His Most Italian City

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful history wrapped in a tale of revenge.

This book is not just entertaining, interesting, well-written and professionally crafted, it is also educational and enlightening, with regards to a period of European history which is perhaps often overlooked. Set in 1928, in the aftermath of the first world war, Istria has fallen under the ownership of a now Fascist-run Italy, the land wielded and occupied with ruthless complicity by Mussolini. The formerly Croatian citizens now find themselves being naturalized by Italy’s ethnic cleansing of the area, assimilated into Italian identity, and even having their names changed to sound more Italian – or, as many Italians suggest, “corrected” to their original Latin form. Like most manipulated Italians, many Istrians welcome this change, as both sides fall prey to the Fascist propaganda machine. For some, however, the occupation is too imposing an offence to accept, and a new cause is born.

When naturalized young man Giovanni finds himself abducted - quite accidentally - by a group of Croatian separatists, a reviled and unscrupulous Fascist mayor of the town of Cittanova spots an opportunity to capitalize financially on the situation. A fugitive himself, in hiding from a determined terrorist, the mayor gradually starts to gradually realize his own role in the bigger tale of the arrival of these separatists.

Ultimately, this is a long and wordy, yet simple story of revenge, set against the backdrop of a notable moment in history. For the most part, it is an incredibly insightful, well-researched snapshot, laden with historical detail. The narrative is slow and drawn out, much of it imparted through character dialogue, and ultimately, aside from the interestingly developing backstory, it is difficult to remember that the whole event only actually takes place over around 24 hours – reading this book feels almost like participating in real time.

The real star of this book is the author herself. Walker is intelligent, endearing and well-learned in her subject matter. With her own background and family history, she is clearly passionate about the Istria region and its history, and it is an enjoyable experience to be informed on it by her. She is also an excellent writer, vivid and descriptive, yet human and engaging. Her writing has qualities of relatability, yet also the authority which comes from subject knowledge. You can feel the history permeating from the pages, and it takes no effort for the reader to become immersed in its culture and language. This is not a quick, flippant read; it is a serious book by a proper professional author, and it is highly recommended for those who want to learn a little something when they read, whilst wrapping it all up in the package of a nice, simple story of regret and revenge. A good book by an author worthy of respect and success.

Reviewed by Keyla Damaer for Readers' Favorite

His Most Italian City by Margaret Walker takes place at the dawn of the fascist era in Italy. After the Great War, a piece of land previously part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is given to Italy. For thousands of people, it meant changing nationality and citizenship in the blink of an eye, but the repercussions of those events affected more than just their documents. Matteo Brazzi is not a fascist because he believes in fascism or Mussolini but because, as a good businessman, he understands when the wind is changing. However, his actions affect other people, and when his office in Trieste is bombed, he takes the chance to leave the city and move to Cittanova in Istria, hoping that the past won’t come running after him again. But will that be enough?

As a background to this story, there’s Italy between the two wars. It’s a part of history I know a great deal about, growing up with my mother’s anecdotes (both in 1936 near Montecassino). The arrogance of the fascist is an old story to me, but I was curious to know more about Istria and that part of Italy barely mentioned in history books. His Most Italian City by Margaret Walker describes, without getting into gory details, what happened in daily routines of people living in Istria, of the ethnic cleansing the fascists tried to apply in the name of Italian purity. But this story is never disgusting, although Matteo Brazzi is not a nice character, and from a woman's point of view, his behavior towards everyone is indeed disgusting. Despite him, this is a great story, where violence is only implied most of the time, but with the fascists involved, you always know it’s there.