Review: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye

Author: Natalie Jenner

Publisher: 14th May 2024 by St. Martin's Press

Pages: 336 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction | Women’s Fiction 

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past and facing the future.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry's last chance for a dramatic career. With her future in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the very soul of Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and the mystery of what really happened to her deceased fiancé. Every Time We Say Goodbye is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

My Thoughts

Natalie Jenner’s debut novel, The Jane Austen Society, was a wonderful read back in 2020. She followed it up with Bloomsbury Girls, taking one of the characters from her debut novel to a London bookstore. In her latest, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Natalie takes one of the characters, Vivian, from the bookstore to post-war Italy working as a script doctor in the movies after her play is a flop in London. 

“We make the truth. We’re selling a world that doesn’t exist.” “That’s so cynical.” “What are you making, then?” “What the world could be.”

Natalie was inspired by the world famous Cinecittà movie studio in Rome that had been used as a war refugee camp in the 1940s. Set in the la dolce vita of mid 1950s Rome, the story explores a very unique time period. Lead FMC Vivian is working as a script doctor and carries her own personal war wounds wherever she goes. Her fiance disappeared in Italy during WW2 and she is searching for closure after making some life changing decisions. 

‘The only thing that will save you is perspective - and that, only the passing of time can bestow.’

Natalie does an excellent job of conveying the complexity of Italian political, economic, and cultural life in the 1940s and ’50s. From the glamour of movie actresses like Ava Gardner and Sophia Loren making cameo appearances, to the policing and censorship of some movies by the Catholic Church. In many ways the past continues to haunt from its fascist and German occupation days and deep contradictions are evident. 

‘… contradictions of Italy at work here: a former Fascist regime that had somehow shape-shifted into an ostensible democracy that was heavily influenced by a censorial church and half-heartedly administered by the police. Yet the one thing all these factions took seriously was cinema.’

The novel encompasses so much, from love and conflict, faith and censorship, war and orphans, glamour and moviemaking, fashion and food - it has to all. Whilst there is much to learn about Rome, the Church and politics of the day, in some ways it feels like a reflective piece with characters coming to terms with life after traumatic events. You don’t have to have read the previous novels to enjoy Every Time We Say Goodbye as the focus is on learning how to live after such tragedy. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Every Time We Say Goodbye cover reveal

Here at Great Reads & Tea Leaves we are so pleased to share a first look at a forthcoming historical fiction novel from bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls, Natalie Jenner. Every Time We Say Goodbye releases in May 2024, and I am so excited to reveal the first details of the novel and its beautiful cover with you today.

Here is a special message from author Natalie Jenner who shares with us the inspiration of her new novel, followed by the cover reveal, and the official book description from the publisher.

A MESSAGE FROM AUTHOR NATALIE JENNER

Hello Dear Readers,

Every Time We Say Goodbye was the hardest book I will ever write and the most rewarding.

It all started when I learned about the world famous Cinecittà movie studio in Rome being used as a war refugee camp in the 1940s. People who had been stripped of everything—homes, possessions, even their most basic humanity—suddenly found themselves confined to life inside a “dream factory.” I decided to set my third novel during a very specific, very cool time in history—la dolce vita of mid 1950s Rome— while exploring the incredibly complex and haunting legacy of that city under German occupation during the Second World War.

I also wanted to know why Vivien Lowry, a character from my book Bloomsbury Girls, had been so angry all the time! I wondered if a woman could make the biggest mistake of her life and move past the regret in a way that benefitted her and the world around her. I never intended to write a dual timeline. I had been working on Every Time We Say Goodbye for nearly a year when the voice of a young female Italian resistance fighter codenamed la scolaretta—the schoolgirl assassin—suddenly showed up on the page one day. Having witnessed the bravery and sacrifice of so many to keep us safe during our world’s most recent challenge, I wanted to pay tribute to them. How fortunate am I, through the intimate and emotional power of historical fiction, to have the opportunity to do so.

I packed everything I could into this book: love and conflict, faith and religion, censorship and resistance, art and moviemaking, fashion and food, and cameos by favorite actresses such as Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner and characters from both The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls (I, myself am terrible at goodbyes!). 

I hope, more than anything, that Every Time We Say Goodbye gives readers the entertainment, inspiration and food for thought that nourished me throughout its writing.

Best wishes, Natalie

———————————

COVER REVEAL 

Here it is …. stunning, isn’t it!

