Title: The Night Travelers
Author: Armando Lucas Correa
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Historical Fiction

The Night Travelers is listed as Historical Fiction, but the author’s beautiful writing and multigenerational story has me calling this one a Literary Historical Fiction. It’s a beautiful masterpiece and not one to be missed. I’m so glad @mommaleighellensbooknook and I picked this one for one of our January @bookfriendsbookclub reads. We were sold on it being HF and our love for multigenerational stories, but we got so much more! Our group had an amazing discussion and the cherry on the top was zooming with Armando. Now our group is eager to read more historical books about Cuba and this author. Highly, highly recommend.

“If we close our eyes, we can build our own impenetrable wall. If we close our eyes, there isn’t a force in the world that can destroy us.”

The Night Travelers weaves together a story of three amazingly strong woman, told in three parts, from Berlin to Cuba, NYC, then back to Berlin spanning from 1931 to 2015. It deals with Eugenics, the tragedy of MS St. Louis, and Operation Pedro Pan. It’s about sacrifice and deep family roots spanning through Nazi Germany and the Cuban Revolution. It felt heartbreaking at times, as a reader, watching characters struggle through their race, nationality and religious persecutions, but the author always found a way to make you feel hope.

“What I mean is: the night belongs to us, to me and you. The night is ours.”

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 I love learning through HF and let me tell you this one is a gem. The author has six pages in the back of the book with all the books he read during his research. Impeccable research!! I really didn’t know much about the MS St. Louis and the fate of the their journey nor Operation Peter Pan. I won’t forget these characters for a long time!

THE NIGHT TRAVELERS by Armando Lucas Correa is a beautiful and heartbreaking novel that had me in tears by the end. I flew through reading this one, I really didn’t want to put it down for any reason. Correa gives us four generations of women that have had to deal with impossible choices and the consequences of those choices. As I read, I kept wondering if I would or could make the decisions that were made by the mothers.
In Germany, as Hitler is rising, blonde blue-eyed Ally falls in love with a black German man and gives birth to their daughter. She does her best to keep her brilliantly smart daughter safe but realizes that no matter how smart and perfect her daughter is, she can’t keep her safe, making the impossible decision to send Lillith to Cuba with another couple. Lillith grows up in Cuba with a Jewish couple, her life with her mother a distant memory. She falls in love with the boy next door, whose family is close to Bautista. When Bautista’s government falls and her husband is one the wrong side of the revolution, Lillith makes the devastating decision to send Nadine to a couple in New York. Nadine grows up knowing she has other family, but her curiosity takes a back seat when they are forced to move to Germany. Nadine starts to learn more of her past, but it isn’t until her daughter, Luna starts asking questions that she looks to the past and starts to uncover the secrets and heartbreak lurking there.
I felt Correa does an amazing job writing about what each of these women faced. The emotions, the loss, and the way they fought to make sure the most important thing to them survived. It’s easy to understand why Nadine didn’t want to dig more deeply into the past, after what she witnessed and what she knew. When Luna started, the more they uncovered the more horror they found, but there was also, undeniably, hope. No matter how much I read about World War II, I still find myself shocked and devasted for the people that endured the torture of living through it. I know THE NIGHT TRAVELERS will stay with me for a long time to come.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#TheNightTravelers #ArmandoLucasCorrea #AtriaBooks

The Night Travelers is just the type of historical fiction that I love. This story is so clearly well-researched and well-written.

What I appreciated about the book:

The author does a tremendous job of telling a story that not only captures the accurate details of these historical periods but also the settings and emotions. This story is clearly well-researched (as evidenced by the lengthy bibliography at the end) and as a result the stories really came alive for me. I also really appreciated the Cuba storyline as I am not too familiar with Cuba's history and this story both made me aware of my lack of knowledge and made me want to research it more. Lastly, I thought the author did a great job of telling a World War II story but in a way I haven't read before, with a focus on the aftermath, the topic of forgiveness, and how the terrible actions continued to affect individuals long after the war came to an end.

