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annegoodreads's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Vietri Project by Nicola DeRobertis-Theye is the story of Gabriele’s search for a new lease on life. At the age of 25 she’s worried about the onset of schizophrenia due to the disease debilitating her mother at the same age. She travels aimlessly trying to outrun the disease. After the demoralising travel she seeks to find herself. In order to claim her own identity she sets on a quest to uncover the identity of a citizen in Rome named Vietri. There’s another reason she unconsciously winds up in Rome,it is the homeland of her mother before schizophrenia stole her life. She avoids her mother’s family while there by concentrating on the quest to learn Vietri’s story. The quest helps her learn the history of many things. I loved the ode to Mary Shelley who was also on the move like Gabriele. She learns from Mary Shelley’s fear that slowing down would bring about death—“at what point movement for movement’s sake was no longer worth the sacrifice” p. 89. The storytelling writing style lends itself to the reader fully understanding what it’s like to possibly have a debilitating disease in your future. The understanding reminded me of the quote from To Kill A Mockingbird, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” I feel as though I crawled around insideGabriele’s beautifully flawed mind. A journey may not allow us to avoid the unfortunate parts of our future but it may give us the strength we need to continue the quest to live.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
readwithstef's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bmcg's review
5.0
I loved this! For whatever reason it just caught me and I read it in a day. The narrator’s personal struggles were well thought out, and they connected to the history she discovered in interesting ways without it being too on the nose. She seemed like a real person.
I listened to the audiobook and I think I probably liked that format more, because I didn’t get bogged down in some of the longer passages of her internal monologue- they just flowed by like thoughts.
I listened to the audiobook and I think I probably liked that format more, because I didn’t get bogged down in some of the longer passages of her internal monologue- they just flowed by like thoughts.
jhbandcats's review against another edition
3.0
This book was nothing at all like what I expected. From the description it sounded like an intriguing mystery about a Californian book seller and an Italian book lover. Instead, it was about the book seller as she travels in search of the book lover, uncovering a variety of stories, none of which seem particularly relevant. She’s clearly on a journey of discovery with herself as the elusive subject. But she wasn’t a particularly nice person, and I didn’t want to be on this journey with her.
The writing was excellent - beautiful descriptions and wise assessments. It was the story I found lacking. Maybe I’d have enjoyed it better had I not had certain expectations. That said, I feel the description of the book is what created those expectations.
The only part that really captured my interest was about the painter exiled to southern Italy in the 1930s. What was up with the trial? Why did she think there was any connection with war atrocities in Ethiopia? How did the Arabic book fit in? And why such a frustrating, disappointing ending?
The writing was excellent - beautiful descriptions and wise assessments. It was the story I found lacking. Maybe I’d have enjoyed it better had I not had certain expectations. That said, I feel the description of the book is what created those expectations.
The only part that really captured my interest was about the painter exiled to southern Italy in the 1930s. What was up with the trial? Why did she think there was any connection with war atrocities in Ethiopia? How did the Arabic book fit in? And why such a frustrating, disappointing ending?
pandora8655's review
2.0
I received a copy of this book from goodreads in return for a honest review. The idea of the story sounded so interesting. A girl going to Rome to look for this man who was always buying multiple unusual books from the bookstore where she worked in California. Turns out it wasn't interesting at all. So many stories that really had nothing to do with anything were thrown in. The author's writing style was so drawn out. Endless sentences filled with commas. I found myself just skimming through towards the end just to get to the resolution which never appeared. Would not recommend to my friends.
stephaniejaykay's review
2.0
I gave this book sixty pages, and I’m done. It’s about a Berkeley bookseller who becomes really interested in a client who orders books all the time. Without having any real connection to him, she flies to Rome, where he seems to live (this is also where her mother is from). Reviews suggest that there’s a real turn at the end, but I can’t wait for it. One star is for Berkeley.
christineandbooks's review
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes