Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books | Washington Square Press for an early release of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading this story. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. I would recommend this book.

Wow, this was my first book by this author and I would for sure read one. What a ride! I enjoy the overcoming aspects and the pacing throughout.

A debut novel by feminist author, first published in 1938 and banned by Italian Fascist regime. This is a leisurely paced multiple POV coming-of-age exploration of young women attending college in Rome and living in a covenant. Nuanced perspectives from young women their friendships and relationships on the cusp of the rest of their lives. Thanks to NetGalley and Washington Square Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5! I enjoyed this enough despite the rating. This had a lot of different characters to follow and I feel like there wasn't enough time spent with each of them for me to really develop an attachment or strong feelings for. Not a lot happened throughout the story but I think that's the beauty of it. The writing was beautiful and it touched on a lot of different topics, but I think I would have appreciated this a lot more had it focused on one or two to really drive the plot. As a reader that is all about characters and their development, I didn't get too much of that with this one.

Without opening the cover or cracking the spine of Alba de Céspedes’s 1938 novel There’s No Turning Back, it was pretty much a given that it would be banned by Benito Mussolini. Being an antifascist woman who does antifascist things in Fascist Italy would be enough even if the book were about a puppy who admires, I don’t know, daisies. Start reading Céspedes’s novel, newly translated by Ann Goldstein (also Ferrante’s translator), and the reasons that a Fascist dictator might want to ban it become evident.
The story swoops and circles around and among eight women rooming at a boarding house run by nuns in Rome. They are all in the city ostensibly to attend university; a couple of them are only using school as cover for other activities, a couple of them have their attentions turned elsewhere as global events overtake their personal lives, and one is a devoted academic intellectual. These women have the audacity to be flawed, to be figuring things out, to make serious mistakes, and to not be punished. They have their hearts broken, they make the best of shitty situations, and they stride forward after horrible failures. But God does not smite them, and they are not cowed. This is revolutionary stuff.

Full review published March 10 www..wingbackworkshop.com

I was thrilled to read this early book by De Cespedes, as I absolutely loved reading The Forbidden Notebook last year. She is such an incredible author and I'm shocked that so many people don't seem to know about her. I love her writing style, and I love the way she writes issues of feminism and more into her novels.

This was considered radical when it was originally published because it's about the lives and loves of eight young women who are locked into their boardinghouse every night by the nuns who run it. And they talk. They talk about their secrets-some of which are devastating, some of which are shocking, some of which will seem mundane these days. It's very character driven and might be most easily read as a look at a handful of different women, their hopes and their dreams. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I know this won't be for everyone but I enjoyed it.

gorgeously written work that i found very moving and loved all the cahracters in. would very much recommend. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

"Discover the astonishingly powerful debut novel by the beloved feminist author of the "brilliant" (The Wall Street Journal) Forbidden Notebook and the "courageous" (The Washington Post) Her Side of the Story that was so subversive, it was banned by the Italian Fascist regime when it was first published in 1938.

A coming-of-age novel that is as relevant today as it was nearly ninety years ago, There's No Turning Back centers on eight women with radically different backgrounds who attend the same college in Rome. Some are there to study, others to escape a scandal, or keep a secret, and during their time there, they experience the challenges of love, work, and emancipation.

Considered experimental and revolutionary at the time, this novel established Alba de Céspedes as a powerful new voice in the 20th century. Translated by Ann Goldstein, There's No Turning Back demonstrates why de Céspedes deserves "an important place in the canon of women's literature" (Chicago Review of Books)."

We must read about the past to see how universal the human condition is.

I unfortunately had to DNF this novel. It did not keep my interest and I unfortunately did not find myself wanting to go back to it.

Thank you so much to Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I was interested in this Alba De Céspedes novel as I like to read Italian authors and important works of Italian literature. I was especially interested in this work since it was banned upon publication -- seemed like it would be an interesting read! The book focuses on a group of young women living and studying in Rome. They are living in a private residence run by Catholic nuns. Even with conservatism around them, they all have hopes and dreams and various pursuits which don't involve just settling down and getting married. There's goals to go into the workforce, find love, reunite with born-out-of-wedlock children, publish a book and more. The book is interesting in that it doesn't just focus on these women, but there's underlying stories for the other women in the book -- Emmanuela's mother for example, and the nuns working at the Grimaldi residence. It shows a range of ages and experience, all focused on women and the female experience in Italy at that time -- the choices they have and the choices that society doesn't want them to have.