What didn't work for me:

I really enjoyed this book. At times the stories jumped back and forth a lot so I found myself having to reread some passages.

Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres and this book exceeded my expectations. I would definitely read more by this author.

Rich in historical detail, this is a story that I became lost in..
Many thanks to Atria and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas Correa is my first 5 star read of 2023! If you enjoy multi-generational historical novels, be sure to add this beautiful tear-jerker to your TBR.

Don’t mistake The Night Travels as yet another World War II novel. The story starts in Germany during the rise of the Nazi party, crosses the ocean to Cuba on the brink of the communist revolution, and later circles back to Germany. A generation later, the Germans are still coping with the repercussions of war. In West Germany, former Nazi soldiers are on trial for their crimes, and the citizens of East Germany live under the oppression of Soviet occupation.

This beautifully crafted tale follows four generations of women (Ally, Lilith, Nadine, and Luna) through their journeys of sacrifice and survival. They bury their past to hide from the pain of loss and abandonment. But hidden trauma is passed from mother to daughter. It is only by bringing their history into the light that healing can begin.

Correa examines history in a manner that has always fascinated me. In a time of revolution, when everyone is suspect and no one can be trusted, when neighbors turn on each other and family members disappear, what does it mean to be a survivor? Were the Germans who lived through the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler supporters of the Nazi party? What atrocities might they have committed against others to save themselves? Which individuals deserve to be punished for the crimes of a nation? Is every survivor complicit by default?

Read this book with a friend, because you are going to want to discuss it at length. And be sure to research the character names for further insight. ;)

The Night Travelers is (historical / literary) fiction at its best! Armando sheds light on not only more aspects of WWII I wasn't familiar with, but also political power struggles in post WWII Cuba, and generational trauma - the domino affects of wars and atrocities, from the victims throughout the generations going forward. He also paints a painfully accurate portrait of what being "other" is like. (As someone who is disabled, it's a feeling I am all too familiar with). Armando will be an auto-read author from this point forward and I'm looking forward to reading this previous books!

Follow four generations of women from the early 1930s into the new millennium as they try to save each generation from war. The novel begins in Germany, moves to Cuba, New York and back to Germany. It’s a heart-wrenching story that will bring tears to your eyes.

This book was an absolute gem, a five star winner that I highly recommend to all my historical fiction lovers especially but to all lovers of beautifully told heartbreaking family sagas as well, the book was just that good !
I read this book with @bookfriendsbookclub and loved the chat about this one - even if I did not have much to add since I was just blown away by this book.
The Night Travelers covers a span of 84 years starting in 1931 and ending in 2015.
This story starts off with Ally giving birth to her mixed race daughter Lilith in an already tension filled Berlin. Lilith grows up sheltered and hidden in an apartment in Berlin until her mother Ally faced with the reality that there are no good choices left, is forced to send her daughter to Cuba to save her life. Lilith grows up in Cuba, with a family that isn’t hers but gives her shelter and a home. She marries and has a daughter Nadine whom she sends to New York in the political turmoil of the Cuban Revolution to give her a better chance that through an interesting twist of fate takes her to Germany, where she has her own daughter Luna who starts retracing the steps of those who can before her.
With four generations of women in different places and different time periods, this book will grasp your heart and squeeze it for all it's worth.
It is beautifully written, captivating ! This book was truly exceptional !
So exceptional that I went ahead and borrowed my mother’s copy of The German Girl to read more by this author.

The Night Travelers is a heartbreaking story about the difficult, seemingly impossible decisions mothers make for the safety of their children. I really wanted to like this book more but the character development was lacking. I struggled to connect with the characters because events were described with little emotion and then suddenly we were whisked away to another time and place. The storyline was very interesting and the book was well researched but without the emotional components, it fell a little flat for me.

