The Night Travelers: Four Women, Four Different Times in History, One Journey

The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas Correa is a historical fiction which features four generations of women and three time periods as they experience love, loss and hope. The story begins in Berlin, 1931 as the rise of Nazism sweeps through Germany, Ally Keller gives birth to a mixed-race daughter, Lilith and hides her from the world. When time runs out, Ally puts together a desperate plan to save her daughter’s life. Havana, 1958, Lilith is now an adult, finds herself excited for her future with her husband, Martin. As the fires of revolution grow, Lilith finds herself facing an impossible choice, as her own mother did, in order to save her own daughter, Nadine.  Berlin, 1989 as the Berlin Wall falls, Nadine is now a dedicated scientist who has spent her life avoiding the truth about her family. When her own daughter, Luna, begins to uncover the family history, it will be Luna faced with an uncomfortable truth in their family’s past and their place in history.  

The Night Travelers is my first book by Armando Lucas Correa. I can see why he has a reputation for sweeping historical fiction with depth of the human stories we often forget. It is a story about four women, separated by time but united by sacrifice. They each embark on journeys of self-discovery which is forged by the power of a mother’s love. It is a wonderful story of the interconnectedness of history and that history is more than just dates and events. It is the individuals who lived and sacrificed during troubling times. It is also a story that details the disgusting things people have inflicted on others and if we are not careful, we will repeat the same. Overall, I enjoyed The Night Travelers. It is the type of historical fiction which leads one to further research events in more depth than what is highlighted in the story. To me, that is a feature of great historical fiction. I highly recommend The Night Travelers. 

The Night Travelers is available in hardcover

More great books from Carole P. Roman

Carol P. Roman has two great new books out. First, Oh, Susannah: It’s in the bag is the day in the life of Susannah Logan. Her day goes from bad to worse and every time something goes wrong, she ignores it by stuffing it in her backpack. In the morning, it’s her unfinished math homework and the banana she doesn’t want to eat. When she gets on the bus, her best friend, Lola, gives her an invitation to a sleepover which she doesn’t want to go but doesn’t know how to tell her friend. Then it’s her math quiz which she did horribly on because she didn’t finish her homework. So on and so forth until her bag begins to rip. If is only after a nightmare of an exploding bag which wakes up her parents, she is able to talk to her parents about how overwhelmed she feels and didn’t ask for help because she saw how overwhelmed her parents are. Her parents realize that they are all overwhelmed and help her get organized, finish her homework, and remind her never be afraid to ask for help. Oh, Susannah: It’s in the bag is a great short chapter book for young girls who are learning to read on their own. It has a great character they can relate to as well as learn a lesson about speaking up when you need help.

Second, If you were me and lived in…Cuba takes the reader on a tour of the island nation of Cuba. The reader is taken through the capital and largest city of Havana. There is shopping with Abuela and visiting Castillo del Morro, a 17^th century Spanish fort. There is a visit to Cayo Coco, a famous beach in Cuba. It is rumored that Ernest Hemingway used it in many of his novels. There is a look into special foods for celebrations in Cuba as well as the country’s favorite sport, baseball. If you were me and lived in…Cuba is a great addition to this children’s educational series. It has become a favorite of mine and I can’t wait for my daughter to learn about Cuba and all the other countries featured in this series. I highly recommend Oh, Susannah: It’s in the bag and If you were me and lived in…Cuba for any family and classroom library!

Oh, Susannah: It’s in the bag

and

If you were me and lived in…Cuba

are available in paperback and eBook

Desi Arnaz: the man I didn't know

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, I decided to research a famous Hispanic individual whom I knew of but did not really know about. I came across the biography of Desi Arnaz, the bandleader and most famous for his role as Ricky Ricardo on “I Love Lucy.”

Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was born March 2, 1917 in Santiago, Cuba. His family fled Cuba when his father was accused of being involved in the 1933 revolution led by Fulgencio Batista. The family would settle in Miami, Florida where Desi would take any job he could until he was hired by Xavier Cugat, the “king” of Latin music. He would soon form his own Latin band and launched the conga craze in the US.

He would met his future wife, Lucille Ball on the set of “Too Many Girls” (1940). The two would marry on November 30, 1940 and they would have two children: Lucie (born July 17, 1951) and Desi Jr (born January 19, 1953). Desi and Lucille would form Desilu Productions in 1950 and produced their first show “I Love Lucy” which premiered on October 15, 1951. They both would later confess that they produced the show in order to save their troubled marriage. The show would be revolutionary in the television. In the course of producing the show, Desi would be credited with many inventions in which the television industry still use today. The set of “I Love Lucy” would be the first to use several cameras, a warm-up act, performing before a live audience and rerunning old episodes when production would take a break. When “I Love Lucy” finished airing on May 6, 1957, it left still at number 1. He would also be the first Hispanic man to own his own production company. 

Sadly, his marriage to Lucille Ball would end in divorce on May 4, 1960; however, the two would remain friends until his death on December 2, 1986 at the age of 69 from lung cancer. He is forever remembered and honored as one half of the one of the greatest comedic duos in television history. With “I Love Lucy” in syndication, the show still reaches approximately 40 million Americans each year and many of their fans were not even born when the show originally aired. He would also author an autobiography entitled "A Book". He was a great man who made history and an impact on this country and the world in so many ways.