Book Title: Port of No Return by Michelle Saftich
Category:  Adult Fiction, 238 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Odyssey Books
Published: July 2015
Available in:  Print
Will send books: International
Tour dates:  Oct 12 to 23, 2015
Content Rating:  PG-13

Book Description:

Contessa and Ettore Saforo awake to a normal day in war-stricken, occupied
Italy. By the end of the day, their house is in ruins and they must seek shelter and protection wherever they can. But the turbulent politics of 1944 refuses to let them be.

As Tito and his Yugoslav Army threaten their German-held town of Fiume, Ettore finds himself running for his life, knowing that neither side is forgiving of those who have assisted the enemy. His wife and children must also flee the meagre life their town can offer, searching for a better life as displaced persons.

Ettore and Contessa’s battle to find each other, and the struggle of their family and friends to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a devastating war, provide a rich and varied account of Italian migration to Australia after World War II.

What can you do when you have nowhere left to call home? Port of No Return considers this question and more in a novel that is full of action, pain and laughter — a journey you will want to see through to the very end.

Buy the book:    Amazon    Barnes & Noble    Chapters/Indigo    

Meet the author: Michelle Saftich is a first-time author who resides in Brisbane, Australia.  She holds a Bachelor of Business/Communications Degree, majoring in journalism, from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).For the past 20 years, she has worked in communications, including print journalism, sub-editing, communications management and media relations. She is married with two children.

Connect with the author:   Website    Facebook    Twitter

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Port of No Return is the author’s father’s story about their family’s struggle to flee their beloved city of Fiume, Italy.  Historical in nature, Michelle’s book acknowledges the hundreds of thousands of people who were displaced throughout Europe during WWII, and that many Italians were forcibily removed by the Yugoslavs.

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Ettore and Contessa, along with Nonna and their young children must survive hardships and food rationing during the German occupation of their town, Fiume.  Partisan rebels add violence and uncertainty into their already tenuous living situation.  Forced to find refuge when their home is bombed, they seek help from friends outside the city.  The sequence of events that follows affects both Ettore and Contessa as well as the family that takes them in.  The chaos and violence of war is balanced with the kindness and and courage of both friends and strangers they meet as they struggle to keep alive.  Families and couples are separated as they flee for their lives, never knowing when or where they will meet up again.

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Apart from a few modern expressions which didn’t seem to fit the writing style of this historical story, the storytelling flowed pretty easily, despite the fact that there were so many characters.  There were several plot twists and tense moments which kept me on the edge of my seat.

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This book is a good match for those who are interested in Italian history.

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