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The Italian Girl

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The Italian Girl

By: Anita Abriel
Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
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About this listen

 A fearless young Italian woman risks everything to save precious artworks from the Nazis in a gripping new tale from the bestselling author of The Light After the War.

Rome, 1943: Marina Tozzi adores her father Vittorio and working together in his art gallery is her only escape from the reality of the Nazi occupation. Not only has Marina inherited her father’s passion for art but she is earning a reputation as an expert in her own right.

However, Vittorio is keeping a deadly secret from his daughter. He has been hiding a Jewish artist in their basement and one day Marina returns home to find her father has been brutally murdered by a German officer. Devastated, Marina flees to Florence to seek help from a man who owes Vittorio his life.

Renowned American art expert Bernard Berenson offers Marina sanctuary in his villa outside Florence and a job cataloguing his vast art library. Marina is grateful but she is determined to find a way to avenge her father. When handsome young artist Carlos proposes using her expertise to help the partisan cause against the Nazis, she has at last found her purpose.

In one daring and ingenious act, Marina risks her life to save a priceless painting from falling into Nazi hands and proves her worth to the partisans. But falling in love with Carlos was not part of her plan. When Carlos suddenly disappears, Marina’s dreams about building a life with him after the war turn to ashes. She will have to travel halfway around the world to unravel the past – and find her future.

‘Inspiring, heartbreaking and full of courage, The Italian Girl is a stunning work of historical fiction. Abriel has delivered a compelling story that you won’t be able to put down … This is one WWII historical you won’t want to miss.’ Better Reading 20th Century Fiction Historical Fiction Women's Fiction War Italy Rome

Critic Reviews

‘Inspiring, heartbreaking and full of courage, The Italian Girl is a stunning work of historical fiction. Abriel has delivered a compelling story that you won’t be able to put down … This is one WWII historical you won’t want to miss.’
All stars
Most relevant
I am old fashioned and still believe that the story should be creditable. While this is a nice story it contains a number of oddities,not least of which is an American living in Italy and travelling freely across international borders even after the USA had joined the war and the invasion of Italy!

I know it's fiction, but !

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We know that the characters are Italian, talking Italian. Why would they talk with an accent??? Why is then the whole book not read with the accent?
Very annoying. Had to force myself to go on past the first chapter.

Why the fake accents?

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I really enjoyed this book. The will definitely but another from this author. Also I enjoyed the accents it brought the story to life.

A great read

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Truly enjoyed this book. Well written and sensitive to listen to. You could feel the pain of the main character and of others who went through that period of time. overall a great listen.

Excellent

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Excellent narration but that’s about all I could say in support of this story. A cross between a poorly written ‘Mills and Boon’ and a television soapy.
There were a range of inaccuracies, both historical and cultural ( reference to having a cappuccino after dinner - Italians drink cappuccino only at breakfast & short black for dinner !).
The main character was very wishy washy and naive - the writer didn’t really build the character to have the emotional fortitude to follow through on her ‘escapades’.
I found this story very disappointing after all the reviews indicated it was a great read.

A War Romance.

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