——————————-

OFFICIAL BOOK DESCRIPTION

The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls returns 

with a brilliant novel of love and art, of grief and memory, of confronting the past 

and facing the future.

In 1955, Vivien Lowry is at a crossroads in life. Her latest play, the only female-authored play on 

the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the 

audience. The reviewers, however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices 

not only shut down the play but ruin Vivien's last chance for theatrical success. With her future 

in London not looking bright, at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a 

job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. There she finds a 

vibrant moviemaking scene filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a 

country that is torn between its past and its potentially bright future, between the liberation of 

the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeate the very soul of 

Italy.

As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also searches for the long-buried truth of the 

recent World War and the fate of her deceased fiancé lost in battle. Every Time We Say Goodbye

 is a bold and moving exploration of trauma and tragedy, hope and renewal, filled with dazzling 

characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the world with 

her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls.

(Every Time We Say Goodbye is linked to The Jane Austen Society, & Bloomsbury Girlsby 

characters, but is a stand-alone novel.)

QUICK FACTS

• Title: Every Time We Say Goodbye: A Novel

• Author: Natalie Jenner  

• Genre: Historical Fiction

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (May 14, 2024)

• Length: (336) pages

• Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook

• ISBN: 978-1250285188

AUTHOR BIO

Natalie Jenner is the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and

 Bloomsbury Girls, which have been translated into more than twenty languages worldwide. 

Born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie has been a corporate lawyer and career coach and 

once owned an independent bookstore in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and 

two rescue dogs.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

 

 

PURCHASE LINKS

 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKSHOP | ST. MARTIN’S PRESS | BOOKBUB |GOODREADS

 

Review: The Jane Austen Society

Title: The Jane Austen Society

Author: Natalie Jenner

Publisher: 26th May 2020 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 307 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England's finest novelists. Now it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen's home and her legacy. These people—a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others—could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.

My Thoughts

"But one can always read Austen.’ And that’s exactly what Austen gives us.  A world so a   part of our own, yet so separate, that entering it is like some kind of tonic. Even with so many flawed and even silly characters, it all makes sense in the end. It may be the most sense we ever get to make out of our own messed-up world. That’s why she lasts, like Shakespeare. It’s all in there, all of life, all the stuff that counts, and keeps counting, all the way to here, to you.’ 

This is a sweet story that takes place after WWII involving an unlikely group of people who are bound by their love of the writings of Jane Austen. With this shared passion, they decide to work together to preserve aspects of her life from when the author herself was located in Chawton, England. A definite highlight is this setting ... Chawton ...   lovingly portrayed with quaint village life on display.

Firstly, all Austen lovers will fully appreciate the many references made to the original works - it’s lovely to lose yourself not only in the homage paid but also in the comparative analysis given to preferences of Pride and Prejudice over Emma for example; or, Lizzie versus Emma. It is clear to see both the love and knowledge the author has of Austen’s writing. These book discussions subtly run parallel to the events of characters' own lives in the current storyline. A clever blend and there are some passages that I could lose myself in and demanded a reread and ponder:

‘He had gone to work every day merely to survive, saving for himself a few hours every night to disappear into fictional worlds of others’ making. He was hoping to find some answers inside these books, answers for why he didn’t care about some things and cared too much about others. He had always felt different from everyone else around him, different in a way that was so essential to his being that it practically blocked everything else out, it was so huge. It was as if a whole other world were inside him, so big that he couldn't see it without somehow getting completely out of his own way.’

Bring together an eclectic group of characters - ranging from a Hollywood actress, and Sotheby’s auctioneer to the local doctor and farmer to name but a few - and it makes for entertaining reading. What they have in common is their love of Austen’s works and each, in their own way, wishes to keep her words and memories alive. Thus, they come together to form The Jane Austen Society. Multiple stories are handled well as it meanders along at a gentle country pace. You will come to care about these characters who deal with issues ranging from love to loss. 

If you adore Jane Austen as I do, then this is perfect for you. It is highly character driven but very gentle in its execution - nothing great happens, it’s the exploration of the everyday with a sprinkle of romance. So put the kettle on, curl up and take a slow stroll through the streets of Chawton post WWII.

(Recommended for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society)

‘... inside the pages of each and every book was a whole other world. He could disappear inside that world whenever he needed to - whenever he felt the outside world, and other people, pressing in on him - a pressure from social contact and expectations that was surely routine for everyone else, but affected him much more intensely and inexplicably. But he could also experience things from other people’s point of view and learn their lessons alongside them, and - most important to him - discover the key to living a happy life...’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.