Customer Reviews

Innocent War: Nino Series

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was to entertaining and enthralling that I read it in a flight from New York to Milano! It brought memory back my dad's own War World II stories. I could see the author nailed down the history facts and she is very knowledgeable of the time and place. I am happy that finally someone is telling the story from the Italian point of view thought a child's voice.

This book was so entertaining and enthralling! I could not put this book down after I started reading it. I love stories about the war and this was a great one filled with history and personal experiences of the authors father. I hope they make a movie about this and can't wait for the next books of the series! I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

Innocent war, all in all, is a good book. However, I would not reccomend this book to children under the age of 10.

The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it lacked action in some parts. Some events were too jumpy and other were too slow, but it was interesting overall.

Those who study war may find this book fascinating. Yet, those who don't study war may not like it as much. It is definitely a good first hand account of civilian life during the conflict, especially in a country that was destined to lose the war.

My only other curiosity is for that of the sequel because at the end of this book the war is over and I wonder what the author will write about. I will definitely be looking forward to it.

Reason for Reading: The plot and point of view intrigued me.

Summary: The author received five cassette tapes from her father recording his life story and she has started to turn them into a fictionalized biography of her father's life with this first volume covering young Nino's life from age 10 to 15, years 1940 to 1945. Nino is born in Italy but soon moves with his family to Tripoli in the Italian Colony of Libya. His father is a construction worker and the Italians in the Colony are indoctrinated by Mussolini via the radio and propaganda, children must attend weekly youth meetings. But these people are far removed from Europe, they have no proper understanding of the war, nor how it affects them until the day the radio announces that Italy is at war with France and Britain and simultaneously the town of Tripoli is attacked by French bombers, leaving dead, injured and rubble behind them. This then is the story of an Italian family living in Libya trying to survive in the war torn country told through the eyes of a child.

Comments: Before commenting on the story I must quickly say this first. The book is self-published (not necessarily a bad thing) but really needs editing. There are some typos, many awkward sentences and quite a number of grammatical errors, such as the one that annoyed me the most: the use of the word "on" instead of "in" throughout the book and quite often the reverse as well. 'Nuff said.

The story itself was delightful. Nino and his mother Maria are wonderful, full characters with many layers. This is a very unusual point of view for a World War II story and I really appreciated experiencing it, especially knowing that it is based on fact. The Italians in Libya have no idea why they are suddenly being bombed, then the Italian and Nazi soldiers arrive. The Nazi's immediately intimidate the people and Nino and his family watch in horror as Sarah, their Jewish babysitter's, family is taken away in the night. Having made a prior promise to the mother, Sarah has become their cousin, Rita, from Naples as they keep her in their house. Told through a child's eyes we see the horror, the hardships, the death of war but as a child we also see the adventures a boy can have, the escapades and ideas he comes up with that sometimes benefit the family and sometimes get him in trouble. He is an innocent child living the life he has been given and yet this is also a coming of age story as the boy becomes a man and can discern the truth behind what he sees. As a little boy he sees the Italian soldiers as heroes but when he sees up close and personal on a train how a soldier abuses a man, Nino knows he never wants to be a soldier.

A delightful read which can be harrowing and humourous, heart-wrenching and heart-warming.

About the book:
It is 1940. The dawn of Italy's WWII for the Italian colonies of Libya has arrived. Young Nino woke up to his regular routine; but by the end of the day, his life would have changed into a nightmare - but through Nino's eyes, it was an adventure. Follow a boy's exploits, through a child's innocent view of the war's hardships, dangers, and tragedies. Accompany him as he shares his growing up years, spiced up with Nino's humor, innocence, and awakening. And more experiences are about to be unraveled as he continues his story...
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Personal histories have always been compelling to me. There is no need to fictionalize anything: the drama of real life experiences is enough. Nino Assenza's story is told as his daughter listens to his life history, as he has recorded it on audio tapes. His story begins as Italy enters World War 2 and Nino is a young boy living in the Italian colonies in Libya.

Nino tells how the excitement of war turns to the fear for survival: seeing his father called to the front lines, daily bombings, losing his childhood friends to death, seeing the Jewish families taken away and scavenging for food. Through it all, his mother's faith and determination to persevere keeps her family safe and together. Like all curious young boys, Nino finds adventures, even as the world is changing around him.

Fascinating and compelling. I read it in a couple of hours. The opening prologue is a bit awkward to read because of its mixture of tenses, but the story really moves once we begin reading Nino's first person narrative. I learned a great deal about the history of the time, from a perspective most Americans don't ever hear. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can easily recommend it.

From my understanding, this is the first in a fictionalized series written by Nino's daughter Susan and is based on his historical experiences. I look forward to learning the rest of Nino's story.

It was a great book to read, so entertaining and exciting. A child that lived thru the WWII who survived and lived thru so many difficult things. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone!