LocalLit book preview: ‘Under the Light of an Italian Moon’

At least six months ago, I received a phone call from one of the tellers at my bank.

No, I didn’t have a problem with any of my accounts. But she did want to tell me about her daughter’s upcoming novel and connect her to me, which she did.

The author, former Joliet resident Jennifer Anton, is an American/Italian dual citizen who now lives between London and Lake Como, Italy. She has a passion for telling the stories of women, the connections between generations of women and for her own Italian heritage.

Anton based her first novel, “Under the Light of an Italian Moon,” “on the lives of her Italian grandmother and great grandmothers during the rise of fascism and World War II,” according to her biography.

It’s this book I’ll review in Tuesday’s LocalLit newsletter. The novel was just recently released, which is why I waited to review it.

As a bonus, I’ll include a Q&A with the author that Anton also sent me.

Here is its Amazon description: “Nina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave.

“When childhood friend Pietro Pante briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother.

“As Mussolini’s fascists throw the country into chaos and Hitler’s Nazis terrorize their town, each day becomes a struggle to survive greater atrocities. A future with Pietro seems impossible when they lose contact and Nina’s dreams of a life together are threatened by Nazi occupation and an enemy she must face alone.”

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