*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Last Train From Paris blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.
Title: The Tuscan Orphan
Author: Siobhan Daiko
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
1944 -
When an air raid strikes the hospital she’s been working in, Carrie’s life irrevocably changes. But
as a nurse in the middle of wartime, she has no time to grieve, as she has too
many people relying on her.
For resistance fighter, Vito, nothing is more important than seeking vengeance for the
atrocities his fellow comrades have suffered. But when he liberates a convent,
finding a group of Jewish children in hiding, he suddenly has even more to
fight for.
Little Mimi is injured, scared and alone. Together Carrie and Vito vow to find her parents, a loving home. But under the shadow of war, is it wise to make promises you’re not sure you can keep?
The Tuscan Orphan is the latest captivating novel from
historical fiction author Siobhan Daiko. I was hooked from cover to cover
and completely enchanted by Carrie and Vito’s powerful story set against the
beautiful setting of Tuscany. Siobhan Daiko truly is one of the queens of World
War Two historical fiction and The Tuscan Orphan joins the list of her incredible novels
which should be read by every fan of the genre.
In our story we get to see both Carrie’s work as a nurse in
the US army and Vito’s partisan work, including seeing how they overlapped in certain
parts of the Italian Campaign along The Gothic Line. Maintaining the high standard we see
in all of Siobhan Daiko’s novels, the story was clearly meticulously researched
and her knowledge of the Italian campaign of World War II
is truly outstanding. The Italian settings came alive on the page and it was fantastic
to travel with Carrie’s unit across Italy and see how different towns and
cities were impacted by the war.
Both the prologue and the epilogue are written from Mimi’s
POV and are the only two chapters written in first person. Bookending the main
narrative, which is written in third person, in this way shaped the novel in a
beautiful way and it was wonderful to start and end the novel focusing on the
character who gives it its name.
Both of our dual protagonists – Carrie and Vito – were
fantastically written with such depth to their characters. Carrie was a brilliant
strong female protagonist and her courage, empathy and selflessness amazed me
throughout the novel. Vito was also a fantastic character and I think we see
the most character development from him over the course of the novel as his
partisan activities, blossoming feelings for Carrie and paternal relationship with
Mimi mature him. Mimi was a truly wonderful young character who was
fantastically written as a realistic child. Her resilience at such a young age
was inspirational and she brought sunshine to every page she appeared in, even
against the darkness of war-torn Italy. We do get a blossoming romance between Carrie and
Vito and this is well-written to compliment the main narrative whilst not
taking away from the gripping, and at times hard-hitting, story of war. I’m a sucker
for any romance where he falls first and harder and this was beautifully
written.
Overall, The Tuscan Orphan is a truly fantastic piece of
World War Two fiction and a story which will stay with me for a
long time. I really didn’t feel ready to part with any of the characters and
would love for Siobhan Daiko to find some way for us to return to Carrie, Vito
and little Mimi in another book.
No comments:
Post a Comment