This is an interesting, under the radar pick. It begins in Germany during WWII with Ally Keller, a poet who has a daughter Lilith, fathered by a black German musician. When he disappears, she moves on with her life with the help of a professor. When her child is declared a bastard and doesn’t meet the Aryan purity, she sends her to Cuba with a Jewish couple they know seeking refuge. As Lilith grows up, she marries the son of a president, who becomes a target when Castro takes leadership, sending her young daughter Nadine to NYC through the Catholic Church. Nadine ends up back in Europe when the only mother she’s known is arrested.

So many generations of trauma from a Cuban perspective at times (from his family’s memories). Even though it covers many hard topics, it is beautifully written and our bookclub loved it (it got all 4.5 and 5 votes). It’s so interesting in how it covers these memories relating to this time period of WWII in Cuba and how these generations of people hid and lost their families.

Titled The Night Travelers, originally because Ally and Lilith couldn’t travel safely during the day (because her hair gave her away as being black and less-than), they felt safer at night. Ally wrote a poem mentioned throughout the book likewise called The Night Travelers. And I loved how each generation carried this through as night travelers.

This book evoked so many emotions for me. It spans four generations of women and their experiences during their lives. Wars tear these women from their daughters; so much sadness, but the lengths each mother went to to save the lives of their children was so touching. It also spans several locations, beginning in Berlin, to Cuba, to New York, ending back in Berlin.
I really loved the history and the research that went into this book - several historical events were depicted. The writing was beautifully done!
Love, loss, betrayal, survival - just a few words to sum up this wonderful book!

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of The Night Travelers by Amando Lucas Correa


The Night Travelers is a satisfying look at four generations of women in a single family whose lives are influenced by the circumstances around them. Only the youngest descendant will experience a kind of closure as details of the past emerge.
German poet and writer Alli Keller falls in love with a black musician in 1930s Dusseldorf. When the musician disappears at the hands of German officers, pregnant Alli must deal with a child born of their mixed-race relationship, something the new regime in Germany cannot abide. Desperate to keep her daugher alive, Alli agrees to send her daughter to Cuba with a Jewish couple fleeing the country aboard the S.S. St. Louis. Her daughter Lilith is one of only 28 travelers allowed to remain in Cuba.
The unrest in Cuba and rise of Fidel Castro adds another layer of hardship and fear as Lilith and her husband raise their daughter Nadine. It will be Nadine's daughter Luna who confronts the past and discovers the traitor to the family along with a newly-discovered relative.
This book confronts many painful events of the past and includes graphic depictions of Nazi treatment of pregnant women.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I enjoyed this mult-generation novel, but I did think the writing style was a little flat and lacked the depth of emotion the reader would expect.

Thanks to Atria for a copy of The Night Travelers.

I really wanted to like this historical fiction that goes from 1930s Germany to 1958 Cuba to 1988 Berlin, but unfortunately, this was too slow of a book for me and I never really got into it. Also, the character development wasn't there, things were too glossed over for all of the history covered.

The Night Travelers is a sweeping, generational novel of perseverance, sacrifice, the ravages of war, and motherly love. The storytelling is powerful, intimate, and reflective. The way in which the stories, spanning from Nazism to the Cuban Revolution to the fall of the Berlin Wall, are interwoven is effective and emotional.

I read a lot of WWII historical fiction in recent years and I was having trouble getting into stories set during that time, but this one was compelling and focused on stories and issues not often explored in WWII lit. I wasn't as familiar with the Cuban revolution and found those sections of the story particularly interesting. Something that has stuck with me about this book is the ways in which war can ripple through the lives for generations.

Highly recommend.

Ally, Lilith, Nadine, and Luna, women of the same family, span four generations from World War II Germany all the way through the fall of the Berlin Wall. Each one has to decide whether or not to make incredible sacrifices for the sake of the next generation. Exploring self-discovery and the power of motherhood, is loss destined to follow them forever?

