Overview

This fascinating tapestry of four interwoven voices documents the experiences of each member of an Italian Jewish family during World War II. Kate Cohen, a distant relative, masterfully juxtaposes the memoirs of Aldo, the Neppi Modona patriarch, his son Leo's fictionalized account, and the oral histories of the mother, Rachel, and the daughter, Lionella. The result is both rich and revealing, an account of a perilous and disturbing period that also illuminates how each individual lived a different war and kept conflicting memories of it. An academic by profession, Aldo is also a member of the Fascist Party at the time his memoir begins. Cohen seeks to unravel this seeming paradox and finds that for Jews in Italy, who by the end of the First World War had experienced several generations of freedom and prosperity, Fascism was a way to express love for the Fatherland and opposition to the Bolshevik upheaval. But Aldo's nationalist loyalty cannot ward off the anti-Semitism that follows with terrifying speed Mussolini's alliance with Hitler. The family's initial recollections of the heartache created by the racial laws soon expand from discrimination and suppression into real hardships: displacement, deprivation, bombings, blackouts, rationing, to hiding for their lives during the German occupation. The polyphonic voice of the narrative communicates with wrenching vividness the Neppi Modonas' pain and strength, and at the same time, through Cohen's mediating consciousness, provides insights into being a Jew in a post-Holocaust world.

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9780874517835

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Cohen has integrated primary and secondary sources into a fascinating portrait of a family, a nation and an era that is not only an informative historical text but also a great read. The Neppi Modonas were relatives of Cohen's father who she visited in Florence for brief periods beginning when she was 12 . . . Cohen also explores the meaning of Judaism in Italy in general, including a charming account of the year she and her sister attended Rosh Hashanah services in Florence. --Publishers Weekly

Four touching and tragic stories revealing the paradoxical nature of Italian fascism. By skillfully juxtaposing the tales of four distant cousins, Cohen, a freelance writer, recreates the texture of life for Italian Jews under the fascist regime. The Neppi Modona family consisted of patriarch Aldo, a classical scholar; his wife, Rachel; their son, Leo; and their daughter, Lionella. Each saw the experience of fascism from a slightly different perspective. Cohen wisely lets each of them speak for him- or herself, with just enough deft commentary to orient the reader. Aldo's recollections are drawn from his memoirs. The stories of Rachel and Lionella are derived from oral histories. Perhaps the most interesting of the four sets of recollections is Leo's fictionalized account of his experiences. Like many of his position and class, Aldo was adamant in his devotion to both his country and his Jewish roots. Until the advent of Zionism, most Jews in Italy did not see any conflict between their nationality and their religion. Even the fascist regime did not question the loyalty of Italy's Jews until the mid-1930s and the growing alliance with Nazi Germany. When the regime passed anti-Semitic legislation in 1938, most of the country - Jew and gentile alike - was stunned. Although historians often point out that persecution in Italy was nothing like that in Germany or in Nazi-occupied Europe, Italian Jews were effectively divorced from the political, cultural, and social life of the nation. Each member of the Neppi Modona family confronted this new turn of events in his or her own manner; each dealt with suffering and persecution in his or her own way. Deprived of their home, jobs, and possessions, they eventually had to go into hiding. The voices of the Neppi Modona family are interwoven with their discussions with the author. The frequent shift of focus enlightens rather than obscures. Four stories that remind us of the human dimension of history. (Kirkus Reviews)

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KATE COHEN is a freelance writer and editor.

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