I highlighted this book on my Booktube channel. The video can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/uiqwuZFoM5s

THE NIGHT TRAVELERS

This book is the story of four generations of women covering the time period from 1930 to 2015, set in Berlin, New York, and Havana. Each of their lives is shaped by major political events of the time, including WWII, the Cuban Revolution, the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is the story of mothers and daughters and their search for understanding.

The story begins in 1931 Berlin with the birth of Lilith, child of Ally and Marcus. She is a mischling; of mixed race. With the advent of WWII and rise of the Nazis, the new racial laws put Lilith’s life in peril. The difficult decisions made to insure her safety ripple on through the next few generations.

With one of the very few fortunate travelers on the MS Saint Louis, the story continues on in Havana. The upheaval in the overthrow of Batista by Fidel Castro again pushes the fate of the next generation. With the birth of Nadine on January 1, 1959, the political involvement of her father has a determining effect on her life path.

Leading up to the birth of fourth generation Luna in 1989 Berlin, events involving Nazi war criminal trials and the reunification of Germany leave their mark on her upbringing. As she matures, a search for understanding leads Luna to delve into her ancestry and many unresolved issues of abandonment and betrayal within the family are confronted.

I thought the author did a wonderful job of painting the political and historical landscape as each woman’s life is seamlessly revealed. I very much enjoyed the emphasis on the historical context and the depth of information presented. I felt as though I could actually feel the pain that these women felt while living through these very difficult times in history. It was a serious but lovely book and not at all sappy.

There were a few times that I struggled to distinguish between the women, as the time and place move around quite a bit. But each chapter is clearly labeled and it was worth the effort. The book also includes a terrific bibliography.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Armando Lucas Correa, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A family saga- the story of 4 generations of women in a family. Each family member is stronger than the last. The story goes from Germany in the time of Hitler to Cuba, to New York, and back to Berlin.
Ally has a child with a black man, a musician named Marcus. Marcus is no where to be found when Hitler begins his racial cleansing. Ally gives her little girl, Lilith, to her neighbors, the Hertzhogs, who are off to Cuba to escape the persecution of Jews in Germany. Lilith grows up in Cuba. When there is a revolution in Cuba, she sends her daughter to live with a family in New York. The family moves back to Germany when she is a teenager. She has a daughter. In Germany, she is reunited with individuals that were significant in her grandmother's life.
At the conclusion of this book, there is a wonderful reunion. I won't spoil it! I really enjoyed this book. I was not very aware of the migration of German Jews to Cuba. Lots of great historical details in this book. Don't miss this one!

A multigenerational tale of love, loss, heartache and hope. Captivatingly written, even when exploring topics you think you may have already read a million times, there's always a special story to span generations to breathe new life and evoke emotion. 3.5 stars

This is a sweeping saga that spans 4 generations of women, across continents and oceans, thru Fascism, Nazism, and a revolution, they have experienced it all.
1930s Berlin, Ally gives birth to a mixed race baby. With Hitler on the rise Ally knows she must protect her child at all costs.
Ally's daughter Lilith grows up in Cuba, her husband is shot during the Communist Revolution, leaving Lilith with a daughter of her own to raise. Lilith makes a decision to protect her daughter, Nadine, by sending her to New York to be adopted by a German family.
Nadine comes to be a scientist living in Germany in 1988. She comes to have a daughter also, Luna, who discovers the betrayal that lead to her great grandmother's tragedies.
This is an emotion jerker, it pulls at Ae experience the never ending power of what it means to be a mother and the ever lasting love it inspires.
I highly recommend this emotional, driven saga, and give it 5 stars, if I could give more I would. This is one to be savored, read slowly letting each word sink in to our souls.
Thank you to Atria Books and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

The Night Travelers is a family story of love, loss, and war. It starts in Nazi Germany with Ally Keller and her biracial daughter, Lilith. In order to save Lilith from sterilization, Ally places her on a ship to Cuba with a Jewish couple and a final birthday poem. Lilith then grows up in per-revolutionary Cuba knowing President Batista. Shortly after the revolution, Lilith's husband is arrested and she needs to figure out what to do with her daughter, Nadine, to keep her safe. A couple of decades after Nadine is safely ensconced in America with a German-American couple she finds herself back in the country of her mother's birth, Germany.

