AN ITALIAN GIRL IN BROOKLYN

BY SANTA MONTEFIORE SIMON AND SCHUSTER Although Evalina has lived in New York for 30 years, she remains an Italian girl at heart.

On Thanksgiving in 1979 as she gathers with close family, she feels gratitude for all that life has given her but also deep regret for all she was forced to give up.

Growing up in northern Italy, Evalina sees her elder sister marrying a banker out of duty to satisfy their father’s wishes and promises herself she’ll never be drawn into such a joyless union.

Instead she falls madly in love with Ezra, the son of a local dressmaker.

When Adolf Hitler starts making inroads into Italy, removing the Jewish population, Ezra is taken.

Believing him to be dead, Evalina decides to move to Brooklyn to build a new life.

But three decades on, although she’s married and has three children, a cloud of regret still lingers for the love she lost.

This was an enjoyable read – though I kept wondering throughout the book if, with all its secrets and sadness, whether there was somehow a possibility of a happy ending.