THE NIGHT TRAVELERS by Armando Lucas Correa

 

MY THOUGHTS

This is my first by this author. I will definitely be reading more of his work.

This is a very emotional story. It takes you to different lands, time, people, and wars. It touches your heart in a way that you won't soon forget. This author reminded me of some times that I had forgotten. A time when I was a child and had no idea what was going on mostly. His writing is sad but beautiful. The way the words are written captivated me. Took my heart and would not let it go. I literally wept for these characters and what they went through. It was so realistic. Based on true times. True events. Things that actually happened. How sad war is. How horrible the Nazi's and the Cuban revolutionaries were. Things that happened were atrocious. So horrible that we can't begin to imagine. I'm glad we can't but we also need to remember that it did and it very well could again. Things are happening around us that are horrible. War is something that we need less of no matter what country you live in. 

This book is told in three parts. The first, the beginning, is Ally's story. It's Berlin, March 1931. She gives birth to her baby girl Lillith. One line in this era that really jumped out at me was: "BOOKS ARE NO LONGER SEEN AS USEFUL IN THIS COUNTRY. WHO CARES ABOUT READING THE CLASSICS THESE DAYS?" That was the beginning of the end for the Jews in Germany. Banned books. Banned human beings. Treating people as though they are nothing but scum. Sterilization of children who may carry a gene that is not perfect. Killing or messing up these children forever. All in the name of one man. One horrible little man who was by far not perfect. It's amazing to me how people will follow a man no matter what he is doing. Praise him no matter what. Excuse the horrors no matter what. 

What would you do to keep your child safe? Would you give that child away. Send them to a safe place and go on living your life without them? Could you? In the name of love maybe? That is what this story is about. A woman named Ally. A poet who gave her child away to keep her safe. Because this child was a mixed race child. She had a defect. She was a Black German. That was her defect. To keep her safe her mother was willing to give her up. Send her to a new country with almost strangers. 

This book is about four women. Four fairly strong women who do what they have to to survive and to keep their families safe. Through generations these women are connected. It starts in Berlin in 1931 and goes through Havana, Cuba 1942 and the US in 1975 and circles back to Berlin in 2015 where it all comes together. A family with so much loss and finding again. So much heartache. The years are all mapped out perfectly. Jumping ahead and then at times back again. You will learn everything you need to about this family. 

I loved the characters in this story. All of them. I tried to hate one but I finally felt sorry for that one. My heart broke for the women and what they went through. What they endured in the name of love. Even with the men who loved them were not strong enough it seemed. Generations of heartache and love. This is one historical that will keep you turning the pages and patting your eyes. Tears and lots of them will be shed. 

This book leaves nothing undone. Every aspect is covered. A few surprises are along this ride also. Things I certainly didn't expect. I was glad though. I was happy about these. This is one book you just can't miss if you love a good historical.

Thank you #NetGalley, ArmandoLucasCorrea, #AtriaPublishing for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5 huge stars from me. I highly recommend it and that you have tons of tissues as you will need them.

SYNOPSIS

Four generations of women experience love, loss, war, and hope from the rise of Nazism to the Cuban Revolution and finally, the fall of the Berlin Wall in this sweeping novel from the bestselling author of the “timely must-read” (People) The German Girl.

Berlin, 1931: Ally Keller, a talented young poet, is alone and scared when she gives birth to a mixed-race daughter she names Lilith. As the Nazis rise to power, Ally knows she must keep her baby in the shadows to protect her against Hitler’s deadly ideology of Aryan purity. But as she grows, it becomes more and more difficult to keep Lilith hidden so Ally sets in motion a dangerous and desperate plan to send her daughter across the ocean to safety.

Havana, 1958: Now an adult, Lilith has few memories of her mother or her childhood in Germany. Besides, she’s too excited for her future with her beloved Martin, a Cuban pilot with strong ties to the Batista government. But as the flames of revolution ignite, Lilith and her newborn daughter, Nadine, find themselves at a terrifying crossroads.

Berlin, 1988: As a scientist in Berlin, Nadine is dedicated to ensuring the dignity of the remains of all those who were murdered by the Nazis. Yet she has spent her entire lifetime avoiding the truth about her own family’s history. It takes her daughter, Luna, to encourage Nadine to uncover the truth about the choices her mother and grandmother made to ensure the survival of their children. And it will fall to Luna to come to terms with a shocking betrayal that changes everything she thought she knew about her family’s past.

Separated by time but united by sacrifice, four women embark on journeys of self-discovery and find themselves to be living testaments to the power of motherly love.