The Golden Hour

by Margaret Wurtele

In this stunning debut set in the summer of 1944 in Tuscany, Giovanna Bellini, the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat and vineyard owner, has just turned seventeen and is on the cusp of adulthood. War bears down on her peaceful little village after the Italians sign a separate peace with the Allies-transforming the Germans into an occupying army.

But when her brother joins the Resistance, he asks Giovanna to hide a badly wounded fighter who is Jewish. As she nurses him back to health, she falls helplessly in love with the brave and humble Mario, who comes from as ancient and noble an Italian family as she does. They pledge their love, and then must fight a real battle against the Nazis who become more desperate and cruel as the Allies close in on them...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Italy, World War II, Fiction, Historical, Romance, War

329 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2012

Reviews

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is one of those books with one of those endings that just left me with my mouth hanging open.

It takes place in Italy during WWII. Italy has been taken over by Nazis. The heroine, Giovanna, is spending her teen years under German rule and has even had to give up most of her home to German soldiers. Her brother has failed to report for duty with Italian/German army and has run off to be a resistance fighter/partisan. Her father is angry as he is a devoted Fascist. (Actually, he's on the winning side whoever they may be.)

In the beginning, Gia (I'm shortening it as that's quite a bit to type over and over) is a normal teenage girl with feelings of desire. She's left with nothing but Nazis to focus her new found feelings on and she develops a crush on Hans. He's married, but that doesn't stop her...but before it goes too far, Gia realizes she's in the wrong. This botched affair leads to so many things...Gia begins to change for one thing.

She begins aiding the resistance, providing supplies, medical care, starts to ask questions. She goes from being a naive school girl ogling older, married men to a young woman with a mind of her own that believes in doing all she can to help her country and the Jews within it.

There were times I thought Gia was disappointing and stupid, but her narrative, all first person POV, was so brutally honest.. it was as though she was admitting to her own flaws. I felt as though she was speaking to me, saying, "Look what I did. Yes, I did that. Can you believe how stupid I was?" Somehow, it worked, it drew me in, and it made the heroine "real."

The ending. Wow. I didn't see that coming... to live with that knowledge the rest of one's life. Yikes. Something else in the book that had a huge impact on me was when the Allies came to town and ran out the Germans. The military higher ups sit there and talk smack about their very own Buffalo soldiers and Gia thinks...

"The irony of all this was eating away at me: the American military, so much the "white horse" for all of us in this war, felt to me like a weak echo of the Nazis' own prejudices and hostilities."

Really, too many good points for me to bring up. Loved this one. Love the narrative, the realness, the history, the drama, and except for her father who I never came to like, the characters.

[Biddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so disappointed in this book. It is as if the book was built backwards, that the author knew how she wanted it to end and wrote from that point. I found her characters hard to like and uninspiring. The first 3/4 of the book had no tension at all and I found this tough going. I felt that some parts were a stretch to believe, for instance, Giovanna goes from a scared infatuated girl to one who leaps at Mario and says "I want to feel you inside me" - really? A bit of a stretch, yes?
The bits & pieces of history the author threw in were odd, as if she felt this would add authenticity to the narrative.

[Shari Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was in October of 1943 when German forces started their invasion of 17 year old Giovanna Bellini's peaceful village in Tuscany. At first, she finds herself fascinated by the dashing Nazi officers; she has lead somewhat of a sheltered life, and has yet to come face to face with the harsh realities of the war.


Her life changes though when her brother Giorgio joins the partisans, and recruits her to smuggle food for them. At first it is a lark for her, but then things take a drastic turn when she is asked to hide a wounded a freedom fighter, Mario Rava, who is also a Jew.


As Giovanna helps Mario to heal, they form a deep bond, and terrible truths begin to be revealed; truths that will endanger countless other lives, and the love that is growing between them.


This was an engrossing story; at times I got frustrated with Giovanna's attitude, and with some of the decisions she made, but I had to remind myself, she was still just a teenager, and she did mature over the course of the story. The ending had a surprising twist that I did not see coming either.

[Natasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

 If you enjoy historical fiction, you should enjoy this story. Insights into Italian resistance during WW 2 and the hardships of the Italian people, which is less known provides the backdrop for the story. The central character is the independent teenage daughter of a wealthy family, who has always been in the shadow of her older brother, the pride of her parents. The story follows her transition from an immature girl to a strong and brave young woman and her forbidden love affair with a young Jewish man, whom she hides and protects. An enjoyable, easy read.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading stories which have a war setting; don't get me wrong, war stories are never a joy to read but they are part of history and they allow us to get a glimpse of the war through the eyes of the characters, even if they are fictional ones.

