WOW. I am so excited to share with you my review of Natalie Jenner‘s third novel today, Every Time We Say Goodbye, and honestly, it kind of had me speechless. I don’t say that very often, but I think it is the most all-encompassing of all of her novels so far.

I am so grateful to have been gifted an advance review copy by St Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review, which is below…

La dolce vita

Jenner’s novel sweeps us into Rome, in 1955; a romantic place where Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck have just made viewers fall in love in Roman Holiday, and Three Coins in the Fountain has just been released. So many movies were made in Rome during the 1950s, it was known as “Hollywood on the Tiber”: and cinema is the focus of the novel.

Our heroine, Vivien Lowry (you may remember her from Jenner’s previous novel, Bloomsbury Girls), has taken a job as a script doctor at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios, following disastrous reviews of her latest play. With the hope of finding a new sense of purpose, Vivien makes new friends, and even finds a love interest, but – just like the city of Rome itself – Vivien is finding it hard to move on from the past.

The shadow of war

Jenner does a fabulous job of painting a postwar Europe: displaced refugees, Resistance members grappling with survivor’s guilt, loved ones searching for answers. Vivien herself is the latter: she lost her fiancé during the war, and her time in Rome brings her closer to his memory as she follows the trail of his disappearance in wartime.

Not only that, but Vivien’s story runs in parallel with that of La Scolaretta in late 1943, a young woman who assassinated Nazi officials and was part of the Resistance in Italy. Honestly, I was gripped by these two timelines, and Jenner has a gift with bringing to life details of this period of history. It is horrifying, heartbreaking and fascinating watching the characters deal with the aftermath of war, finding redemption and spreading the messages of those who did not survive to speak them.

New eras to learn about

This is why I started my review with “WOW.” I honestly was blown away by the detail, the research, and the world that sits in the pages of the novel.

In particular, I found the interactions between Vivien and her fellow scriptwriters and the Catholic Church really interesting. I honestly did not know about the restrictions the Church placed upon Italian film during this period: this era of film has always fascinated me (Roman Holiday is one of my most favourite films!) and I admit I have probably really romanticised it, so I appreciated Jenner’s fictionalised version to give me an insight into this area of history!

Beloved characters

I really like the way Jenner has incorporated characters from her previous novel in each successive one, but has given them standalone stories. So, although I definitely recommend picking up The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, you do not need to have read them before you pick up Every Time You Say Goodbye. Bloomsbury Girls will give you a little insight into Vivien’s backstory, but it is in this novel she has opportunity to shine.

I am so thrilled to be able to participate in the book tour for this book, and hope that if you pick up a copy of Jenner’s new novel – which is now out!! – you enjoy it as much as I did. It was the perfect read for a cosy afternoon, one that completely swept me away to another time and place.