Santa Montefiore's Last Voyage of the Valentina is a voyage for the reader to a different time and place. It is an emotional journey, with ups and downs, but yet a very light and easy read. There is intrigue and romance, murder and adventure, all wrapped up in a coming of age story for a young woman who has some serious growing up to do.
Alba Arbuckle does not know her mother. That is because she died soon after Alba was born. Her father, doing what he thought was right, took her away from her mother's world back to England with him, and protected her from the past by not telling her about who her mother was. It was in the 40s, after the war, and a man did not raise a child alone. So he remarried and built a life for himself and his daughter. But, Alba grows up feeling like she doesn't belong in her father's new family. She thinks her stepmother is awful, is apathetic to her step siblings, and is angry with her father for keeping her mother from her. As a result, she lives a licentious life, spending her father's money, entertaining many boyfriends, trying to rebel against the proper life her father and stepmother have built.
Then things change. She finds a portrait of her mother that her father drew. She produces it for her father and demands answers that he is still unwilling to share. Buoyed by a new friend and lover, she decides to find the answers for herself. The reader is then transported back and forth between 1940s Italy when Alba's parents meet and fall in love, and Alba's journey discovering her extended family and herself during the present day (1971). As the reader takes this journey with Alba, we are left hopeful that when she finally learns the truth about her mother, she will see the truth of her father, as well, and that the discoveries she makes will heal old wounds for both of them.
Through all of the intrigue surrounding Alba's parents, there are two lovable characters from her life helping her along the way: Fitzroy and Viv. These two characters bring humor and romance into the novel. The reader is rooting for Fitz and Alba to make something of their romance, for Alba to grow up a little, and for a happy ending.
The descriptions of the places and of the time are exceptional. I could smell the lemon groves, salt air and figs and see the beautiful Amalfi coast. Santa Montefiori weaves a story that is really two tales in one and is able to incorporate the intrigue right along with the romance. While the reader may not get the ending they are expecting, the ending is a fitting one for the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it highly.
Happy Reading!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Weight of Water
The Weight of Water is a haunting novel by Anita Shreve. Alternately telling the story of Jean, a photographer, and her family who are on an assignment in the Isles of Shoals off of the coast of Maine, and of the Christensen family from Norway, who eventually emigrated to the United States in the late 1800s. This novel is like two books in one, both stories grabbing hold of the reader until their emotional conclusions. Both stories asking the question, "If you take a woman and push her to the edge, how will she behave?"
The Christensen family (and the Hontvedt family) story ends in a brutal double murder. Jean's assignment is to photograph the island where this murder took place for a magazine article. She and her husband Thomas and their daughter, along with Thomas' brother and his girlfriend set sail together for the island of Smuttynose. As Jean immerses herself in the double murder, she herself begins to tread water emotionally and begins to believe that her husband is having an affair. She examines her marriage and finds that maybe it isn't on solid ground, maybe it never was. Her jealousy begins to cloud her judgement, and that leads to her ultimate downfall, pushing her to her limits, much like her counterparts in the case of the Smuttynose murders.
The author seamlessly weaves these two stories together. Literally from paragraph to paragraph the reader is shifted between these two very different centuries. The harsh reality of life on Smuttynose in the 1860s and 70s to the reality of Jean's current familial struggles. It is not an uplifting book, it is one in which you know all along that there is going to be a horrible conclusion. It is a powerful work, one that begs the question, how far would you go? And how would you ever recover from starting off a series of events that you then have no control over? All of the characters are not necessarily likable, the setting is harsh, but this is a thought provoking book and a tale that will stay with the reader.
Happy Reading!
The Christensen family (and the Hontvedt family) story ends in a brutal double murder. Jean's assignment is to photograph the island where this murder took place for a magazine article. She and her husband Thomas and their daughter, along with Thomas' brother and his girlfriend set sail together for the island of Smuttynose. As Jean immerses herself in the double murder, she herself begins to tread water emotionally and begins to believe that her husband is having an affair. She examines her marriage and finds that maybe it isn't on solid ground, maybe it never was. Her jealousy begins to cloud her judgement, and that leads to her ultimate downfall, pushing her to her limits, much like her counterparts in the case of the Smuttynose murders.
The author seamlessly weaves these two stories together. Literally from paragraph to paragraph the reader is shifted between these two very different centuries. The harsh reality of life on Smuttynose in the 1860s and 70s to the reality of Jean's current familial struggles. It is not an uplifting book, it is one in which you know all along that there is going to be a horrible conclusion. It is a powerful work, one that begs the question, how far would you go? And how would you ever recover from starting off a series of events that you then have no control over? All of the characters are not necessarily likable, the setting is harsh, but this is a thought provoking book and a tale that will stay with the reader.
Happy Reading!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Garden Spells
Sarah Addison Allen spins a tale with such elegance that you get lost in her charming world and feel as if you have been in a dream when you finally emerge from the pages of her books. Garden Spells was such an enchanting, entertaining, utterly delightful read.
The Waverly's have something special about them. Well really, so does nearly everyone in the town of Bascom, North Carolina. There are family legacies that are passed down from generation to generation; special gifts that certain family names are known for. For the Waverly's it is all in the garden, from the special flowers and herbs that are grown there to the apple tree that asserts itself by tossing apples at inopportune times (or opportune depending on the circumstances). But these special gifts have made the Waverly's outsiders in their home town. Claire Waverly has made the best of her abilities and created a catering business around the special plants that grow in her garden. She likes her life to have structure and stability. Her world is rocked a bit when her free-spirited sister, who fled Bascom as soon as she was old enough, shows up one day looking for some of that safety and stability. Claire has to learn to accept change, and that some changes are for the better. Both sisters have secrets to share, and only when they do will they be able to get past their history and make a family for the future.
This novel was enjoyable from start to finish. The characters are quirky and lovable, from the aunt with a knack for giving strange gifts just before the receiver needs them, to the gay shop owner, to the next door neighbor and the family that owns the dairy farm. The story weaves so smoothly and sweetly, yet deals with some heavy issues like abuse, neglect, and fear of abandonment. Only Sarah Addison Allen could weave a story so profound while you are floating along on her mystical cloud. Loved loved loved Garden Spells and highly recommend it.
Happy Reading!
The Waverly's have something special about them. Well really, so does nearly everyone in the town of Bascom, North Carolina. There are family legacies that are passed down from generation to generation; special gifts that certain family names are known for. For the Waverly's it is all in the garden, from the special flowers and herbs that are grown there to the apple tree that asserts itself by tossing apples at inopportune times (or opportune depending on the circumstances). But these special gifts have made the Waverly's outsiders in their home town. Claire Waverly has made the best of her abilities and created a catering business around the special plants that grow in her garden. She likes her life to have structure and stability. Her world is rocked a bit when her free-spirited sister, who fled Bascom as soon as she was old enough, shows up one day looking for some of that safety and stability. Claire has to learn to accept change, and that some changes are for the better. Both sisters have secrets to share, and only when they do will they be able to get past their history and make a family for the future.
This novel was enjoyable from start to finish. The characters are quirky and lovable, from the aunt with a knack for giving strange gifts just before the receiver needs them, to the gay shop owner, to the next door neighbor and the family that owns the dairy farm. The story weaves so smoothly and sweetly, yet deals with some heavy issues like abuse, neglect, and fear of abandonment. Only Sarah Addison Allen could weave a story so profound while you are floating along on her mystical cloud. Loved loved loved Garden Spells and highly recommend it.
Happy Reading!
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