Yes, yes, and more yes. This book was incredible. The sections were divided brilliantly, the research was impeccable, and it was beautifully written. Really, what more can you ask for in a historical fiction novel? Nothing, I tell you. And I absolutely loved the characters. I am sure there is more truth to this story than I want (after all, you do what you need to in order to survive during wartime), but Armando Lucas Correa showcased these hard choices with tact and respect. I will absolutely be recommending this to my fellow readers!

Beginning in 1931 Berlin, Ally Keller gives birth to a daughter, Lillith. Hitler’s army has already started to infiltrate Berlin and make living there difficult for Jews and those who are considered to be inferior, like Lillith. Lillith has a white mother and a black father. Even though she is light-skinned her features and curly hair give her away. Ally and Lillith have learned to travel at night under the cover of darkness. Just as she is about to be sterilized as part of Hitler’s orders, Ally sends her across the ocean with another family. What follows is a story of generations of women who have constantly had to fight for the right to live and give up what they love most of all.

"She was traveling at dusk now, she, who had always been a night traveler. By night, we’re all the same color, she said to herself."

Lillith grows up in Havana, Cuba but not without struggles. As she marries and gives birth to a daughter, Cuba is also facing a crisis. It’s 1958, and Lillith must decide what is best for her Nadine while the country is being taken over and her father is in custody. Lillith decides to send Nadine to a family in America hoping for a safer life for her daughter.

"I learned that sometimes the only way to save what you love the most is by abandoning it."

From Ally to Lillith to Nadine to Luna, four generations of women have fought to stay alive in war-ravaged cities. These women sacrificed to save the ones they loved the most, some not even realizing the extent of their suffering. As each story is told, we see the tenacity of the previous generation shine through in the younger women. As Luna and Nadine return to Germany, Nadine works to preserve the memories and remains of those murdered by the Nazis. What she finds will change her and Luna’s life forever.

In order to share stories of four women across generations, the story must move quickly through each one. I thought the author gave the reader just enough insight into the lives of these women while also detailing the atrocities happening in the community around them. History buffs will love being part of multiple parts of history happening all over the world. Those who love historical fiction will appreciate the connections made across generations and the life-changing reveal at the end of the story.

"The Night Travelers" is a sweeping story that spans multiple years and explores the lives of four women. The history of World War II, the Cuban Revolution and the Berlin Wall are the backdrops for this tale of love, hope and family. There was a rollercoaster of emotions at each turn of the page and I rooted for the four women. Armando Lucas Correa wrote a lyrical and emotional heartfelt story with familial connections. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

The Night Travelers is a multigenerational story about four women as they experience life, love, loss and war.

The story begins with Ally in a pre-war Germany. She is a talented writer who falls in love with a man of another race. When things begin to change, he disappears and shortly after, she discovers she’s pregnant. Known as a mischling, life becomes more dangerous for her daughter with each passing day. So Ally makes the difficult decision to send her daughter away.

When Lilith arrives in Cuba, she grows up during a political upheaval. Her adoptive parents try to make a life for the three of them but they are still mourning the loss of the son back in Germany. Lilith is grateful to her best friend and eventual husband, Martin. When the government is overthrown, Martin is taken just months after the birth of the daughter. Things only get worse and Lilith makes the difficult decision to send her daughter away.

Nadine grows up in New York with her adoptive parents. It’s somewhat of a normal life until someone comes knocking at the door arresting her adoptive for crimes committed during WWII.

Things come full circle as Nadine is taken back to Germany for the trial and begins to build a life there. She is determined to close the doors to the past but her own inquisitive daughter manages to reopen them. The truths about the past unravel in ways they never expected.

This story is not only captivating but an excellent history lesson as the author touches on the eugenics movement in early WWII Germany, the revolution in Cuba and the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall. I really enjoyed this trip through time and getting to know these deeply complex characters.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Mr Correa and his publisher for access to this book in exchange for my review. I really enjoyed it.

Multi-generational, multi-national. Beautiful writing, yet I struggled to get through it. I expect to try again in the future.