The Golden Hour is a story about a 17-year-old Italian girl, Giovanna Bellini's journey during the Nazi occupation in Tuscany during the 1940s and how the war affected her throughout and into her adulthood. Being the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, her life should be carefree and filled with happiness but all was shattered when the war broke and their lands are being occupied by German officers. As you are aware, Italy armistice with the Allies and this resulting in the disarming of Italian forces and seizing the military control of Italian areas.

While Giovanna helps at the local Catholic academy tutoring refugee children, she is attracted by one particular German officer named Klaus; he is married and has a young son and though Giovanna likes him, yet at the same time she is also torn by guilt and a sense of patriotism as she feels their acquaintance is wrong to begin with. On the other end, Giovanna's brother, Giorgio, left home to join the resistance. His parents never knew of his whereabouts, thinking something must have happened to him during the war although they are still hopeful of his return. Truth be told, he is very much alive and Giovanna is secretly helping him to smuggle food and medical supplies for the partisans.

It is also through Giorgio that Giovanna meets Mario, an injured partisan who is Jewish and as she nurses Mario back to health, she couldn't help but to fall in love with him and his courageous spirit as well. At that time, she is unaware of the situation where the Jewish stand and even after she knew of the danger of being acquainted with a Jew, she stand by her decision of helping and loving him despite her parents' objection. However, the real battle lies in the ruthless Nazis and Giovanna has to confront her demons as she faces Klaus once again.

Filled with wonderful characterisations and a rich setting of the wartime, author Margaret Wurtele has weaved a captivating, and an unforgettable story about love of all kinds (couples, family as well as friends) and the acts of heroism in all forms. Giovanna is a wonderful and a likeable reader; you couldn't help but to sympathize with her for all the difficulties she encounters both in her personal life as well as the hardship during the wartime. Mario is another likeable character to me as he is brave yet humble at the same time.

As I have not read a war story with an Italian setting before The Golden Hour, I was glad to read this book based from the Italian's perspective. It has definitely made me understand more about the resistance forces; and not to mention what the partisans did are selfless and they are willing to sacrifice themselves in saving their country.

Although The Golden Hour is about the Nazi occupation, I would also like to view this as somewhat of a coming-of-age story, as I could see how Giovanna has grown from a naïve young girl to be a mature lady as the story progress. A great debut I would say, and I would highly recommend this book to readers who love historical with a little romance theme in it.

[Dimpleswk · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the independent, strong female reader, the heroine in this story is frustrating. For half of the book, the heroine is portrayed as the thoughtless damsel in distress. As the story develops, the author adds more strength and other characters to de-emphasize the damsel in distress thoughts of the heroine. The story is an interesting perspective of Italy during World War II. Due to the frustration the character development, I rated this book low. I would recommend the book if only readers would like a different perspective of WW II.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed By~JoAnne
Review Copy Provided By~Publisher

This is Wurtele's debut novel and it was a riveting read. The book takes place during World War II in Tuscany, Italy and you felt like you were there with the vivid descriptions of the countryside, vineyards, food, villas, farmland and churches along with the Nazis, partisans, bombings, and tales of the war. It's a story of family, honor, strength and love along with all the fears invoked by the war as well as the horrors of the Jews being rounded up and sent away on trains to the camps. The Bellini family are the main characters and you get to know them intimately. Giovanna finds herself on the outs with her family due to her beliefs and stand against the war and because of the strong feelings she comes to have for Mario, who is Jewish, and who she ultimately falls in love with. The prologue set the stage for the storyline but you nearly forgot about it due to the action that takes place throughout the book. You are reminded of it with the reading of the epilogue which gives nice closure to the story.

I enjoyed the journal entries written by Mario while he was hiding from the German army. There was a happily ever after that didn't seem like it would come to bear with a few tears shed along the way. This book was reminiscent to me of The Sound of Music with the daughter thinking she is in love with the Nazi soldier as well as Paris Noire by Francine Thomas Howard that also had black soldiers serving in the war in Europe. This was an enjoyable read which I initially did not think it would be and I look forward to reading other books by Wurtele in the future.


