This was an enjoyable and quick read telling the story of two children but also, Italy at war which is a perspective rarely seen in WWII novels. I am torn here because I liked that it was a quick and easy read but a huge part of me while I was reading was looking for greater depth and historical and political context. Well you can’t have it all and this novel has inspired me to read more widely around Italy’s alliance and then occupation by Nazi Germany.
Rosie’s skill lies in her characterisation and her ability to show warmth and love in all circumstances. Pippo and Clara are tragically separated and are ‘adopted’ into families on diametrically opposing political sides as well as vastly different socioeconomic situations but in both homes the love is clear and radiant. Rosie makes us care about her characters so there were quite a few times when reading that I gasped out loud and nearly woke my sleeping husband!
The epilogue was just gorgeous and tied up what I had thought would be left as loose ends.

A moving, heartwarming tale set in a truly fascinating and disturbing era where to be different was to be in danger.

I’m not sure that I can find the words to describe the impact that this book has had on me, it was truly wonderful, but anyway here goes.

Italy 1938, Mussolini is in power, and the Second World War is about to begin. Political tensions between the Fascists and the Communists have mounted in Italy, almost to the point of civil war, and the country will become completely divided because of the political turmoil.

Against this backdrop, Clara and Pippo arrive in an unspecified city, with their widowed mother, after moving home several times, but Mamma says they will make this dingy little apartment into their castle. Tucking them up for the night, she goes out to meet someone who might be able to provide her with a job, but she goes out into the night and never returns. The following morning, whilst Pippo is still asleep, Clara goes out looking for her mother, but this is a strange new city, and she has no idea where to start, so she decides to take a right turn to see if she can find her. Eventually Pippo awakens to find his mamma and sister gone, so he too leaves the apartment to search for them, but he takes a left turn outside the apartment block, each child going their separate ways, quite literally, and how fortuitous their decisions turn out to be.

What follows is the fascinating, and compelling story, of what happens to these two children, as their lives take them onto completely different tracks.

I can say little about this book for fear of giving some important detail away, that might spoil it for those of you lucky enough to yet read it. More to the point, I worry that the depth of my feelings will give something away too. All I can say is, this was a stunning read, and in the end, the threads of this story, with its intricate and delicate stitching, handmade with love, finally come full circle to sew together the most powerful and beautiful family quilt. I’m thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read an ARC of Pippo and Clara. Quite simply, outstanding!

Pippo and Clara starts with such a simple twist of fate: two siblings, divided by chance. Set against the backdrop of Italy during WW2, their search for each other makes for a compelling and heartbreaking story.

The plot is cleverly woven together, alternating between the two siblings. The prose is understated and the narration can sometimes feel a little detached, but the characters are so engaging, I was swept up anyway. Diana Rosie explores some sensitive and complex issues, but you never lose sight of the fact that the protagonists are just two ordinary children, growing up and finding their way in the world as best they can.

Pippo and Clara is a captivating historical novel: understated, but brilliant.

I’ve read lots of books about the Second World War, and this was one which provided a new perspective. Set in Italy the two main characters are separated, and the story focuses on their lives and how so often they almost collide, but never do.

The Italian war experience is complex, and this is told with great sensitivity and understanding for this complexity. Well written, storylines which weave through one another easily and with great depth, this was a really enjoyable book.

Highly recommend.

Oh, I could not put this book down - so so heartbreaking that I just needed to keep reading to find out what happened.

Pippo and Clara are children in Mussolini's Italy - their father is gone, and they're living in poverty with their mother; one day she goes out and doesn't return. Clara wakes, goes to look for her and turns in one direction - when she comes back, Pippo is also gone - he's done the same thing but taken a different turning... and hence a different turning in life for them both.

A story of a relationship torn apart by circumstances - poverty and wealth, fascism and communism, war and peace, education and work - and all along the fizzing emotion that somehow Clara and Pippo know the other is out there and close by.

The characters are beautifully written, I cared about them so much; the story was a delight to read and the narrative flowed smoothly and cleverly. Highly recommended.

A quirky yet touching book with an equally quirky title. This is a book with heart and soul which looks at the war and the devastation it brings as seen through the eyes of two young children. Two children who are separated by one event which has such an effect on them for the rest of their lives.

It will make your heart heavy and your eyes wet with tears but after reading, you will see Pippo and Clara in your thoughts for a long time after.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for a free ARC of this book.

Diana Rosie is a new author to me, and I wasn't sure what to expect. This book left me pleasantly surprised.

