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malinowy's review against another edition
4.0
This is a strong 4.5 stars. It's better than just 4 stars, but not quite perfect. I remember being interested in this book when I saw it coming out, but didn't think I'd end up liking it as much as I did.
The structure is... not a very conventional one, actually. No, it doesn't jump back and forth like so many books these days do. Instead it can pack years into two pages and then spend 10 pages for one afternoon. And usually I hate when authors do that because it feels like you end up missing something, but here it works. You don't miss on anything and the jumps are entirely justified. I'm also not a huge fan of following children grow up, especially when they are portrayed as children, but here the author manages to make it interesting. The kids have character and personalities that the characters around them shape and reflect and I think it's all actually wonderfully well written.
Yes, there is the inevitable romance plot line, and while it is a pretty common one in the end, it doesn't take up too much space. We don't spend page after page with a whiny boy pining after a girl, thank god. What is important here are the relationships between characters, how those shape them and affect their actions and I found it all very interesting. Characters with a very similar upbringing ending up doing entirely different things. The hows and whys are what makes this story.
This story starts with a war (and while I know one shouldn't find anything fun about it, I found the way the deaths of the Palmisano men were listed amusing for some reason) and ends with a war. The author does an excellent job with describing the horrors of WWII and how it affects civilians. The final part with the bombing of Bari is both awful and beautiful. So many details without the story being heavy with them, if that makes sense. This story also managed to shine a light on a part of the WWII that doesn't get discussed around here much. Sure, Mussolini and alliance with Nazis gets mentioned, but for someone who likes Italy as much as I do, I know shamefully little about that part of the country's history. So, if accurately depicting actual historical events is what works for you, this book nails that.
And really, now I just want to travel to Puglia and explore that part of Italy. That's a pretty sweet achievement from a book. A good story that's written well and gets all the details right, what's not to love.
The structure is... not a very conventional one, actually. No, it doesn't jump back and forth like so many books these days do. Instead it can pack years into two pages and then spend 10 pages for one afternoon. And usually I hate when authors do that because it feels like you end up missing something, but here it works. You don't miss on anything and the jumps are entirely justified. I'm also not a huge fan of following children grow up, especially when they are portrayed as children, but here the author manages to make it interesting. The kids have character and personalities that the characters around them shape and reflect and I think it's all actually wonderfully well written.
Yes, there is the inevitable romance plot line, and while it is a pretty common one in the end, it doesn't take up too much space. We don't spend page after page with a whiny boy pining after a girl, thank god. What is important here are the relationships between characters, how those shape them and affect their actions and I found it all very interesting. Characters with a very similar upbringing ending up doing entirely different things. The hows and whys are what makes this story.
This story starts with a war (and while I know one shouldn't find anything fun about it, I found the way the deaths of the Palmisano men were listed amusing for some reason) and ends with a war. The author does an excellent job with describing the horrors of WWII and how it affects civilians. The final part with the bombing of Bari is both awful and beautiful. So many details without the story being heavy with them, if that makes sense. This story also managed to shine a light on a part of the WWII that doesn't get discussed around here much. Sure, Mussolini and alliance with Nazis gets mentioned, but for someone who likes Italy as much as I do, I know shamefully little about that part of the country's history. So, if accurately depicting actual historical events is what works for you, this book nails that.
And really, now I just want to travel to Puglia and explore that part of Italy. That's a pretty sweet achievement from a book. A good story that's written well and gets all the details right, what's not to love.
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