Love. War. Family. Betrayal.
Italy, 1937. Alessandra Durante is grieving the loss of her husband when she discovers she has inherited her ancestral family seat, Villa Durante, deep in the Tuscan Hills. Longing for a new start, she moves from her home in London to Italy with her daughter Diana and sets about rebuilding her life.
Under the threat of war, Alessandra's house becomes first a home and then a shelter to all those who need it. Then Davide, a young man who is hiding the truth about who he is, arrives, and Diana starts to find her heart going where her head knows it must not.
Back home in Britain as war breaks out, Alessandra's son Robert, signs up to be a pilot, determined to play his part in freeing Italy from the grip of Fascism. His bravery marks him out as an asset to the Allies, and soon he is being sent deep undercover and further into danger than ever before.
As war rages, the Durante family will love and lose, but will they survive the war...?
Many thanks to Orion books via NetGalley for my copy of An Italian Affair to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
An Italian Affair is the début novel from Caroline Montague and for a first book it is certainly a very impressive read. I hate using the term sweeping historical fiction but that is what this book is. It's an epic story that has you swept up in the lives of the central characters as you journey with them through times of change and turbulence as they live through an era when the world is altered forever. I loved that this story had a clear beginning, middle and end with certain stages scattered throughout which allowed us to gain a sense of the inner working of the family unit we follow and how they came to be the people they were. Sometimes stories go off on tangents and lose their way but this wasn't the case here. I thought the story went from strength to strength and carried on to a deeply satisfying conclusion with a twist I didn't see coming. Although there was a niggle in the back of my mind that something wasn't right with regard to a certain set up but I never could quite put my finger on it. The author almost lulls you into a false sense of security and then boom she hits you with a curve-ball that has you screaming with the injustice of it all and hoping that a comeuppance will be served.
But before we reach that point there is plenty that comes before it and Caroline set everything up so well. The prologue, slightly longer than prologues I have read before, was tense and imparted a lot of necessary information. It assuredly set the tone and feeling for the entire novel as a life amending event befell the Marston family as the patriarch meets with an accident but it is the tension built up within a few paragraphs that shows that the author is a real talent. I felt the families pain, loss and devastation that their rock has gone. That the man they loved so much and looked to for guidance and leadership is no more.
Alessandra, his wife, has to step up and to be honest I thought she was going to be one of those weak women I've often read about in other books who can't function at all once their husband has gone. That the children no matter their age have to take over. Instead over the course of the story she blossomed and grew in strength and tenacity. This was never over played though, in the fact that all of a sudden she could do and did remarkable things that she would never have dreamed possible before. Instead as we progress through the life events that befall the family she grew over time and it all felt natural and realistic. She harboured a deep love for her husband that wasn't forgotten or didn't diminish in an instant. She had to come to terms with and forge an acceptance that he was gone but he would live on forever in their hearts and that every action and thing she did for her family and the children Robert and Diana too, would make him proud. For events were sent to test them and their friends and neighbours to the max.
Moving the plot away from London to the rolling Italian countryside was an inspired choice for a different setting as it allowed the characters to move out of their comfort zone. An inheritance leads to a change of fortunes for the Marston family and soon Alessandra and Diana finding themselves living and working on an Italian farm. The descriptions of the farm, surrounding countryside and villages were so vivid and well thought out. I could imagine everything so clearly in my head and could visualise Alessandra stepping outside her door and what a stunning view would be before her eyes. As the descriptions of the setting were brilliant I think this helped in later chapters when war broke out and there was lots of passages describing partisan activity in the countryside I could also clearly visualise this too. Robert chose to remain in London to continue his studies and this decision plays a vital role in the man he grows up to be. It was brilliant the way things were set up and we learned the workings of the families life in Italy for several years before the outbreak of war for it allowed us to see what changes came about. How new links and a new life were established in Italy before the actions of a mad man altered everything.
Diana arrived in Italy a scared, young teenager lacking confidence and still very much in the grieving process but as the years pass she changes into an inspiring young woman who is willing to embrace and accept love no matter the consequences. Her devotion, bravery and strength towards the one she loved demonstrated what a remarkable woman she grew in to. I admired how she stood by her mother and kept things going during times of trauma, unrest and danger. They both made so many sacrifices and along with close neighbours and the unit they had built with workers on the farm they placed themselves in danger time and time again as the war encroached ever further towards their home.
The middle section of the book as set during the war years was fascinating and it showed a clear division between life pre war and during the years of upheaval. I thought it was excellent that we moved back and forth between Italy but we also gained a deeper insight into Robert as a young man as he battles with his own conscience and battles in the war with what is right and wrong. I think I would have become tired of reading scenes set in Italy all the time although when everything reverts back to Italian soil and the undercover work of the partisans these scenes were expertly researched. All the hidden networks that existed at the time and the work they carried out were invaluable and I think it was excellent to have them included in this story as it opened up another strand to the war that we may not think about or have much knowledge on.
Robert was the character who I felt really transformed over the course of the story. He was an intelligent man and this was noted and used to great affect during the war years. Although life wasn't plain sailing for him as he battled with what he was tasked to do. I thought it was very realistic that he got close to people with whom he was working especially when flying bomber aircraft only for these relationships to be snatched away. That is what happened during that time and it showed the futility of war and how life can be gone in an instant. Robert became immersed in duty and loyalty to his country. He becomes resilient and hardened at least on the outside but on the inside I think he was facing and dealing with a maelstrom of mentions that threatened to overspill and when revenge comes calling this is certainly what happened. Robert was a character who was reconstructed from an innocent young school boy to a man filled with grit and determination but one wondered what would the fallout of the war be for all the characters you have come to be deeply invested in since you read that intense prologue?
An Italian Affair was a gripping read that provides the reader with a solid storyline packed full of depth and emotion. It is a very promising début novel from Caroline Montague that gave me the twist I was craving when I least expected it. I sense there are even greater things to come from her in the future and I for one am excited to see what era in time she will take us to next.
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