World War Two drama The Girl Who Escaped by Angela Petch is a heartbreaking slow-burner that had me reading late at night to finish it. The story about four friends in the small Italian town of Urbino begins with a Prologue set in 1988. Enrico, waiting for a reunion with his childhood friends, looks at a photograph of them taken fifty years earlier, before the war, on a mountain hike. Young. Carefree. Unsuspecting.
In 1940 in Urbino, 20-year-old medical student Devora Lassa is struggling to accept how her movements, as a Jew, are now limited by law. She is unable to study, is seen as different. Sabrina Merli, who has a long-standing crush on Conte Enrico di Villanova, is jealous at a party when Enrico greets Devora with a kiss on both cheeks. Luigi Michelozzi, a civil servant, watches, quiet and thoughtful.
After the party, Devora’s world is thrown into chaos when her father explains the hard truth. Tomorrow, Italy will enter the war on the side of Germany and the racial laws applying to Jewish people will again be changed. Her parents, who were born in Germany but are Italian citizens, must leave in the morning for an internment camp near Arezzo. Their Jewish neighbours, not Italian citizens, are being deported. As Devora and her two younger twin brothers were born in Italy they are able to stay in the family home in Urbino but now Devora, helped by their maid Anna Maria, must become parents to the boys.
This the story of Devora, whose life within a matter of hours changes out of all recognition. She is the girl who escapes a multitude of times, but in wartime Italy it is difficult to know where is safe, who is trustworthy, strangers who help, friends who change sides, neighbours who spy, Italians who are fascists or partigianos (resistance fighters), German soldiers who are fascists and torturers or world-weary soldiers missing their own families. Every decision Devora makes affects not just herself but those closest to her. When Luigi warns her to leave Urbino, the three siblings are reunited with their parents at Villa Oliveto, the internment camp turned into a Jewish community by its inmates, with gardening, theatre, medical treatment. But is anywhere safe?
Devora runs and runs again, and comes to hate herself for not turning and fighting. When she joins the resistenza, she needs every ounce of bravery, ingenuity and intelligence to survive. But in Urbino, no-one can predict who will betray you, who wants to help, who is setting a trap. She is a fantastic heroine, we live with her day-by-day as she begins to understand what is happening to her country, as she grows from indignant student to strong fighter. She must learn to move in the shadows, how to act a role, when to keep quiet and when step forwards. Her character development is compelling. Luigi is fascinating too, his job registering births and deaths allows him to falsify records to protect people. We see a little of Enrico, an arrogant, flashy personality who I had no time for, and even less of Sabrina. I needed to know more about Sabrina’s behaviour throughout the war, to understand her experiences. She blows with the wind, supporting whoever she thinks will be of advantage to her, her loyalty is an enigma. Some people fight to survive, others stay quiet and collaborate.
The Girl Who Escaped portrays the reality of wartime Italy, focussing on one town and the four friends. At times its not an easy read, the plight of ordinary people persecuted for no other reason than their religion is not new but Petch maintains the suspense to the end so we don’t know who betrays who.

Here are my reviews of other novels also by Angela Petch:-
THE POSTCARD FROM ITALY
THE TUSCAN SECRET

If you like this, try:-
‘Day’ by AL Kennedy
‘The Garden of Angels’ by David Hewson
‘The Bird in the Bamboo Cage’ by Hazel Gaynor

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#BookReview THE GIRL WHO ESCAPED by Angela Petch https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-74A via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-