In Jennifer Robson's "Our Darkest Night," twenty-three-year-old Antonina (Nina) is the daughter of a Jewish physician, Dr. Gabriele Mazin. Devora, Nina's mother, is in a care home after having suffered a devastating stroke. The Mazins live in Venice in 1942, a time when the Nazis' stranglehold on much of Europe is steadily tightening. Dr. Mazin has no desire to leave his home, but his good friend, a Roman Catholic priest named Father Giulio Bernardi, warns him that the Jews of Venice may eventually be rounded up and deported. Nina's father convinces her, in spite of her heated protests, that she must escape as soon as possible. A Gentile farmer, Niccolò (Nico) Gerardi, a friend and neighbor of Father Bernardi, escorts Nina (who poses as his bride) to the rural farm where Nico lives with his father and six siblings.

The author touchingly depicts Nina's anguish when she abandons her mother and father, as well her unease when she arrives in Mezzo Ciel, where the Gerardis live. Nina is uncomfortable having to pretend to be Nico's wife, although her "husband" is a perfect gentleman who treats her with sensitivity and kindness. Nina, however, is shocked by the venomous reception she receives from Rosa, Nico's sister. Rosa capably runs the household for her father and numerous siblings, and she orders Nina to do her share of chores, such as scrubbing floors, dusting furniture, working in the fields, darning clothes, and hauling and washing loads of laundry. It is not an easy life.

This is an evocative work of historical fiction with a sympathetic hero and heroine. Robson discusses the persecution of Jews in Italy during the German occupation. Also incorporated into the narrative are scenes about the courageous deeds of partisans who valiantly fight against the Nazis, and the altruism of righteous Gentiles who risk their lives to help Jewish families flee their tormentors. What keeps this tale from reaching its full potential is its predictability. Robson inserts an inevitable, paint-by-numbers love story, and introduces a one-dimensional brute—a German officer, Karl Zwerger—who loathes Nico and threatens to destroy him. In the final chapters, Nico and Nina face incredible hardships. Alas, the manner in which the novel concludes robs it of power and credibility. Still, "Our Darkest Night" is heartfelt, has fine descriptive writing, and is told skillfully enough to keep us turning pages, notwithstanding the book's implausible plot twists. ( )

“She and Nico had danced under such a sky. They’d sung of love and stardust and the promise of brightening dreams, and she’d been so stupidly certain their happiness would endure. Yet how could goodness endure, let alone flower, in a world that emboldened and embraced men such as Karl Zwerger? And how was she meant to survive when her Nico was no longer a part of it” (269)?

The heart of Our Darkest Night seeks to answer this hard question: How can goodness thrive in a dark and broken world, a world that at times embraces and empowers hate and evil, like the rancorous power of Nazi ideology? The answer comes in the voices of Nico and Nina and Father Bernardi and so many other characters in this Italian-set WWII historical fiction story. The answer comes through their voices and their stories that carry—sometimes the smallest—seeds of hope. In small mercies that make big impacts, like the bright stars that pierce the deep midnight-darkness, each of these characters shows how goodness thrives. They put one foot in front of the other, they hold a stranger’s hand to offer comfort, they cling to memories of better yesterdays, they boldly believe in promises and miracles and hope—even in the face of despair.

I desperately wanted this book to move the way that it did, but I’ve read too many hopeless historical fiction novels. I was afraid to hope. But I’m so glad it circled around in the end with Nico and Nina sojourning side by side back to their beloved Italian farm just as they did in the beginning when they were merely strangers. He became the hero of her story, and their journey was such a satisfying circle—a true hero’s journey with both Nico and Nina returning with their reward—home and family and the promise of joy.

“‘The soul unto its star returns’” (267). ( )

This book was everything! Enlightening, full of history, suspense, love, loss, courage, hope, faith, etc...The dedication and strength that each character had shown through in every situation. A true historical page-turner that left me breathless. ( )

“Our Darkest Night” is another impactful WWll novel. It enlightens readers to the Jewish ghetto in Venice through Antonina and her physician father. Antonina escapes with the help of a friend of her father’s , a young man Nico who takes her to live with his family in the countryside where they secretly pose as husband and wife only to really fall in love. As far as the story line goes in this novel it’s quite predictable and simple but you me it’s really the background of a story about the treatment of Jews in this region of Italy. Antonina , now Nina, winds up deported to concentration camps and work camps and her husband terrorized as well. The hardship and brutalities the family endures during occupation are vivid and based on research. That’s the thing about this novel and others like it, they may be fiction but they are based on real events that happened to real people. ( )

This was a much anticipated book of mine for 2021 and I’m so happy to say that it didn’t disappoint! Antonina is a Jew living in Venice during WWII. Her only hope of surviving is leaving Venice to go stay with the Gerardi family in the Italian countryside. She has to pretend that her and Nico, a man she’s just met, are married. The story then twists and turns itself into a wonderful work that keeps you on your toes and your heart in your throat. Highly recommend as it looks at a different aspect of WWII Historical Fiction as it takes place in Italy. Also Jennifer Robson is a masterful storyteller that makes you feel like you’re in the story watching it unfold first hand. ( )