Summary: Fifteen-year-old Julien Losier just wants to fit in. But after his family moves to a small village in central France in hopes of outrunning the Nazis, he is suddenly faced with bigger challenges than the taunting of local teens.

Nina Krenkel left her country to obey her father’s dying command: Take your brother and leave Austria. Burn your papers. Tell no one you are Jews. Alone and on the run, she arrives in Tanieux, France, dangerously ill and in despair.

Thrown together by the chaos of war, Julien begins to feel the terrible weight of the looming conflict and Nina fights to survive. As France falls to the Nazis, Julien struggles with doing what is right, even if it is not enough-and wonders whether or not he really can save Nina from almost certain death.

My Thoughts: While I didn’t find myself hooked and unable to put the book down, I did enjoy How Huge the Night. It’s compelling, and it shares a story that (I’m guessing here) most people don’t know much about. According to the authors’ note at the end, there is a real town in central France that (at the time of the war) had 3,000 people. This town saved the lives of more than 3,000 Jews! What an amazing thing! I had no idea …

Anyway, not only was this a slightly educational story, but it was engaging, too. As Julien’s story and Nina’s story both are played out separately, I found myself wondering when/how these two pieces come together. I wondered when/how they were going to meet, and what came next. What will happen to Nina and her brother? What about Benjamin?

This story shows that when there is such heavy darkness, there still are spots of light here and there. There are people who won’t let the darkness consume them, and will do what they can to help others into the light, too. Most of the players in this book question God – not just talking to Him, but even His existence. And I think it’s safe to say that just about everyone of faith has done that at one time or another. When things get tough, it’s only natural to question how God could be involved. This book tackles the why. Yes, we know that God sometimes allows bad to happen, using it to lead to something good. It’s a Biblical truth, and it’s explored a bit in this book. We also explore the idea of loving one’s enemies, and using the weapons of love, rather than lashing out.

I loved how God’s mysterious ways of doing things is show in this book. My favorite example of this is when Julien injures his ankle in a huge snowstorm. How God chose to rescue him just totally made me smile and nod. And I love Julian’s thoughts about it:

God was stranger than he had ever known; strange and terrible and kind. ~ page 119

What an excellent way to say it. Anyone who has seen God work can likely relate to this or agree with this on one level or another.

How Huge the Night is a compelling story about a very dark time in the history of humanity. It sheds some light, and it makes the reader think. Think about faith, think about love, think about how God works.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Source: Received as part of a blog tour promotion on Litfuse Publicity Group.

Read It: You can get your own copy HERE. (Yes, this is an Amazon Affiliate link, but not for me. Purchase through this link would benefit Litfuse.)

About the Authors: Heather Munn was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in southern France where her parents were missionaries like their parents before them. She has a BA in literature from Wheaton College and now lives in a Christian intentional community in rural Illinois, where she and her husband, Paul, host free spiritual retreats for the poor, especially those transitioning out of homelessness or addiction. When not writing or hosting, she works on the communal farm.

Lydia Munn, daughter of missionary parents, grew up in Brazil. She received a BA in literature from Wheaton College, and an MA in Bible from Columbia Graduate School of Bible and   Missions. With her husband, Jim, she has worked in church planting and Bible teaching since 1983, notably in St. Etienne, near the small town in the central mountains of France which forms the background of How Huge the Night. The Munns now live in Grenoble, France.

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011.

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