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The Italian Girls
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
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The Italian Girls
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Summary
The sun hung low in the sky, casting pink light all over the city. A faint breeze blew over the rooftops, as flocks of starlings swirled above her, swooping and diving in unison. It seemed unimaginable that, even now, German soldiers were marching along the streets below. It was time, she decided, for direct action. It was time to fight back.
Each morning Livia Moretti makes her way from an apartment overlooking Florence’s famous Duomo to a nearby café, where she drinks espresso and reads the newspaper. To the crowds of tourists who pass by, snapping selfies, nothing about Livia will be memorable. She is simply an old lady. They walk on without knowing the part she played in ensuring the future of this beautiful city. And to Livia now, those dark days feel very far away too.
But today, when she opens the paper, she sees a name she has not heard for a long time. A name that will bring memories flooding back of Nazi troops marching through the city and the dangers she faced as a young woman, carrying out secret missions for the resistance.
Isabella Bellucci.
A siren of the silver screen, Isabella cultivated all the right connections to ensure her rise to stardom. But when Rome falls to the Nazis, Isabella is suddenly faced with the choice between protecting herself and all she has worked for or sacrificing everything to save the man she loves.
As the war rages across Europe, a terrible misunderstanding causes the fates of Isabella and Livia to become forever intertwined. And each woman must decide what she's willing to risk, to protect the ones she holds dear from a brutal enemy.
Inspired by the incredible true stories of two women in wartime Italy, this is a heart-wrenching and unforgettable tale of love, resistance, betrayal and hope. Fans of Kate Furnivall, Fiona Valpy and My Name Is Eva will be absolutely gripped.
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What listeners say about The Italian Girls
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Animal lover
- 25-01-22
Spellbinding story
It took me 2 days and including very late nights to listen to this! Brilliant!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carolyn's
- 24-04-24
Very well written
Felt as I was there watching it happen, it was so well written . Loving the books about the Second World War and the fact that they are based or inspired by true events
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Francesca L.
- 09-10-20
Couldn’t stop listening
Although constantly annoyed by Isabella’s actions and thoughts, the fact that she is based on a real character makes it excusable rather than cliché.
Overall loved the story and the twists and turns. Brilliant book and brilliant characters.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Miss RCD Foster
- 23-01-21
Interesting history, terrible dialogue
Most of this novel is based on true events and so the world it inhabits is rich and interesting. The author explains this in the historical notes at the end where she also explains that she had to imagine the conversations the characters had. These conversations are like some of the worst soap opera dialogue, they turn characters into caricatures and the base level of exposition is insulting to the reader. Although this is supposed to be a novel about courageous women, I felt like the author doesn't really like women as none of the ones she writes about have any depth and aren't very likeable. Many of the characters appear as pantomime villains, Livias mother gets a particularly unfair representation. I felt sorry for the narrator, who did a good job with the voice acting considering the material she had to work with.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- alistair lennox
- 12-02-24
The Italian Girls
An awesome story from start to finish; I just couldn’t put it down. It left me wanting my car journey to take longer so that I could get to the end of the book uninterrupted.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- S S.
- 28-04-21
Captivating story based on fact
Thoroughly enjoyed the story line even more so as based on fact. I could sense the complete terror and intensity of certain situations and was gripped from the start. Would highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-03-22
Debbie Rix, never fails.
Another informative novel regarding the war and the effect of so many who lived through it. Beautifully narrated. Totally spellbinding.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Eala
- 18-08-23
Shallow characters and dreadful narration
I was very disappointed with this book. The characters are bland and colourless. Considering this is fiction based on true events and characters, the author has not done them justice at all. A book that should've been about strong courageous Italian women during WW2, comes across as frivolous and weak. The characters are reminiscent of pantomime characters. Additionally, I found it very difficult listening to the narrator, whose accents varied from Scottish for the elderly mother to East London for another character. Could not recommend! Indeed I will avoid this author and narrator in future. I wouldn't waste money on any other works from either.
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