From the New York Times–bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones, an unforgettable story of hardship and hope, courage and resilience, that follows one young woman’s journey through war-torn Italy
1940, Emilia Romagna. Lili and Esti have been best friends since meeting at the University of Ferrara; when Esti’s son Theo is born, they become as close as sisters. There is a war being fought across borders, and in Italy, Mussolini’s Racial Laws have deemed Lili and Esti descendants of an ‘inferior’ Jewish race, but life somehow goes on—until Germany invades northern Italy, and the friends find themselves in occupied territory.
Esti, older and fiercely self-assured, convinces Lili to flee first to a villa in the countryside to help hide a group of young war orphans, then to a convent in Florence, where they pose as nuns and forge false identification papers for the Underground. When disaster strikes at the convent, a critically wounded Esti asks Lili to take a much bigger step: To go on the run with Theo. Protect him while Esti can’t.
Terrified to travel on her own, Lili sets out on an epic journey south toward Allied territory, through Nazi-occupied villages and bombed-out cities, doing everything she can to keep Theo safe.
A remarkable tale of friendship, motherhood, and survival, One Good Thing is a tender reminder that love for another person, even amidst darkness and uncertainty, can be reason to keep going.
Dear Ms. Hunter,
I read “We Were the Lucky Ones” years ago. When I saw you’d have a new book out, I requested it and was thrilled to be given the chance to read it early. Yes, it’s about Jews in Italy during World War II and many of the characters will face danger over the course of the story. But what I like about it and “Lucky Ones” is that they end with hope.
“I won’t live in a world where I can’t speak my mind. I refuse to believe I’m unworthy. I won’t raise my son to believe he’s unworthy. What kind of a life is that?”
Lili and Esti have been inseparable friends since college. War is first looming and then there. Racial laws are passed and enforced. Esti speaks her mind about all this and often doesn’t bother to lower her voice which spooks quieter Lili. After Esti’s son is born things go south as her Greek husband heads to Salonica to help bring his parents to Italy. As bad as Italy is, things are better than in Salonica. The two women, along with baby Theo, leave Bologna to continue the Aryan ID card forging that Esti has been doing so that Italian Jews can pass. But when Esti is captured in Florence, Lili must gather her courage and take Theo on a road trip across Italy seeking safety.
The main elements of the book are friendship, courage, and self discovery against the backdrop of the war. Esti has always been the more vibrant and daring of the two friends but now Lili has to forge ahead on her own, making split second, life or death decisions in an effort to protect Theo and herself. I kind of liked seeing a character who isn’t outwardly brave, who has to mentally pump herself up and then face risks. I think we’d all like to believe we’d be Estis in the face of danger but the reality, I’d bet, is that more of us are Lilis.
Lili repeats the story in her head to remember it. Another alibi. She’s no longer Lili from Bologna, but Lili from Lecce, who, depending on the moment, is a widow, or someone’s niece, or a traveling nun.
Danger is there. In Italy there are German allies, Italian fascists, and several other groups and gangs – none of whom are friends to Jews. Then after Italy surrenders to the Allies, those Germans become enemies. Rationing was a way of life and to get ration cards, one must have an Aryan ID, meaning one that does not state that the person is Jewish. The work that Esti and others, then later Lili, do saves lives.
Another thing that is positive is the number of strangers who willingly shelter first the women and Theo and then Lili and Theo. Some appear to be part of a network while others are strangers who answer Lili’s request for help with food, a bed for the night, or a ride after she and Theo have warily trudged on foot from Assisi towards Rome and closer to the battling Allied army. Yet, as Father Niccacci reminds Lili, the penalty for harboring Jews as well as the reward for turning them in is growing, so she must remain vigilant.
Reading the afterward information and seeing how many historical figures are included in the book was nearly as interesting. I had heard about racing cyclist Gino Bartali and immediately recognized his name when he appears in the story. Learning about what Father Rufino Niccacci and Cardinal Dalla Costa (both named Righteous Among the Nations) tirelessly did to hide and protect Jews in Italy was heartening. But I also like that Lili questions the Cardinal about why the Church isn’t officially doing more and that it’s realistic that later Lili runs into a priest who isn’t as helpful.
“So the bad guys don’t hurt us?” Theo asks, and Lili’s heart contracts. She asks herself constantly how aware Theo is about the war, about the dangers that lie ahead, wondering if he can see through her games, as he seems to see through her empty promises.
I wasn’t expecting what occurred in Rome but given what Lili admits, that so many had helped her, a stranger, I wasn’t surprised at her decision. What resulted is delightful. Also kudos that Theo isn’t a plot moppet but a full fledged and sometimes cranky, though usually not, three year old.
Lili tilts her head. It’s been years since anyone’s asked her about her passion, her goals. Even longer since she’s asked herself. Her dream since the start of the war has been for peace, for safety, for shelter, food, and anonymity. For the chance to once again feel the warmth of her father’s hand in hers, to hear the sound of her best friend’s laughter. Before the war though she dreamed of writing. Of traveling. Of someday starting a family of her own.
There is pain and grief here, and afterwards new-normals to be lived with. Lili knows that she and her life are changed and hates that Theo’s first few years have been filled with loss and upheaval. The scene where she allows herself to grieve for what is lost is moving. But even though the likelihood is that the fate of some of the characters will never be known, as I mentioned above the book ends on a hopeful note. B+
~Jayne
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Jayne
Another long time reader who read romance novels in her teens, then took a long break before started back again about 25 years ago. She enjoys historical romance/fiction best, likes contemporaries, action- adventure and mysteries, will read suspense if there’s no TSTL characters and is currently reading more fantasy and SciFi.
