As I sat there, looking at Father and listening to him, inside I began to rise, to swell. I felt for a moment as if I were watching the scene from above, perched high like a bird on a branch. I knew he was wrong about this, and his being wrong shrank him somehow to the size of a child or even a tiny animal. But it was funny, because the wrongness, the smallness, made him suddenly — despite his unhappiness with me — easier to love. Like he couldn’t hurt me in the same way anymore, like being his daughter was now, oddly, something I could accept with equanimity.
(from The Golden Hour, page 122)
Margaret Wurtele’s debut novel, The Golden Hour, is a coming-of-age story set in a small village in Tuscany during World War II. Giovanna Bellini is 17 years old at the end of 1943, a time when her country has surrendered to the Allies and remains occupied by the Nazis. The war seems so distant to her until her older brother, Giorgio, joins a band of partisans and the Nazis first take over part of the building where she helps the nuns teach school and then part of her family’s villa.
Giovanna wants to be taken seriously as a strong young woman, but she soon proves that she has a lot of growing up to do. Her former fascist father seems confused about where to place his loyalties. He’s angry at his son for deserting the Italian army, yet he secretly cheers the Allies on as they move closer and closer to victory. However, whenever the Germans seem to gain some ground, he waffles, mainly because he doesn’t want to been seen as not supporting whichever side ultimately wins. So it’s not surprising that Giovanna doesn’t truly understand that the Nazis are the enemy, and when Klaus, a German officer assigned to the school where she volunteers, shows an interest in her and her “exotic” beauty, she flirts right back, much to the chagrin of her family and the nuns.
Giovanna truly wants to prove herself, to make up for her mistakes, so when she has a chance to meet with Giorgio and help him and his fellow partisans, she doesn’t care about the risks. When she is asked to hide a wounded partisan who is also a Jew, and her feelings for Mario grow, she finds out just how dangerous the Nazis can be and must overcome the obstacles of war and family to find herself and true happiness.
Wurtele’s writing is beautiful without being too flowery, and she makes readers feel like they really are in a small Tuscan village covered with vineyards and olive trees and filled with hearty food despite the meager rations. Wurtele’s characters all felt real to me, from Mario’s mood swings while in hiding and Klaus’ seeking comfort with Giovanna, to the frustrated villagers who put their lives on the line for the partisans. Even Giovanna’s innocence, whether in her interactions with men or her ignorance about what was happening to the Jews, was authentic for a teenage girl who had lived a mostly sheltered life in an affluent family.
The Golden Hour is a quiet novel about World War II. There are moments of tension and excitement, but the violence and horror of the war are in the background. Readers are not left ignorant of the death and destruction, nor are they assaulted with graphic descriptions of war. Giovanna wades through her work with the partisans with light feet and a big heart, but you can sense the danger in the air, and being able to merely sense it is enough to drive the point home. Wurtele contrasts moments of pure happiness with scenes of intense sadness as Giovanna evolves from an innocent girl to a young woman who has seen and risked more in a matter of months than many do their entire lives. The Golden Hour may be a light novel set during wartime, but it is powerful in its depiction of ordinary people acting on the urge to do something useful and important for the war effort.
Disclosure: I received a copy of The Golden Hour from New American Library/Penguin for review. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I cannot wait to read this book…I’m so glad that you enjoyed it.
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I can’t wait for your thoughts!
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It sounds like there’s just enough tension in the story to keep you turning the pages.
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Yes, and I couldn’t stop turning those pages!
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I adore the cover — glad to hear it’s good — I’m going to have to get this one soon!
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I love the cover, too. Hope you get a chance to read it.
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Nice review, I like quiet too 🙂
Btw…can I read a graphic novel for the WWI challenge? Found one
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I know I already answered your question by e-mail, but yup, graphic novels count!
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I would like to feel what it is like to live in a quiet Tuscan village!
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Me, too!
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This sounds better and better every time I read about this.I need to get my hands on this 🙂 And it would be nice to read about Italy for a change.
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Yes, Italy during WWII was definitely something new for me.
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For some reason, this one looks SO familiar to me. I don’t have it in my shelves, but I’m wondering if maybe it’s on the way to me for review? Well .. anyway, that’s neither here nor there. This one really sounds like a thinking person’s title, and I’m finding that I like “quiet” novels more and more. Thanks for the review.
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I really needed a quiet WWII novel, quiet meaning that it’s not quite as depressing or horrifying as other novels depicting the war.
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I just got this one, and I feel as though I really need to move it up the TBR pile!
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I can’t wait for your review!!
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I can’t wait to read this one. I like that it is set in Italy. I just finished another quiet book. I kind of like a good quiet read now and then. It is calming.
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Well, this one is about as calm as a WWII novel could get, and I mean that in a good way!
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Nice review Anna. I’ll be reading this one also, glad to hear its good.
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Looking forward to your thoughts!
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I’ve seen a few reviews of this one and it’s on my wishlist. It really sounds like a book I’d like to read.
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I hope you get a chance to read it!
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One thing sort of good about WWII novels set in Italy is that they never seem as awful for the people as those set in other countries. And I wouldn’t mind thinking for a while that I was in a small Tuscan village covered with vineyards and olive trees and filled with hearty food!!!
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Me, too! I haven’t read enough about Italy during the war to say whether that’s the case or not. Hey, an excuse to read more WWII, as if I needed one!
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Great review, Anna! I just finished reading this and I think it was great! I don’t think I’ve read a WWII story with an Italy setting so I’m glad to read this book!
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Glad to hear you enjoyed it, too.
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Love the sound of this one Anna, and what a beautiful cover as well.
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The cover is gorgeous! Hope you give this one a try.
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This one sounds really good! I love the cover as well. I really want to read this one.
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I think you’d enjoy it.
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This sounds great! I can never get enough of WWII histfic!
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I know the feeling! Hope you get a chance to read it.
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Your reviews are always so well-written and moving! I love the sound of this one and that it is light but doesn’t make light of the situation.
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Aw, thanks, Staci!
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I love the Tuscany setting which sounds like it is vivdly depicted by Margaret Wurtele. Giovanna sounds lovely and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to be growing up while the Nazis are around and as a girl and almost a woman I expect few people will tell her anything so she’s got to figure things out for herself. This may be a light nocvel about WW II than some but it also sounds intriguing. Thank you for a terrific review, Anna!
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My pleasure, Amy! I can’t imagine coming of age in an occupied country during a war.
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Wars have different effects on people and causes a lot of things. I am always glad when the war is not necessarily the subject but the people. thanks for sharing this review with us.
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You’re welcome! I do like reading about how war affected civilians, especially since it was right on their doorsteps!
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Thanks for this review. I’m adding this to my list for sure. I love WWII novels so this one definitely excites me. I’m also intrigued because it takes place in Tuscany.
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I hope you get a chance to read it. I think you’d enjoy it.
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