Favorite Quote: ...Mother had decided not to ask the Germans' permission, but simply to go ahead and set a table under the huge, spreading linden tree. If challenged, she planned to use my eighteenth birthday as an excuse and hope she could prevail upon their goodwill. I had wanted to include Violetta in the celebration, but Mother worried that even one more guest might ad to the noise and make it riskier.

[Rosemarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book two stars because of the lack of depth to the characters and the generally careless way of writing. The premise of the book has many possibilities for a really good book, but the author did not succeed. The plot proceeds at a really shallow and superficial level. A real disappointment.
Also, the main character, Giovanna, is immature and self-centred throughout the whole book. Everything is about her feelings; she shows a distinct lack of empathy with anyone else.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of WWII books out there, but not a lot set in Italy. I liked the main character who ended up joining the Italian resistance against the Nazis and the atrocities they inflicted on the Italians. I always appreciate historical fiction and all I learn while reading a good novel.

[Oceantide74 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found Giovanna's character annoying for some reason. There was something unlikable about her and one dimensional in the character development.

[malaney cassano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so ready for awful shit to happen this whole book bc Nazis.. duh. But there’s a reason I love reading about WWll — horrific yes, but the strength people had to develop in order to survive is so unbelievable to me. My gen could NEVERRRR. We don’t know how truly lucky we are.

[Bella Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so gorgeous. A must-read for fans of historical fiction.

[Cindi (Utah Mom’s Life) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the synopsis of The Golden Hour by Margaret Wurtele, I was immediately intrigued. Giovanna is a young woman living in Tuscany during World War II. Her village is occupied by the Germans as the Italians have now aligned themselves with the Allies. As the Italians wait for the Allied troops to liberate them, some, including Giovanna's brother, join the Resistance. Her brother asks Giovanna to help hide his Jewish friend Marco. And, of course, Giovanna will fall madly in love with Marco.

I actually found that I had to drudge my way through this novel. My first problem was the main character. In the beginning of the novel, Giovanna is flirting with a love affair with one of the occuping Nazi soldiers. That entire experience paints her as flighty, fickle and reckless. Later, when entrusted with the duty of supplying the Resistance, she has so much trouble keeping her secret. At the same time, the author describes her as very pious, devoted to her religion and the cause of the Italians. Obviously, she is just a girl and will grow up during the novel. I realize this, but the progression doesn't seem realistic. Then, she meets Marco and she is willing to sacrifice her family, the lives of others, and her religion for his love. I would buy it if the author had more successfully portrayed their romance. As told, it came across as very shallow. Marco was a very two-dimensional character, in spite of the inclusion of his journal entries.

Overall, I was disappointed by this novel. It had a beautiful setting and a promising plot but the writing was wordy and awkward. It lacked the passion that would make me want to root for the love affair.

The details of the war between the Italians and the Germans and the Allies as well as the racial tension throughout the country were interesting (though I question some facts and even the inconsistencies Giovanna's earlier naivete about what was happening to Jews and then her sudden defense of them and the Black Allied soldiers), but hardly made the book worth the time.

[Viviane Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giovanna Bellini is a very young 17 year old at the opening of this story occurring in 1944 Tuscany, Italy. The Germans have taken over Italy and confiscated the bottom floor of the Bellini home as residence for German soldiers. Giovanni really hasn't absorbed the horrors that the Nazis have perpetrated across Europe and are continuing to do so in her native land. But she is unfortunately about to learn, the hard way!

First, she falls into an infatuation love affair with a German soldier and stops just short of sleeping with him when she is caught by the nuns who have taught her up to now. Then her role in the war truly begins when her partisan brother, Giorgio, talks her into collecting food and supplies for him and his colleagues secretly working against the Nazis. Her relationship with her parents begins to erode because they continue to treat her like the child she has always been.

Giovanni's real taste of war begins on encountering wounded Italian soldiers, including a Jewish Italian soldier with whom she truly falls in love. She must steal and lie to complete her mission of healing and helping, learning whom she can trust to help her project and whom she must avoid. Despite one event in which her former German love mercifully lets her go after realizing who she is hiding and why, Giovanna learns of the treatment of the Jews. Her break with her parents widens on her 18th birthday in which she confronts her father with his former role in supporting the Fascists and their treatment of Jewish businessmen, as well as his unrelenting attitude to her new love and commitment to marry that man.