As interesting as the book was a few things that I didn't love -- the focus on the women seems uneven. Some you get to know well and there's big chunks of the book that focus on them, and others seem like mere side characters. I feel like if this was an equivalent book written today you'd have chapters with headings showing which woman was the focus, and a more even rotation throughout the characters. I also found there was a detachment in the writing so that I was a distant observer of the women, but never felt like I got truly hooked into their stories (i.e. it wasn't a page-turner for me).

With that said I'm glad this important piece of Italian literature will be brought to a wider audience. There's many themes and situations relevant today, and it's also an important time capsule of what it was like living in the Italy during the rise of fascism.

De Céspedes’ narrative is both intimate and profound, delving into the complexities of identity and emancipation with a voice that feels strikingly modern. Her portrayal of women navigating a world steeped in judgment and expectation is as courageous as it is compassionate, reflecting a defiant spirit that earned the novel its ban under Italy’s Fascist regime. In short, it’s bold, emotionally rich, and unapologetically subversive, and I enjoyed reading it.

”It’s impossible to go home after experiencing freedom…”

There’s No Turning Back wasn’t on my radar, nor was it a book I would have picked up on my own, but I’m so glad I did. Written during the height of Italian fascism by a twice-imprisoned, anti-fascist woman (whose writings were banned in her country!), this book offers a fascinating peek into the lives of women in a time & place when their options were extremely limited.

“Some nights a kind of yearning grips me: I can’t close my eyes and I get worn out thinking how I’m caged in this cloister of nuns, while outside life is flowing, fortune passing by—who knows?—and I can’t take advantage of it. You have to jump into life headlong, grab it by the throat.”

Alba de Cespedes tells the story of 8 young women residing in an Italian boarding school, run by very strict nuns, while they complete their collegiate studies in the 1930s. Some of them deviate from societal norms in some way; several are hiding a secret; and all of them are figuring out who they are, where they belong, and what comes next in their lives.

”At home, at the Grimaldi, with Stefania—everywhere she played a different role, had a different life, another character. But which was truly her?”

I thoroughly enjoyed this character-driven story. The theme of freedom runs throughout the novel, and it was interesting to read about the women’s different (and sometimes conflicting) ideas about how they might live as freely as possible - through education, through work, through marriage, through singleness. A beautiful reminder of how vital it is that women have the right to choose their own destinies, as what satisfies one oppresses another.

”It’s as if we’re on a bridge. We’ve already departed from one side and haven’t yet reached the other. What we’ve left behind we don’t look back at. What awaits us is still enveloped in fog. We don’t know what we’ll find when the fog clears.

——

A huge thank you to the author, translator, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If I didn't know better these women could all be living today! Relatable, deep, well thought out characters seem as if they are real women. A must read and relevant to our time.

Alba de Céspedes’ There’s No Turning Back is a masterful exploration of identity, ambition, and the intersecting lives of women in a world on the brink of change. Set against the rich cultural backdrop of 1930s Rome, this coming-of-age novel brilliantly weaves together the stories of eight women, each grappling with their own desires, secrets, and societal expectations. Nearly ninety years after its publication, the themes resonate as sharply today as they did then, making this a timeless and thought-provoking read.

Each woman’s journey is unique yet universally relatable, offering readers a vivid glimpse into their innermost thoughts and feelings. The author’s ability to delve into such diverse perspectives is extraordinary.

The narrative structure, considered experimental in its time, still feels innovative and fresh. De Céspedes’ lyrical prose and daring storytelling make the novel an immersive experience, while the tension between tradition and modernity underscores every page. The book also serves as a historical document, capturing a moment in time when women’s roles in society were rapidly evolving—a reminder of how far we’ve come and how much remains the same.

There’s No Turning Back is not just a novel but a powerful statement on women's resilience and the enduring quest for autonomy and self-definition. It is a must-read for lovers of literary fiction and historical narratives, as well as those interested in feminist literature. Alba de Céspedes’ voice remains as vital and compelling now as it was in the early 20th century—a testament to her brilliance as a writer and her legacy as a pioneer.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.