Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Night Travelers

Title: The Night Travelers
Author: Armando Lucas Correa
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: January 10, 2023

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for sending me physical ARC in exchange for an honest review. #gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Ambitious • Layered • Powerful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Berlin, 1931: Ally Keller, a talented young poet, is alone and scared when she gives birth to a mixed-race daughter she names Lilith. As the Nazis rise to power, Ally knows she must keep her baby in the shadows to protect her against Hitler’s deadly ideology of Aryan purity. But as she grows, it becomes more and more difficult to keep Lilith hidden so Ally sets in motion a dangerous and desperate plan to send her daughter across the ocean to safety.

Havana, 1958: Now an adult, Lilith has few memories of her mother or her childhood in Germany. Besides, she’s too excited for her future with her beloved Martin, a Cuban pilot with strong ties to the Batista government. But as the flames of revolution ignite, Lilith and her newborn daughter, Nadine, find themselves at a terrifying crossroads.

Berlin, 1988: As a scientist in Berlin, Nadine is dedicated to ensuring the dignity of the remains of all those who were murdered by the Nazis. Yet she has spent her entire lifetime avoiding the truth about her own family’s history. It takes her daughter, Luna, to encourage Nadine to uncover the truth about the choices her mother and grandmother made to ensure the survival of their children. And it will fall to Luna to come to terms with a shocking betrayal that changes everything she thought she knew about her family’s past.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I was initially drawn to The Night Travelers thanks to the beautiful cover, and was convinced by the unique synopsis despite not having heard very much in the lead up to publication.

This novel is a multi-generational saga following four generations of women from Germany to Havana to the United States and to Germany again. I commend Armando on his expectational character development, although I did need to draw myself a family tree in order to keep track of everyone. Not only does this book provide extensive historical detail, but it's a novel of self-discovery, of sacrifice, and ultimately motherly love. The beginning was incredibly strong, but as the story progressed the writing felt monotonous, which took away a layer of emotion I desperately wanted.

This book covers A LOT of ground offering an in-depth history lesson spanning decades and including the Nazis rise to power, the Cuban Revolution, the rise of Communism, Operation Peter Pan and the fall of the Berlin Wall. A couple of aspects I really enjoyed were learning about the eugenics program (Ally's sacrifice for her mixed-race daughter), and I was unaware of the Jewish refugees fleeing to Cuba. While I appreciated everything this book covers, at times it felt overly detailed, which detracted from my connection to the story and characters.

The Night Travelers is a unique book in that it's the first book I've read that has spanned not only decades but continents, and yet everything came full circle. It's a tad-long winded at times, but I can understand it needed to be in order to tell this story. Overall, a solid historical fiction novel from a distinct voice in the genre.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• WWII historical fiction fans looking for something a little different
• readers who enjoy a good motherly love narrative

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"By night, we’re all the same color."

"'There's no better way to welcome someone than with books.'"

"I learned that sometimes the only wat to save what you love the most is by abandoning it."

Content Warnings