The Golden Hour is a page turner one won't soon forget. While Giovanna appears to be quite naive for a 17 year old, one can understand her unintelligent mistakes in the vein of being a sheltered child whose parents live in an elite world that is gone forever! She grows up quickly, becoming a courageous, compassionate person who contributes much to the war effort. Finely told, Ms. Wuertele!

[Giulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't the book I thought I bought. 2 stars would be too harsh but 3 is already a bit too nice.

Reading the blurb, I was ready for vivid imagery, an interesting and involving love story and a brave heroine, but I found many faults in the character, Giovanna and the plot.

Firstly, I found the father to be absolutely nonsensical; the author just made him annoying and unrealistic, there only to act as a barrier to Giovanna instead of being a fully fleshed out and justified person. I definitely did not feel Giovanna's connection and attachment to Giorgio and there were so many moments where I could have slapped Giovanna for her silliness. I never ever imagined that when I opened this book, I found find Klaus to be her first lover. I mean...it felt like she was only put in a relationship with him so they could have that close call later and she would rely on him to get them out of trouble. That was it.

Many other things wrong with this book, and being Italian, it sort of meant a lot to me to read this. Pretty disappointing. Prose is okay in some parts, mainly simple though.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are very few books that, once I begin, I do not finish.

This book is one of them. The characters lack depth, the plot, halfway through, feels absurd; she is inexperienced in romance, yet has little trepidation in starting a relationship with a Nazi, and oddly, she seems to understand and NOT understand what her brother's stint in the resistance means.

I could find no emotional connection with anyone in this book. Scratch the surface of anyone or any place in this novel and --- well, I guess others have found more, but I find only blankness.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like 1 star is harsh but I was so frustrated with this for such a long time, and kept rolling my eyes at everything Giovanna did - what an idiot! I almost quit reading, and I don't ever consider quitting a book (put them aside for a later and never get back to them? Yes, but purposely quit, no). It picked up the last 80-100 pages, meaning it went from annoying to bland but the last 80 pages of a 330 page book being tolerable is really too little too late.

[Jamie Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a first reads giveaway and ended up in my top 10 favorite books that I have read this year. This book takes place in italy during world war II. The main character is a young girl who starts out making poor decisions and ends up being a hero. This is a perfect coming of age story that I would reccommend to everyone. Loved it!

[Gay · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character, Giovanna Bellini, is so shallow and self-absorbed, I could not finish this book. She imagines herself to be a champion of the cause of the partisans in World War II, but is so immature and silly, that it's hard to take her seriously. She would fit in well with today's "Valley Girls". Not a book I would recommend.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book. My family on my mother's side are Italian and read a novel based on a family and town in Italy and how they fought against the Germans in WWII was a wonderful read. A young woman helping her brother and friends to survive, to helping at a clinic so that wounded soldiers could survive. I enjoyed this novel.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

It could have been a good book, but Ms. Wurtele just didn't produce a professional-quality writing. It read pretty much as though a young person wrote it. It's about a young Italian woman who participated in resisting the Germans during WWII.

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it took me a minute to actually crack the book open and start reading it, I enjoyed it once I did. It didn't quite go the route I was expecting based on the first few chapters, but was good overall.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good novel of World War II in Italy. I really liked the setting and the characters. A very enjoyable read.

[Mary Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read or heard such a detailed account of the Italian point of view during WWII. I loved this.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as when I had read the synopsis, it sounded intriguing, to say the least. This book featured a young girl named Giovanna, who is in the midst of World War II, with her brother Giorgio, fighting for the Partisans. After meeting with Giorgio and agreeing to help him with supplies, Giovanna meets one of his partners, Mario, whom she helps in hiding. As the war goes on, Giovanna and Mario form a close friendship, which then blossoms into love. Once the war ends, Giovanna is faced with the task of reacquainting herself with her previous life, while incorporating her newfound romance into her family. The book takes a few twists and turns as Giovanna discusses how the war impacts her life, especially in regards to her work in the clinic, which she initially despises. I felt that there were no climatic moments present within this book, as most of it only discussed a variety of events which took place in Giovanna's life, without any real terror or excitement. There were times in which I wanted to continue reading past certain parts as I was a tad bored, feeling as though I wasn't fully-grasping the severity of the situation. I did however enjoy reading Mario's diaries, and would have wanted to see more of those written. I felt that in general, the plotline was dry, and left me wanting more details into a variety of relationships, some of which were only introduced briefly. I do commend the author on providing excellent historical facts on the war itself, which was a great addition to see, especially considering it was a historical fiction novel.

