative follows Giulia in 1943 and her granddaughter Tori in 2019 and this keeps the pace moving quickly as Giulia’s point of view reveals information that is simultaneously pushing Tori’s investigations to initially thinking the worst of her grandmother, when in fact it is the opposite. At the beginning of the novel, Tori is stuck in her life and is constantly apprehensive of change, despite having a doting partner Jeremy, a daughter and a skilled profession as a dressmaker, she is lost in herself. But when Jeremy proposes marriage to Tori, her world falls apart – she discovers Marilene her ‘grandmother’ adopted Tori’s mother Olive, during the Second World War after believing Giulia was dead. Tori travels to Italy to discover what happened to her Grandmother Giuila after fleeing Parissi island, reconnect with her heritage and understand who she is and how she has control of her future.
The novel is a heartwarming journey of self-discovery of what one can do when thrown into a situation that isn’t of their choosing. Giulia is faced with the decision to stay the same, hiding away from the realities of war, or face the unknown head on to fight against the Nazis as a member of the resistance. Josselsohn explores the over arching theme of found family in a time of strife, where sharing the same blood doesn’t always make a family. While Giulia is isolated from her sisters, she finds a home with Marilene and her family on Ciani Island and falls in love with Luca, a Nazi resistance figher. Marilene creates a new family out of her love for Giulia by saving her daughter and raising her as her own. This sensitively articulates the displacement that is common during war and the struggle of carrying on and finding a path to safety when the protective walls of family or normality are crumbling. Josselsohn also pays respect to those who used their everyday skills to fight back against the Nazis – unsung heroes – through Giulia’s skills as a seamstress. She uses her talent with fabrics to sew bullets into garments to avoid suspicion and play a pivotal role in undermining the Nazi forces. It is this decision that helps Giulia grow as a character from the sheltered girl who indulged in the grandeur of Parissi Island into a fighter that understands the harsh realities of war and the desire to be a part of something bigger.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this series and this novel in particular is a gripping sequel that compelled me to continue reading. The balance between Giulia and Tori’s narrative showed that while times change, sometimes the need for safety, love and family stay the same. This notion is especially portrayed through Tori’s fear of the unknown and her desire to back away, whilst Giulia embraces whatever is coming her way. This makes the ending even more powerful when these characters find peace. When Tori discovers the truth, she is able to bridge the generational gap between the atrocities of war in Giulia’s life and her life in the present, which creates a moment of healing for these characters and leaves the past where it belongs. I cannot wait for the next in the series and to see what happens next and dive deeper into the aftermath of Parissi Island. A must read for fans of WW2 historical fiction!
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