Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by teresatumminello
The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard
4.0
3 and 1/2 stars
I wanted to say that this is a book that could only have been written by an author at the height of her powers, but I know Hazzard went on to write two even more beautifully written, complex novels after this one.
"The Bay of Noon" is about much more than what it seems to be about. It is about more than Naples, or even Italy, though a very strong sense of both comes through (including, through the pasts of two of the characters, what the city and the country suffered during WWII) because it is a story of place, any place -- about the need for a place. It is about more than a young Englishwoman and her intense friendship with an Italian couple and with a Scottish co-worker, because it is a microcosm of a life lived, though we only see in detail the 'noon' of this life.
Despite themes that I love (including the one of memory), I am not quite as enthusiastic about this book as my friends here are. I'm not sure why that is, except to say that I didn't feel completely engaged until near the book's end. And I did love the ending.
I plan on reading all Hazzard has written and the Italian setting here has got me wanting to read her memoir of Graham Greene on the island of Capri next.
I wanted to say that this is a book that could only have been written by an author at the height of her powers, but I know Hazzard went on to write two even more beautifully written, complex novels after this one.
"The Bay of Noon" is about much more than what it seems to be about. It is about more than Naples, or even Italy, though a very strong sense of both comes through (including, through the pasts of two of the characters, what the city and the country suffered during WWII) because it is a story of place, any place -- about the need for a place. It is about more than a young Englishwoman and her intense friendship with an Italian couple and with a Scottish co-worker, because it is a microcosm of a life lived, though we only see in detail the 'noon' of this life.
Despite themes that I love (including the one of memory), I am not quite as enthusiastic about this book as my friends here are. I'm not sure why that is, except to say that I didn't feel completely engaged until near the book's end. And I did love the ending.
I plan on reading all Hazzard has written and the Italian setting here has got me wanting to read her memoir of Graham Greene on the island of Capri next.