[Elizabeth ‘Andy’ Terrall · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The casing of my heart curled inward like a leaf of lettuce in the first hard frost."

That is about the most interesting line in this book, and yet it sounds contrived and makes literally no sense.

Throughout the entire book, I was wondering what the point was going to be. The prologue gives the reader the sense that some large, catastrophic event caused a divide between her and her father that was irreparable even dozens of years later. And when you get to the end, one is left with the feeling that you just wasted a few hours of your life on a book that probably wasn't educational in any sense.

Every few chapters, the main character has an "epiphany" about how different and separated she is from her parents, and each time it's talked about as if it was a brand new experience. There are flat attempts at foreshadowing for...something, but I never knew what the foreshadowing was supposed to be connected to. The plight of the Jews is introduced about halfway through the book, and suddenly that takes over, even though the entire first half had nothing to do with them. The presence of a German soldier is simply confusing, with all attention being given to that for the first few chapters, and then he largely disappears until near the end. The romantic interactions are flat and unoriginal.

For more examples of how scatter-brained the writing is, one chapter suddenly changes to journal form from a second character, when the entire rest of the book is first person. What?! Italian names and foods are sprinkled throughout as if the author Googled them to try to add credibility to the unrealistic depictions of Italian life and the war. Not only that, but European movements are very generically mentioned until a couple chapters before the end, when we get a textbook-style rundown of troop movements.

The plot was boring, the writing unimpressive. Leave out the lack of historical accuracy, and the romantic story is unoriginal. This book is largely unsatisfying and poorly written.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the first time I have read a book when I did not love or really like the main character. Here, for most of the book, I can say that I disliked Giovanna, a silly twit of a girl fascinated with a German officer, the enemy. She risked the safety of her family, her partisan brother, the sisters in the convent all for the sake of romance with a handsome man who was the enemy and married to boot. She redeemed herself when she again risked the safety of others to save the life of a Jewish man, hiding him, stealing for him, betraying friends. I enjoyed the history, of the German occupation of Italy, the activities of the partisans, the Allied advance to achieve victory.
Several story lines are left hanging, such as Sisters Graziella and Elena, who were thrown in prison for helping to hide Jewish refugees--what became of them? And Klaus--did he die or get out in the retreat? And what is the meaning of the title? I recall no reference made to the Golden Hour in the text.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Experience the tensions, conflicts and stresses of the Italian people during World War II, the Nazi occupation and eventual allied liberation through the experiences of a family faced and the choices they made. Margaret Wurtele captures the insecurity and confused loyalties of the Italians in her novel The Golden Hour .

Wurtele's characters must deal with their past choices and relationships while struggling to create new lives free from the oppression of war. This novel will leave you pondering...what would I do? Would I play it safe? Would I risk everything for my beliefs? Who can I trust? Read the The Golden Hour to better understand the Italian people and the personal and social challenges they faced before, during and after World War II.

Plus! An added bonus for Midwestern readers—Margaret Wurtele hails from Minneapolis (and the Napa Valley)

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy war-fiction in the setting of WWII Nazi occupied Italy, this book is for you. Giovanna a 17-year old coming of age during a hostile time in her small Italian village has a great story to tell. From her affair with a Nazi officer that suggestively laid out later consequences that would come back to haunt her, and then finding her true love in a Jewish refugee, the story if full of drama. At times I was rooting for her and at others I was thinking 'how stupid can she be'. The story is very descriptive and had me on edge at times as Giovanna dangerously took it upon herself to help supply her brothers partisan efforts in fighting the Germans. Not knowing who she could trust and who might reveal her dangerous mission, even her own family members, made this story a real page turner.

[Teodora Lipciuc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I was disappointed. The character's interactions were awkward and boring, and the ending read as if the author knew exactly what she wanted to happen, and just smacked that on at the end. So you've got this totally slow-moving plot, and then whammo, drama, drama, drama, character death, drama, drama, marriage? The end. There were also some really cringy-to-read-about sex scenes. Sex in books doesn't normally bother me, but there was something about these ones, even though they were mild, that just made them...unpleasant. Just my opinion though.
None of the characters were really interesting - really, the saving grace of this whole book is the descriptive passages - but it's not worth it, overall, if you ask me.