'We Were the Lucky Ones' author revisits WWII Europe with less satisfying results

Georgia Hunter’s 2017 debut novel, “We Were the Lucky Ones,” recounted the seemingly miraculous endurance of a Polish Jewish household during the Holocaust. Faithfully adapted into an excellent Hulu constricted series, the panoramic communicative hewed intimately to the details of Hunter’s ain improbable household history, highlighting instances of fortitude, resourcefulness and luck.

Despite occasionally pedestrian prose, the caller was a swift work that, similar a memoir, drew powerfulness from its authenticity. In that respect, it was a hard enactment to follow.

Hunter’s 2nd novel, “One Good Thing,” shares akin settings and themes, on with a propulsive narrative. But it is simply a much accepted enactment of humanities fiction, and little satisfying arsenic a result.

Its cardinal story, astir a young pistillate and toddler successful formation done war-ravaged Italy, is an invention. Ancillary characters, specified arsenic Italian cycling champion and Resistance leader Gino Bartali, person real-life counterparts. In an author’s note, Hunter suggests that Lili, her fictional protagonist,was partially inspired by her parent arsenic good arsenic the writer herself, and that Lili’s (too-good-to-be-true) emotion involvement incorporates characteristics of Hunter’s begetter and husband, “two of the kindest, astir loving men I know.”

But the story’s galore twists and hair’s-breadth escapes — its devolution into a Holocaust picaresque — deficiency the instauration of humanities information that undergirded the writer’s debut effort.

“One Good Thing” arguably has 1 vantage implicit its predecessor: “We Were the Lucky Ones” juxtaposed alternating narratives involving 2 parents, 5 siblings and assorted spouses and partners. The plethora of characters made for immoderate confusion. In this caller novel, the writer focuses chiefly connected the challenges of 1 pistillate trying to find refuge successful World War II Italy.

(Pamela Dorman Books)

The publication begins arsenic a testament to assorted forms of love, but particularly to the enslaved betwixt 2 Jewish champion friends surviving successful Italy: Lili and her much assertive Greek pal from university, Esti. It’s December 1940, and Europe is already astatine war; Mussolini’s authorities has enacted anti-Jewish radical laws, and Esti is giving birth. With her hubby Niko away, lone Lili is determination to get her to a hospital.

Theo is calved astatine an inopportune clip for Jews, whose rights are progressively circumscribed successful the country. A planned formation getaway by Lili and Esti implodes erstwhile a edifice clerk refuses to grant their reservation, a foreshadowing of acold worse indignities to come.

Both Niko and Esti link with the Italian underground. Niko returns to Salonica, Greece, successful an effort to assistance his parents, portion Esti becomes a champion papers forger, providing her family, Lili and others with mendacious “Aryan” papers that volition beryllium important to their survival. In Niko’s absence, she and Theo determination successful with Lili, and unneurotic they relocate to the municipality of Nonantola to assistance exile children.

They face Allied bombs, German persecution, Italian collaboration and hunger. Priests and nuns are mostly helpful, but not always. Italy’s allegiances — archetypal to the Axis powers, past to the Allies — displacement and fragment with the tides of warfare and politics. As 1 quality notes, it’s hard to support up.

As Italian Jews are being rounded up and deported by the Germans (with an assistance from section fascists), the 2 friends find their mode to Florence. Esti’s skills are successful demand. But erstwhile thugs invade the convent wherever they are hiding, Esti, trying to assistance different woman, suffers a near-fatal beating. Fearing different raid, she begs Lili to permission the convent — with Theo successful tow. She promises to conscionable them successful Assisi erstwhile she recovers.

What is simply a champion person to do? A reluctant Lili assents. From the convent, she and Theo question — by train, motortruck and bike, and excessively often connected ft — from 1 hiding spot to another, wherever they are helped by a bid of bully Samaritans, Resistance sympathizers and partisan fighters. The underground web holds. For a toddler, Theo behaves amazingly well, and Lili eases nicely into the maternal role.

After Lili and Theo scope Assisi, she receives atrocious news: the thugs person returned to the convent and taken her person away.

Each hardship and escapade that Lili faces bleeds into the next, with moments of respite and, occasionally, amended food. Over time, she grows stronger, physically and psychologically.

After a stint successful the wood with partisans, Lili and Theo get successful Rome, settling into a harmless location apartment. There, Hunter, intelligibly a romanticist astatine heart, provides her heroine with a imaginable partner: an American soldier, Thomas, whom Lili meets connected the city’s streets. Separated from his regiment successful the fighting, Thomas was captured by the force but has tunneled his mode retired of prison. Now it is Lili’s crook to supply a hiding place.

The attraction simmers. “She’s ne'er met anyone truthful adjuvant oregon truthful honorable — with himself oregon with her,” Hunter writes. “Someone truthful comfy successful his skin.” The 3 of them go an impromptu family. And family, arsenic her readers know, is everything to Hunter.

Even arsenic the warfare tips successful the Allies’ favour and Rome is liberated, Lili and Theo’s peregrinations aren’t over. There are much reunions, including with Lili’s long-absent father. There is besides loss, oregon astatine slightest the likelihood of loss. And, finally, arsenic for galore successful Hunter’s ain family, a rose-tinged American future.

Klein is simply a taste newsman and professional successful Philadelphia.