Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Writer Lily Christie is at rock bottom when she’s tasked with the job of a lifetime writing the memoir of Sofia Castello – once world-famous in the war years for singing across Europe, until her tragic death in 1941. So Lily is shocked to hear Sofia is actually in her eighties, living in secret, in a blue-tiled cottage on the Portuguese coast.
Lily listens in fascination as the feisty woman spins an unbelievable tale of fear-filled days spent caring for a young orphaned German girl, and nights performing to crowds of Gestapo agents: until she risked it all, using her fame to help the Allies. Then a tragic betrayal changed the course of her life forever…
But as Lily starts to open up to Sofia about her own private heartache, she realises that Sofia is not being entirely honest with her. And when Sofia refuses to say why she really hired Lily, her fears start to grow. Sofia’s remote beach home, accessed only by a bumpy dirt track, is miles away from anyone. She is clearly still hiding from someone, but who? And could Lily now be in danger too?
What is the final secret haunting Sofia? And can Lily uncover the devastating truth, before her time with Sofia runs out?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Lost Story of Sofia Castello to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Lost Story of Sofia Castello is the latest book from Siobhan Curham and right from the opening page until the bitter end it is full of mystery, intrigue and many twists and turns which all make for a brilliant read. It’s a book where I felt I didn’t need any settling in time or to become overly familiar with characters as the action started straight away and getting to know people and situations would come naturally over the course of the book. There is the perfect blend of imagination with some historical fact throughout and having it set in Portugal during World War Two was a real, refreshing change from the usual historical fiction books that I read. I’d never given much previous thought to Portugal during the war as it hasn’t featured much if at all on my reading radar. Despite its neutrality, I was amazed to discover it was a hotbed for spies and the Gestapo and this forms the basis for the incredible story that unfolds which initially has the reader asking why is the story of Sofia Castello lost and who was she in the first place?
The brief prologue sets the scene for what is to come and the reader instantly wants to know what led to Sofia Castello ceasing to exist? The singer from Portugal was earning great fame and acclaim during the war when her life was torn apart which only served to boost her legacy and earn her mythical status. This status still exists in 2001 when we meet ghost writer Lily. Lily, is a woman very much at a crossroads. She has spent the last while as she says herself ‘marinating in a soup of apathy and indecision for almost a year. I need to do something to haul myself out of it’. This stance that has been forced upon her has been the result of her long term partner leaving her for another woman a week after she discovered that she can’t have children. A double whammy in such a short space of time left her shattered and drifting along through life and the thought of work and writing feels her with dread as she lacks energy and enthusiasm for anything. I felt desperately sorry for Lily at the start of the book. All she felt was hopeless and lethargic and it is very difficult to pick ones self-up after suffering such a knockback.
It’s Sofia’s literary agent, Jane, who is the catalyst that stokes the fire of change within her. A new opportunity has presented itself to ghost write the biography of Sofia Castello. Surely this could be the most amazing thing that Lily has ever done, and it means her career potentially could be right back on track. But isn’t Sofia long dead in a plane crash during the war? I adored the analogy that Jane used of the butterfly and its chrysalis to urge Lily on to take on the task of working with Sofia. It was so profound, sensible and impactful and I loved how Lily took the advice to heart and for the first time in what feels like forever she is excited and intrigued and wants to work with Sofia as finally after all the years of secrecy and the world believing she was long dead she is ready to share her story and what an unbelievable story it is. One full of honesty, intensity and rawness as Sofia exorcises the demons which have long plagued her.
I found once Lily reached Portugal as much as I enjoyed reading about her meeting Sofia and then beginning the process of hearing and then writing Sofia’s story it was the chapters set during Sofia’s time in Lisbon that really captured my attention. Returning after every few chapters to the present day was good to answer specific questions that had arisen and to bind the links between the past and the present and I could also see how Lily was changing the more she heard. But truly learning the complete story of Sofia Castello was riveting and it’s what made the book a real page turner. As Sofia starts sharing her extensive tale soon the reader is transported to the deep heart of the story. Having spent her teenage years caring for her ailing mother in a small village in the Portuguese countryside Sofia is now all alone following her mother’s death. Her spirit of adventure drives her to Lisbon where she sells fish and sings songs whilst doing so. I loved the history of fado-Portugese folk music - and how it becomes central to the person Sofia goes on to be and it is this which catches the attention of a record producer and within a short space of time she is catapulted into the spotlight and catches a piece of the nations heart not to mention her fame spreads to Britain also.
This may seem that this is just the usual rags to riches story but it soon takes on a much more dramatic turn as refugees start to flood the city as they are forced from their home countries due to the polices being enforced by Hitler. Sofia, starts to help those in need and meets someone who will go on to play a very special role in her life. I did think why was attention given to this and to other aspects of Sofia’s life in Lisbon which to me would only have warranted a few pages at most. But it’s only as I neared the climax of the book that I realised and deeply appreciated that Siobhan Curham had so expertly plotted and devised the entire story that she knew exactly what needed to be there. That every scene, character and plot devise were all necessary in building a fascinating and riveting story that got me excited about the WW2 historical fiction genre all over again.
Sofia, is a powerhouse of a young woman who came from more or less nothing and with her voice and talent made something of herself. As Lily hears her story of experiencing some of the Blitz in Britain and also meeting someone who will make a deep and lasting impact on her life in more ways than one, Lily too starts to come back to life. She is wary around Sofia at times as she doesn’t want to press too much too fast but Lily is like the reader in that you want the answers as quickly as possible. But the readers patience is richly rewarded and you learn that Sofia was an amazing woman who made the ultimate sacrifice and now that she is finally revealing her truth she wants retribution, compensation and for somebody to get their comeuppance and how she has gone about this is just sublime and truly demonstrates what an impressive, important and exceptional woman she really is.
As Sofia tells her story the revelations come thick and fast and to be honest I was similar to Lily in that I was smug in thinking that I had everything worked out. If things had gone in the direction in which I was suspecting they were I would have been disappointed to be honest as it just seemed too easy and a bit of a cop out. Instead Siobhan wove a fantastic tale that had me gasping out loud and kicking myself that I hadn’t guessed at what was going on. But at the same time, it brought a smile to my face and that sense of ah now I get it, at everything coming full circle and I thoroughly enjoyed having the wool pulled over my eyes. That moment of shock and full reveal was excellent and it’s not often in books these days that readers don’t guess at what exactly was going on right before their very eyes.
The Lost Story of Sofia Castello was Siobhan Curham at her very best and it was evident from the way the book was written and plotted that she enjoyed every moment of the writing process. This was perfectly paced with just the right amount of secrets, suspicion, complications, conspiracy and romance. Well done Siobhan Curham, more like this please.
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