In the Light of the Sun
While World War II historical fiction typically centers on the European theater, Shupe alternates the struggles of Rosa Grassi in Florence, Italy, with those of her younger sister, Caramina, in the Philippines. Rosa’s promising opera career, even her life, is daily threatened by Fascist and then Nazi forces. As the Allies abandon the Philippines to a brutal Japanese invasion, Caramina’s formal musical training is sacrificed as her family retreats to the upland jungles.
For both sisters, music becomes a solace and a challenge to the violence of war. Both struggle to find moments of normalcy and joy when every seeming friend might be a traitor and a convent school becomes an acceptable military target. Rosa falls in love with a man of mysterious leavings as she is drawn into the partisan resistance. Caramina sees love bloom around her despite every obstacle as she contemplates whether romantic love is the path for her.
Shupe gives Rosa more agency in her choices, making her journey more character-driven and compelling. However, the sensual descriptions of Caramina’s jungle world, the scents, and intimate connection with the land and seasons are intoxicating.
While readers don’t expect a detailed military history, it is disconcerting that the news of Japanese surrender comes to Caramina’s family with no mention, then or later, to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Rosa’s story, the seemingly overnight shift of Italy to the Allied side, making Nazi forces the invaders, could use more context for some readers. The end of the war brings a satisfying conclusion, with both sisters achieving their dreams in a new land, their voices enduring and ultimately victorious.