This is a story about how the love and protection of a mother can save a child, send that child on a journey of discovery and yet at the same time create a deep loss in a person. These three women find themselves in three times of great change and turmoil (Nazi Germany, Revolutionary Cuba, and Berlin per & post division. It is a story that starts with a child of a great yet forbidden love and comes back after decades of loss to heal the pain by honoring the women that sacrificed so much.

With so many WWII stories released every year I found this novel very enjoyable and telling storied that I might not have heard of before. If you like historical fiction give this one a try.

I enjoyed this book and the weaving of the generations. The ending was a very lovely twist. .it was well written and a completely enthralling.

This will definitely be one of my favorite books of the year. I love WWII historical fiction, and my family is from Cuba, so this book perfectly combined both. The writing is so poetic and beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC via Netgalley. I enjoyed how the story comes full circle through four generations of women. As a whole, I found the book to move slowly.

“By night we are all the same color”

The Night Travelers is the story of four generations of women following their lives from the rise of the Nazis in Germany, through Cuban unrest, and comes full circle to when the Berlin Wall was torn down.

Ally Keller gives birth to a mixed race baby in Berlin 1931. She knows that her daughter will be in constant danger as the Nazis come to power and Aryan purity.
Ally sends her daughter to Cuba with other refugees hoping to reunite with her daughter, Lilith, some day.

Lilith has grown up in Cuba and in 1958 she is in love with her childhood friend, Martin, he is a Cuban pilot and in the inner circle of the Batista government. Lilith and Martin have a daughter, Nadine. Just as they feel like their life as a family is about to begin, the Cuban Revolution has begun and they are in danger.

30 years later, Nadine is working with a group of people that are trying to uncover the history of objects from that date to the time of Nazis. Making sure that no one profits from items taken from those murdered by the Nazis.

Luna, Nadine’s daughter, encourages her mother to look into her family history, but they might not be prepared for what they find out.

The story shows the sacrifices that each of these women made for their family. All of the difficult times that they lived in. I thought it was very interesting to hear about a mixed race child during the time if the Nazi Occupation. Most if the time, stories are about how the Jews were treated.

I really liked that our timeline scanned from the Nazi Occupation, Cuban unrest and finally to the aftermath of the Berlin Wall being torn down.

"You had to be born so that I could understand my mother."

This beautifully written novel follows four generations of strong women through Nazi Germany, the Cuban Revolution, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Three generations of women make heartbreaking decisions in order to keep their daughters safe culminating with Luna who encourages her mother, Nadine to look back at the choices of her mother and grandmother to be able to ultimately understand the depth & sacrifice of a mother's love.

Anytime historical fiction can pique my interest in a part of history I have no knowledge of I am intrigued. In reading this story, I got a better understanding of German Eugenics and learned about the MS St. Louis and Operation Pedro Pan.

-I knew of Germany's laws of "racial hygiene" as it dealt with Jewish people during WWII. I was unaware of how it affected mixed race, in this case, Aryan and African American, and how many of these Afro-German children were subjected to sterilization.
-May 13, 1939, the oceanliner MS St. Louis left Hamburg bound for Cuba. On board were around 900 passengers, most were German Jewish refugees. The refugees had permits to disembark but once they arrived the Cuban authorities would not let them enter Cuba. The ship was also denied entry into the US the ship ultimately returned to Hamburg. There the refugees were dispersed among European countries that would fall at some point under German rule and many of the refugees would suffer under Hitler the fates they were trying to avoid.
-Operation Pedro Pan- from December 1960 to October of 1962 nearly 15,000 children left Cuba on airplanes without parents to come to the U.S. This evacuation of children was organized by the Catholic Church and was intended to save the children from the Communist governmental control of Fidel Castro.

The Night Travelers spans four generations, two wars, and three countries; it's an inspirational family saga that introduces strong women who face tremendous challenges, and find the strength to protect those they love, regardless of the cost. The novel opens in Germany during the rise of the Nazis, when the young poet Ally Keller falls in love and creates a new life with a Black German musician; their daughter is a living violation of Nazi racial purity rules, and to protect her, Ally arranges for the little girl, Lilith, to travel to Cuba in the care of a Jewish couple also fleeing Nazi Germany. Lilith comes of age in Cuba at the time of the revolution that ousted Batista and installed Communist dictator Fidel Castro; once again, for the crime of her father's supporting the losing side in the political battle of the day, Lilith's daughter Nadine must be sent from her home, to be adopted by a German couple living in Queens, NY. Nadine too gives birth to a daughter, Luna, who will become the family historian, and uncover even more secrets in a complex saga impacted by wars.

