Italy, 1943. The Nazi occupation has cemented its grip on the devastated city of Naples.
Giuseppe DiPietra, a curator in the National Archives, has a subversive plan to aid the Allies. If he's discovered, forced labor or swift execution. Lucia Pastone, secretary for the Italian Fascist government, is risking her own life in secret defiance of orders. And Lucia's father, Aldo, is a black marketeer who draws Giuseppe and Lucia into the underworld--for their protection and to help plant the seeds of resistance. Their fates are soon intertwined with those of Aldo's devoted lover and a boy of the streets who'll do anything to live another day. And all of Naples is about to join forces to overcome impossible odds and repel the Nazi occupiers.
[Merullo's] delivered a terrific read, a World War II story told with a skillful, narrow focus ... Altogether it's a halcyon sequence, a kaleidoscope — something like a long, rewarding night in Naples.
... a fast-moving, intense, and plot-driven story filled with a large cast of colorful characters with their own motivations and histories, who eventually all come together. When they do, they resolve their internal conflicts, their communal fear, and the external battle of fighting off the Nazis on their own to regain control of their homes and become stronger. I felt for the characters and their struggles and celebrated their uprising with them. Inspired by a true uprising, From These Broken Streets is an entertaining and engaging read.
A vigorous fictional account of the popular uprising that threw the Nazis out of Naples in 1943 ... a vivid narrative ... The gripping climactic account of the widespread revolt that forces the arrogant Nazis to abandon the city may surprise readers who know Merullo as the author of unconventional spiritual fiction [...] but this multifaceted writer always surprises and entertains. He finds time among the mayhem for a few poignant human dramas, brought to satisfactory conclusions along with the uprising. Stirring and moving: more fine work from a versatile, gifted writer.
