Garden of Angels offers a three-timeline narrative: the story of the choices made by Paolo Uccello during the Nazi occupation of Venice; the written account of those choices that he shares while on his deathbed with his fifteen-year-old grandson Nico; and Nico's later reflections on his grandfather's story and his efforts to find a resolution of sorts in memories that are not his own.

The novel begins slowly then picks up speed after the halfway mark. The conclusion, at least for this reader, was unexpected. David Hewson uses Garden of Angels to explore themes of complicity and resistance. How do those who engage in resistance find the strength—or outrage—to take actions that appear to be right, but put their own lives at risk? Is there an honorable way to resist from the inside, to participate in the injustices with the goal of preventing some, but only some, of these from happening? Hewson also considers the fragility of historical memory: the events we willingly forget, but that then can recur precisely because of the decision to forget.

The characters here are interesting, most of them highly engaged with the world around them—and all of them making choices to act that lead to very different results. Young Paolo, who makes a quick decision to harbor two partisans, is the central figure, but readers also get to explore the outlooks of the partisans, of a Catholic priest and a secular Jew, and of ordinary people trying to survive honorably when honor is no longer truly possible.

There's a lot of WWII fiction out there right now. What makes Garden of Angels stand out are its multiplicities of both character and time. The narrative isn't a thread, but a densely woven fabric, which seems particularly appropriate given that the Uccello family have preserved the almost-lost art of weaving beautiful and costly Venetian velvets.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own. ( )

... so Compelling!

Really, I had trouble finding words to suit. A mesmerising read. Set in Venice, partly during 1943 and the Nazi occupation and partly from the late 90’s on. Containing underlying commentary on the fierce independent character of the Venetian people, a look at those who chose to survive alongside the Nazis and those who chose to fight, the ordinary people, the Fascists (the Black Brigade), the Mussolini National Guard, and the Resistance fighters. We switch between a young weaver, Paolo Uccello, whose parents have been killed in an air raid, who agrees to aid two Jewish Resistance Fighters on the run. Then we come into the 90’s when it seems Venetians want to forget the past and the cost. A story in six amazing parts. A story that dwells in the unromantic aspects of Venice.
In the beginning I’d wondered if I’d finish. Less than a chapter in I was hooked and stormed my way through the rest.
What a tale it is, switching between the Venice of the past and into the recent present of 1999, where a young fifteen year old boy, Nico Uccello is in trouble at school. He’s been hanging out with a bad crowd. Their last action has had him suspended, for bullying a Jewish boy.
His dying grandfather, Nonno Paolo, asks him to read a series of papers in five envelopes, one envelope at a time. A family history. Envelopes that he must read in order. If he wants to continue them he must return each missive before going on to the next.
The contents are his grandfather’s memories of Venice under the boot of the Nazis and the Fascists.
Nico is both is shocked and arrested by the story that unfolds. A story that’s fast being forgotten in the Venice of today.
Nico’s Nonno explains to him, ‘There’s a reason I write about these things, not speak of them. You’ll come to appreciate it, I hope. These were unreal times and both of us lived quite unreal lives. Don’t judge me … don’t judge us by how things stand today.’
The letters and their contents deeply effect Nico, a story he runs from for many years—his world turned on its ear. Just as my understandings were in the final realizations.
Exceptional reading!

A Severn House (Canongate Books) ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change ( )