Book Summary and Reviews of Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson

Book Summary

To survive the Holocaust, a young Jewish woman must pose as a Christian farmer's wife in this unforgettable novel from USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Robson—a story of terror, hope, love, and sacrifice, inspired by true events, that vividly evokes the most perilous days of World War II.

It is the autumn of 1943, and life is becoming increasingly perilous for Italian Jews like the Mazin family. With Nazi Germany now occupying most of her beloved homeland, and the threat of imprisonment and deportation growing ever more certain, Antonina Mazin has but one hope to survive—to leave Venice and her beloved parents and hide in the countryside with a man she has only just met.

Nico Gerardi was studying for the priesthood until circumstances forced him to leave the seminary to run his family's farm. A moral and just man, he could not stand by when the fascists and Nazis began taking innocent lives. Rather than risk a perilous escape across the mountains, Nina will pose as his new bride. And to keep her safe and protect secrets of his own, Nico and Nina must convince prying eyes they are happily married and in love.

But farm life is not easy for a cultured city girl who dreams of becoming a doctor like her father, and Nico's provincial neighbors are wary of this soft and educated woman they do not know. Even worse, their distrust is shared by a local Nazi official with a vendetta against Nico. The more he learns of Nina, the more his suspicions grow—and with them his determination to exact revenge.

As Nina and Nico come to know each other, their feelings deepen, transforming their relationship into much more than a charade. Yet both fear that every passing day brings them closer to being torn apart ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Jennifer has said that when she first outlined the book, she was certain that Nico would die in the scene in the piazza. Only later did she change her mind — and then it took her weeks of research to find a plausible way for him to survive. Would you have liked a version of Our Darkest Night in which Nico died? Or did you need that happy ending?
2. Do you agree with the author's decision to fictionalize elements of the story she discovered about Father Stocco and San Zenone? Or would you have preferred a novel set in the real San Zenone instead?
3. Why do you think novels set in WWII have become SO popular? What about them resonates so strongly with today's readers?
4. If you could pick one character from this story ...