The story is narrated, so that you are told of rather than shown events. Usually, this would put me off, but in this case it was done well enough to pull me in and engross me regardless. Parts of the writing seem unpolished, with extraneous wording, frequent use of split-infinitives, and the like, but--again--this didn't detract that much from the story being portrayed. That's because the characterisation and world-building were done excellently, and for the most part, I got so lost in the book that I forgot I was reading.

We have Italy under Mussolini.
Gypsies outlawed and persecuted.
Europe at war.
A murdered father.

Enter Clara (10 years-old) and Pipo (7 years-old), and a mother who goes out one lonely night in a strange city in search of work. Mama fails to return. First Clara leaves the boarding room in search of Mama. Then Pipo awakens alone and afraid. He, too, leaves the squalid and bare room to look for both Mama and Clara.

From that point on, each of the children's tales diverge, and the narrative alternates between the POVs of Clara and Pipo. We follow them throughout the ensuing trials and tribulations and see both the brutality and uselessness of war, where the innocent are the ones who suffer. At the same time, we are shown bravery and compassion in abundance.

I loved this book and would read more from this writer. It gets a solid 4 stars from me.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

Although it took me a little while to get into the story I was absolutely hooked after only a chapter or two. What a mixture of heartbreak, compassion, sadness and everything in between. Beautifully written and a very thought provoking story. A story that will live with me long after I finished reading it. Diana Rosie has written a most beautiful thought provoking book.

Pippo and Clara was such a touching book, while fictional one can imagine that situations and events in the story ring true to the reality faced by so many individuals during the Second World War and it's utterly devastating. The novel follows Clara and her younger brother Pippo as they are separated by a tragic twist of fate and follows them in the intervening years as they grow up and lead very different lives. I liked that the entire book is told in dual perspectives and you can see the outbreak of war, tide of fascism and effects of war through the eyes of these two brilliant young protagonists. This is the kind of book where 'so close but so far' is frustratingly relatable as there are so many times over the years where the siblings are so close to reuniting but sadly don't and I was on the edge of my seat each and every time willing it to happen. Beautifully written and so emotionally powerful, I feel this book will affect many readers and that ending hit me right in the chest. A story I won't forget any time soon, I would encourage readers who enjoy moving historical fiction and character driven stories to give this one a read.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started Pippo and Clara but was instantly captivated by this moving story. It's told, rather than shown (like someone telling you a story rather than immersing yourself in the tale) which I can find offputting, but in this case the writing and plot were so good I didn't notice after my initial hesitation.

The book is set in 1930s/40s Italy and written from two points of view, the titular Pippo and Clara. They are still young children, seven and ten, when they move to a new (unspecified) city with their widowed mother. They know nobody in the city, so when their mother fails to come home they have no one to turn to. Each, independently, slips out to look for her, one turns right, the other left. And so their family is torn apart as their paths diverge and they live very different lives. Both are fortunate enough to meet compassionate women who take them in, Clara to a solidly middle class family whose fortunes have risen along with facism, Pippo to a working class Communist home. Neither stops searching for the other as they are assimilatated into new lives, not even when war darkens their childhood and both have to grow up even more quickly than circumstances have already ensured as tragedy touches both their lives.

This is a clever, emotional and inventive book, exploring Italy in the war, the effect facism and occupation had on ordinary people and what it takes to survive. Highly recommended.

With grateful thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Firstly this is the first book I've read by this OUTSTANDINGLY BRILLIANT author,and it certainly won't be the last.
The story told through the eyes of 7yr old Pippo and 10 yr old Clara is quite outstanding its movingly intriguing I read this book with great gusto I found it totally captivating from beginning to end and have nothing but praise and can't recommend it highly enough.

This story broke my heart. The absolute futility of war is put across so well. Two children who, through a stroke of Fate are torn apart from their mother and each other. They grow up constantly searching for one another and it’s heart aching how often, they are so close and yet so far apart. They lead very different lives and as I turned each page, I hoped that on this occasion they would meet and find each other.
I struggled to put this book down as I so longed for a wonderful reconciliation which later in the story included hoping Clara would find her ‘Saba’ again. This however, seemed unlikely as he was an elderly Jew taken by the Nazis.
The story is powerfully told and gives us a picture of Italian history during the War.
The end of the book, when it came, actually made me cry - fiction or not, this story must have happened to countless families. I don’t want to give any Spoilers so please read this book. It deserves to be read. It’s truly memorable. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review it.