Very well written, and to me, even more engaging than his previous novel, The German Girl, The Night Traveler is a magnificent exploration of love, loss, war, and its aftermath, with wonderful characters and a background of important historical events. Highly recommended.

Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to read this wonderful book!
This was a great book and I loved how we journeyed with 4 women on a path of heartache, love, loss and family.
Our first person is Ally, and she is in Berlin and fell in love with a poet, and then she gives birth to her daughter, all during the Nazi rise to power. With the help of a neighbor, she tries to hide Lilith, but as the danger increases, she decides to send her young daughter to America.
Next we see Lilith, who is an adult and doesn't really remember her mother. Lilith didn't make it to America, but ended up in Havana. She is in love with Martin, who she grew up with, but his family has a lot of ties to the Batista government and the unrest that is coming is very similiar to what her mother faced in Germany. Lilith gives birth to her daughter Nadine, just as things escalate to a fever pitch in Havana.
Then we see Nadine as an adult and she is a scientist in Berlin helping people that were killed in the war. She works to make sure that their remains are returned to their family, only she doesn't want to know about her own family history. Nadine's daughter Luna convinces her that they must search the truth, and in a powerful turn of events, they learn about a betrayal and come to terms with their past!
#nighttravelers #netgalley

3.9 stars

A sweeping multi-generational story of historical events told through the lives of four women who show us their strength and choices in devastating times. From pre-WWII Berlin, through the Cuban revolution and beyond we learn through the poetic words of Armando Lucas Correa of what a mother will give up to secure the safety of her child.

The author does not spare the reader the cruelty endured through racial cleansing, the discrimination faced by Jews who were turned away from a safe landing, and the effects of revolution. There was a wealth of historical info balanced nicely with the emotional creation of these characters, which will leave the reader questioning the raw depth of a mother’s love and her faith in a better life for her daughter. Don't miss the Acknowledgments section, which speaks to the author's personal connection to the story and the research and support of his team.

This book was long in story, although it moved quickly through some decades, which was sometimes confusing to me. But the ending is surprising, heartwarming and worthwhile.

My thanks to #AtriaBooks and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own.

Ally has given birth to a mixed race daughter, Lilith. As the Nazis rise to power, Lilith’s life is threatened every day. So, Ally does an ultimate sacrifice. She sends her daughter overseas for protection. This would change their lives and destinies forever.

This is a story which spans several decades and several famous events. I especially enjoyed the part set in Cuba. I learned quite a bit about this time period.

I was supposed to physically read this one but I had a good many books due so I decided to get it from audible. I am glad I did. I will be honest, if I had physically read it, I probably would have DNFed it. It is a tad bit slow in places. But, don’t hold that against this book because the ending is the best. And I would have missed that!

Need a good family saga…this is it! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

In this sweeping tale that covers WWII through the transition of Cuba to communist power, readers will follow four generations through unimaginable suffering and heartache. The story begins with Ally, the mother of a biracial daughter during a time when prejudices ran deep. She and her mother became travelers in the night when the color of Lilleth's skin was hidden. A precocious, bright child, she was tutored by a neighbor professor and learned to love rainy days when she and her mother would explore the desolated streets of the city.

When it became clear that Lilleth would never be accepted in Germany, Ally asked a Jewish couple to take her with them to Cuba. They had lost their only son--one of the many tragedies of WWII and Ally knew her daughter would be safe with them. Lilleth and her adopted family were one of the few families allowed to disembark at Havana. But even there, Hitler's reach overshadowed them. They gave up speaking German, not knowing who may be spying on them.

Lilleth became fast friends with a young boy who lived next door and they were inseparable. As they matured, so too did their friendship and all seemed right with the world when Martin asked Lilleth to marry him. But her happiness didn't last long as one tragedy after another invaded Lilleth's life. And as she became a mother to Nadine, she became desperate to spare her child from the warring factions swirling in Cuba.

Nadine grows and has a daughter of her own, Luna. Plagued by the tragedies of her predecessors and hoping to find some answers about her past, Luna and her mother venture to Cuba to discover the secrets that have been long buried.

Spanning the years 1931 through 2015, the lives of four courageous, devoted women: Ally, Lilleth, Nadine, and Luna are brought to life. Each bears the scars of their own choices, and some also bear the scars of their mother's choices. But the thread that knits the 4 generations together is an abiding, sacrificial, unending love.

