Reviewed by Emma Crowley
As golden sunlight shimmers across the crystal-clear water, Francesca arrives on the tranquil Italian island of Santa Caterina in search of precious rare books. She quickly discovers she was invited by the island’s mysterious owner, alongside handsome local book collector Thiago, to unlock a secret spanning generations. Together, they learn the books were hidden during the Second World War by Helèna, the daughter of a bookseller, who sacrificed everything to save the island’s treasures from the Nazis.
With only Helèna’s diary to guide them, Francesca finds herself growing closer to Thiago, with his deep blue eyes and sun-kissed curls. As they curl up under the stars, piecing together clues in the gentle, rose-scented breeze and retracing Helèna’s steps on the quaint cobbled streets, Francesca begins to wonder if she can finally open her heart to a new beginning...
But when an unbelievable act of courage and a heart-breaking secret in the final pages of the diary shatters everything she and Thiago thought they knew about Helèna, Francesca realises the remarkable wartime story of love and sacrifice has the power to change both of their lives forever.
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Bookseller’s Daughter to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Bookseller’s Daughter is the new book from Daniella Sacerdoti which has two main themes. Those being the determination of women to rise again after they have fallen and also a love of books and knowledge shines through at every opportunity. I found this to be a very quick read so much so that despite enjoying the story I did find myself wanting more. At times I felt it only scratched the surface of things where a little more in-depth analysis or description was needed as I found some of the events were rushed through. But look, that’s me being super picky because really Daniella Sacerdoti has written an atmospheric and intriguing story with a twist at the end which had me reeling. In fact I’d love to chat to people who have read or will go on to read the book as it was quite an ambiguous conclusion.
The brief prologue opens in Venice in 1930 as Helena, one of the main female characters, tells the reader how her father and mother were lost in a fire that consumed their bookshop. She firmly believes that her sister Hanna survived, although how she did so and her whereabouts now are not known so Helena is not aware of her beliefs regarding the outcome for Hanna are true or not. Helena was adopted by a well-to-do family in Venice although the matriarch of said family didn’t treat her the best believing she should stay in the home and receive no education and instead wait on her in her hour of need. Her adopted brother Jacopo has always been her protector but the nightmare of what happened to her family lingers over her haunting her whenever given the opportunity.
Once the story proper begins the chapters alternate seamlessly between Helena in the war years and Francesca in 2022. Francesca lives in New York working in a gallery. She is an art historian and palaeographer specialising in manuscripts and books. She loves her chosen profession but in the job she has the daughter of owner treats her like a dogsbody and she isn’t able to do what she has been employed to do. So despite being in a job that she should love, given the work that is involved, she is not at all happy and neither is she in her persona life. Her engagement to Isaac has been broken off yet she still shares an apartment with him as he needs her for her share of the rent. Francesca still harbours deep feelings for Isaac and throughout the book the reader can tell that she really wants to get back with him and make a go of things. Whereas it’s evident that Isaac is of the complete opposite opinion. I really wanted to give Francesca a good shake and say why are you moping around after a man that has clearly moved on from you even if he still uses her for money. Throughout the book as she navigates the ‘quest’ that she has been sent on thoughts of Isaac still linger on and I just wanted her to get a grip and move on.
But this is not the story of Francesca and Isaac and to be honest I didn’t want it to be as I was keen to delve back into the past. Francesca is given the opportunity to secure a famous set of illuminated medieval manuscripts, which if she is successful will change the fortunes of the gallery. Soon, she finds herself in Italy, specifically the lakes where lies Santa Caterina island. Lavinia is caretaker of the manuscripts at Santa Caterina which once was a convent for nuns. Francesca and Thiago, who has arrived from a different gallery and also wants to bid for the manuscripts, are both tasked by Lavinia to find the manuscripts. Whoever does so first will be the one to secure them for their gallery.
So sets in motion a quest or challenge of sorts and through this process Helena’s story is revealed piece by piece. To be honest when we reached this point and it was fairly early on in the book, I completely forgot about Francesca and what she was going through personally as I became so engrossed in Helena’s developing story. Yes, there are things that happen to Francesca which start to make her open her eyes and see where her life path should be going and she does become very good friends with Thiago as they share the reading of Helena’s diary in order to find clues as to where the famed manuscripts could be hidden.
Helena’s story had me completed engrossed right from the moment Francesca and Thiago turned to the very first page of the diary. Helena is writing to Hanna, as if she is still alive, and she reveals her experiences and how she came to be on the island. When Helena’s adopted mother died and the war came calling at her door she knew given her past experiences that she would need to seek refuge and sanctuary. Being a Hungarian Jew during World War Two meant she had a price upon her head. After escaping the massacre which killed her parents Helena is determined that she will survive the war. She gets work at the Santa Caterina convent and pretends to be a nun where she will help the small community with the heavy jobs. If the war wasn’t raging this would seem like an idyllic existence but Helena always has a sense of fear and unease shrouding her. She is filled with anguish that she may be discovered and the community of nuns will be disrupted and the worst befall them.
What really intrigued me was how Helena fell in love with the library at the convent and particularly the illuminated manuscripts written and designed many years ago by Ippolita, a nun who fought to express herself in a world that wanted to put her into a box a bit like I could envision Helena doing if given the chance. Helena really connected with her, as did Francesca, which highlights the power of women which is one of the main themes throughout the book. The education and knowledge that had been previously been denied to Helena was coming to the fore and I loved how she engaged with cataloguing the library. She seemed happy in her life there knowing that the war was near but that she remained safe although at times she does long for normality and to find some love.
Some sinister and almost ghostly things occur as they do too for Francesca in the present and normally I would scoff and roll my eyes to heaven at this but here it all worked perfectly and that’s what made the story so atmospheric, moody and dark at times. There was a fascinating story unfolding as to how the manuscripts came to be hidden and how Helena through pretending to be someone else must confront what she fears the most. The last quarter or so of the book became very tense and my heart was in my mouth as I read and there were plenty of twists and turns. I didn’t expect things to turn out the way they did for Helena as with the war and sides etc everything in my mind seemed pretty clear cut especially given her heritage but Daniela Sacerdoti made it work and it came across as real and genuine.
Despite at times as mentioned feeling the story needed a bit more depth, overall I really enjoyed The Bookseller’s Daughter. I am glad it wasn’t an all out World War Two book instead this was merely the backdrop for a different story unfolding. A hunt for manuscripts turns into much more and in a delightful and escapist manner which has you turning the pages rapidly. It’s another enjoyable story from Daniela Sacerdoti and I’m already looking forward to reading her next book.
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