Truelove Knot: A Novel of World War II

A student in the Italian countryside at the outset of the fascist regime, the passionate young Fabio Diodati, appalled at the thought of becoming ""indistinguishable,"" quickly develops a deep rebellious streak. By the late 1930s, Fabio's father, who is Jewish, and his mother (who is not) settle in England. Noncomformist Fabio, catapulted from boarding school in Worcester, is deportated as a ""male 'enemy alien''' to a Canadian internment camp on St. Helen's Island; after a daring escape (where he assumes a fake name), he is accepted in the Merchant Navy. A lull in the snowballing action finally comes the night before Fabio is meant to set sail, when he meets Margie, a young waitress in Montreal, and their single night's tryst leaves both parties bewildered by the depth of their connection. The relationship rescues the whirlwind story, sustaining the book through through Fabio's perilous transatlantic trips from Halifax to England via U-Boat infested waters; through bittersweet reunions with his family; and through his sporadic communications with Margie. Poignant reflections on finding hope in small freedoms, and in poetry, help make the latest from Vivante (Solitude & Other Stories) quietly convincing.