As each generation is introduced, there are some details left to the reader's imagination. I almost wish the author had penned 4 separate books so that each generation could be fully fleshed out without skipping ahead in time. Overall, the story will give readers much to weep over and much to contemplate. While there is much darkness in this story, the ending provides a number of answers as well as a measure of healing.
Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of The Night Travelers from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

“By night, we’re all the same color.”

This story is about four generations of TOUGH women, told in four different timelines throughout each of their lives.

Starting in Berlin,1931, Ally Keller is a poet, in love with a German black musician named Marcus. She becomes pregnant but her relationship with Marcus is quickly cut off because he goes missing. He is assumed to have been taken away by the Nazis. She gives birth to their beautiful daughter, Lilith. However, due to Lilith’s mixed race (she is referred to by the Nazis’ as a “mischling” which is having one Aryan parent and one of another race) and the Nazi eugenics policies currently in place, she knows it would be safer for her daughter in another country. So, she entrusts her Jewish neighbors, the Herzogs’, to help her daughter escape with them.

From there, we follow the story of Lilith in Havana, to Lilith’s daughter Nadine in America. Nadine is then sent to Germany where she has a daughter named Luna. Luna is inquisitive about her families past and soon makes a huge discovery that will surprise everyone.

How much history can be packed into one, single book? Apparently, A LOT! There is layer, upon layer, upon layer. Just when you think one family has suffered enough heartache, there is more heartache. Not only did they have to endure the wrath of the Nazis, but also communism in Cuba and racism in every country along the way. It shows that the author did his research about these time periods, and I applaud him. It is fascinating that he was able to tie so much together into one book. I must say it was extremely hard to read the part where Ally had to take Lilith to the Nazi panel to determine if she looked “Aryan” enough or not. I had tears in my eyes and to know that these practices were inspired by the United States’ program of forced sterilization is gut-wrenching.

Then, there is the character development which is remarkable. I had so many favorites from sweet Bruno aka “Opa”, who did everything in his power to be a friend to Lilith and keep her safe to others like feisty Helena in Cuba. You will grow to love these characters and your heart will ache for them and you will root for them the entire way. If you enjoy historical fiction and want a story with a ton of depth, look no further.

This was my first book by Armando Lucas Correa, but will not be my last. Thank you so much to Net Galley and the author for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“We were all babies once, and before we die, we go back to that time when we depend on someone doing everything for us.”

This sweeping family saga follows four generations of women from Germany to Cuba to New York to Germany again. Poet Ally falls in love with a black German man and their child, Lilith, is vulnerable in Nazi Germany. She escapes to Cuba with a Jewish couple where she meets and falls in love. Their daughter suffers the same fate--being sent to New York due to political turmoil in Cuba. Nadine grows up with a cold German family, her security disrupted when her adoptive mother is accused of war crimes.

Finally with the birth of Nadine's daughter, Luna, the story comes full circle. Luna is fascinated with her family history and helps Nadine find the answers to her past. This novel illustrates generational trauma and shows the sweeping, long-lasting impact of Nazi Germany. There seem to be a lot of extraneous story lines, but the ending is worth it. #TheNightTravelers #NetGalley

This book was amazing! It was beautifully written and I loved reading about these four generations of strong women who endured the consequences of war. It isn’t your typical WWII story and I especially liked learning about those who fled to Cuba. I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the book’s publisher, Atria Books, for an advanced reader’s copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This story begins in Germany with a black man, Marcus, who marries a white woman, Ally Keller. They have a child, Lilith. Because Lilith is biracial, she is targeted by the Nazis as a mischling for Nazi racial hygiene laws. Lilith escapes with a Jewish couple, Albert and Beatrice Herzog, to Cuba. Lilith grows and marries Martin, an airplane pilot for Cuba’s President Batista. A Cuban revolution occurs, and Martin does not survive resulting in Lilith sending their daughter, Nadine, for survival to the U.S. to be adopted by an American German Catholic couple, Jordan and Irma Taylor. Nadine and Anton have a daughter, Luna.

This book is multi-generational with women escaping from violent upheavals in the countries in which they live. The reader finds a pattern of escape and survival. There is a cycle of daughters who are sent away from a loving mother for survival. Common themes include mothers abandoning their children during tumultuous times, lost love, and survival. People, places, and events in Germany and Cuba bring in true historical facts. I found that aspect of the book interesting. However, the book is very fast paced with four generations. I felt more depth could have been provided for each generation. Granted it would make a lengthy book, but I would’ve enjoyed knowing more about the characters. Overall, the book felt too superficial and accelerated.