Daughter of Calabria was previously published as Echoes of War. To celebrate the re-release of Tania Blanchard’s stunning historical, let’s revisit our review.
Tania Blanchard is a bestselling Australian author who is best known for writing grand, sweeping historical fiction. Her debut novel, The Girl from Munich, was a runaway bestseller that was shortlisted for the ABIA Best New Writer Award. Her other novels, The Suitcase of Dreams and Letters from Berlin, were also embraced by readers. In fact, all three of her novels have made Better Reading’s Top 100 list – no small feat! Her fourth novel Daughter of Calabria, previously published as Echoes of War, is a heart-rending story of love, loss, and family that is inspired by her own family history.
The story takes place in Calabria, Italy, 1936, in a remote farming village nestled in the mountains that descend into the sparkling Ionian Sea. There, young and spirited Giulia Tallariti longs for something more. While she loves her home and her lively family, she would much rather follow in her nonna’s footsteps and pursue her dream of becoming a healer.
But as Mussolini’s focus shifts to the war in Europe, civil unrest looms. Whispers of war are at every corner and her beloved village, once safe from the fascist agenda of the North, is now in very real danger.
Caught between her desire to forge her own path and her duty to her family, Giulia must draw on the passion in her heart and the strength of her conviction. Can she find a way to fulfil her dreams, or will the echoes of war drown out her voice?
While Daughter of Calabria takes place during WWII, Blanchard has chosen to set this novel in Italy rather than Germany, which is a nice change of pace from her previous works. It’s a time of great civil unrest, and Blanchard does a marvellous job of transporting readers to the gorgeous, sun-soaked locale of Southern Italy, while also depicting the devastating impact that Mussolini and the war had on this region. Blanchard manages to capture Italy’s complex history and political upheaval during this time, from the rise of fascism and Mussolini to the collapse of the fascist government and the country’s switch to the Allies, while still presenting a compelling, character-driven story.
At the centre of Daughter of Calabria sits a strong, intelligent heroine. When we first meet Giulia, she is a feisty young woman who rebels against the constraints imposed upon her by her father. Over the course of the novel, Giulia comes of age, follows her calling for healing, and experiences love and loss in equal measure. At its heart, Daughter of Calabria is a testament to the strength and resilience shown by women at a time when they were expected to be quiet and meek.
Richly imagined, heartbreaking and utterly captivating, Daughter of Calabria is an outstanding piece of historical fiction from Blanchard, cementing her place at the top of this genre.
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