I love when I read a book and learn something about history that I never knew.
The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas Correa takes readers from Germany to Cuba and New York City, showing how war affects generations and the things mothers are willing to do to save their children.
Divided into three parts, we first meet the writer Ally. Her relationship with an Afro-German is already frowned upon in 1930s Germany, and having a mixed-race baby is even more dangerous. So when Ally's daughter Lilith is born, the two only venture out at night when no one can differentiate their race. However, Ally cannot keep Lilith hidden for long, so she must make a sacrifice to ensure her daughter doesn't fall victim to Germany's Eugenics laws.
And that leads readers to Cuba, where Lilith lives in refuge with a Jewish couple. The little family makes a life for themselves, including Lilith falling in love with her best friend and starting a family of her own. However, Cuba is not free from war, and Lilith's new family finds itself in the crosshairs. So Lilith must make a sacrifice of her own, just as her mother did.
Now Lilith's daughter grows up with adopted parents in New York City, only to find herself back in her mother's home country of Germany when she is a teenager. Nadine doesn't want to know about the past, but becoming a mother herself changes things, and soon Nadine and her daughter are learning about some of the people and stories that they never knew existed.
This was a bittersweet novel that introduced me to parts of history I had not previously known. As with so many books I've been reading lately, parts of this were hard to read as a mother. This book is ripe for discussion, so do consider reading it as part of your next book club! And don't forget to read the Author's Note in the back of the book to learn more about some of the historical aspects from the novel.
The Night Travelers is published by Atria Books and is available to purchase now. I received a free copy.
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