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samflowerv6 's review for:
One Italian Summer
by Rebecca Serle
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was magical and grief stricken met with beautiful European imagery. I definitely would recommend this to anyone wanted to reflect amid beautiful imagery and a book that feels eternally sun soaked.
“History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning.”
“I hope you walk through the world knowing your value. I hope you find a passion--something you love, something that lights you up inside. I hope you find the peace and confidence it takes to trust where your path leads. Remember it is only yours. Others can wave and cheer, but no one can give you directions. They have not been where you are going. I hope you will understand someday that just because you become a mother doesn't mean you stop becoming a woman. And above all else, I hope you know that even if you can't see me, I am always with you.”
“What got you here won't get you there.”
“Every day the world is born again. Every day the sun rises. It is a miracle, I think. A simple, everyday miracle. Life.”
“And finally to you, this time around: one of life’s most important challenges is determining what to hold on to and what to let go of. Do not be fooled into believing that you do not know which is which. Follow the feeling, follow it all the way home.”
“My mother was the first person you called for a recipe (a cup of onions, garlic, don’t forget the pinch of sugar) and the last one you called at night when you just couldn’t sleep (a cup of hot water with lemon, lavender oil, magnesium pills). She knew the exact ratio of olive oil to garlic in any recipe, and she could whip up dinner from three pantry items, easy. She had all the answers. I, on the other hand, have none of them, and now I no longer have her.”
I knew this meant something to her. To go. To show me who she was before I came along. And I felt a fierce pull of love for her. To all the women she had been before me. All the women I never got to know.
The Beverly Hills hotel was trash but the Bell Air was treasure. Bedding should be all white. Florals belonged indoors and outdoors. Birkenstocks we’re hiking shoes not for the beach or for lunch. Your closet should be color coordinated and you could and should drink red wine all year round
And had more patience for trail and error that comes in transforming a space.
The sky is fading. That familiar haze of golden warm light bathing the city in a hue only Italy knows.
I exhale all the air I’ve been holding out of my lungs. It feels like relief. I breathe in the sweet and salty Italian sea air.
You know the story of god and the man on the roof?
A man is on his roof because there is a hurricane and his house is flooding. It’s very serious and the water level keeps rising. He’s calling out and calling out for God to help him. Please God do not let me drown. Please save me God. A man on a raft floats by and asks if the man needs help. “Let me help you, I have a raft and it’s big enough for two.” But the man on the roof says no thank you, he trusts God. “god is coming” he tells the man on the raft. And god alone will save me, I have faith. Then a woman on a boat comes paddling by. she asks the same thing. “Senoré, can I help you, come get in my boat and we will row together to safety?” But again the man on the roof says no. God is coming. I have faith. Last a helicopter is over head, the pilot calls down “I will throw down a rope, grab on and we will bring you to safety”. The Water is getting higher and higher. It is almost to the top of the house yet the man does not loose his faith. No he says. God is coming. Finally, the water reaches the man and he begins to drown. He calls out for God as the water floods his lungs. He dies and arrives at Gods door. And when he gets there he asks “God, why did you forsake me? I trusted you. you abandon me, your son”. And god looks at him and says “Son, I never abandoned you, I sent a raft, a boat, and a helicopter. It was you that turned your back on me.”
Then we’re speeding away to Capri. The wind kicks up and the air around us is salty and wet.
The deep blue water gives way to a turquoise that seems fake, almost clear.
The water hits cold on my hot skin. It’s nearly breathtaking. After a few seconds the initial shock fades to a luxurious fresh sensation. Crisp and smooth, almost like velvet.
My skin is full of salt water and sunscreen
There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know.
2 peppermint tea bags per in one cup
It’s possible actions only have the weight we give them. We can decide what something means.
I don't think bad action makes you a bad person. I think life is far more complicated than that and it’s reductive to think otherwise.
“History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning.”
“I hope you walk through the world knowing your value. I hope you find a passion--something you love, something that lights you up inside. I hope you find the peace and confidence it takes to trust where your path leads. Remember it is only yours. Others can wave and cheer, but no one can give you directions. They have not been where you are going. I hope you will understand someday that just because you become a mother doesn't mean you stop becoming a woman. And above all else, I hope you know that even if you can't see me, I am always with you.”
“What got you here won't get you there.”
“Every day the world is born again. Every day the sun rises. It is a miracle, I think. A simple, everyday miracle. Life.”
“And finally to you, this time around: one of life’s most important challenges is determining what to hold on to and what to let go of. Do not be fooled into believing that you do not know which is which. Follow the feeling, follow it all the way home.”
“My mother was the first person you called for a recipe (a cup of onions, garlic, don’t forget the pinch of sugar) and the last one you called at night when you just couldn’t sleep (a cup of hot water with lemon, lavender oil, magnesium pills). She knew the exact ratio of olive oil to garlic in any recipe, and she could whip up dinner from three pantry items, easy. She had all the answers. I, on the other hand, have none of them, and now I no longer have her.”
I knew this meant something to her. To go. To show me who she was before I came along. And I felt a fierce pull of love for her. To all the women she had been before me. All the women I never got to know.
The Beverly Hills hotel was trash but the Bell Air was treasure. Bedding should be all white. Florals belonged indoors and outdoors. Birkenstocks we’re hiking shoes not for the beach or for lunch. Your closet should be color coordinated and you could and should drink red wine all year round
And had more patience for trail and error that comes in transforming a space.
The sky is fading. That familiar haze of golden warm light bathing the city in a hue only Italy knows.
I exhale all the air I’ve been holding out of my lungs. It feels like relief. I breathe in the sweet and salty Italian sea air.
You know the story of god and the man on the roof?
A man is on his roof because there is a hurricane and his house is flooding. It’s very serious and the water level keeps rising. He’s calling out and calling out for God to help him. Please God do not let me drown. Please save me God. A man on a raft floats by and asks if the man needs help. “Let me help you, I have a raft and it’s big enough for two.” But the man on the roof says no thank you, he trusts God. “god is coming” he tells the man on the raft. And god alone will save me, I have faith. Then a woman on a boat comes paddling by. she asks the same thing. “Senoré, can I help you, come get in my boat and we will row together to safety?” But again the man on the roof says no. God is coming. I have faith. Last a helicopter is over head, the pilot calls down “I will throw down a rope, grab on and we will bring you to safety”. The Water is getting higher and higher. It is almost to the top of the house yet the man does not loose his faith. No he says. God is coming. Finally, the water reaches the man and he begins to drown. He calls out for God as the water floods his lungs. He dies and arrives at Gods door. And when he gets there he asks “God, why did you forsake me? I trusted you. you abandon me, your son”. And god looks at him and says “Son, I never abandoned you, I sent a raft, a boat, and a helicopter. It was you that turned your back on me.”
Then we’re speeding away to Capri. The wind kicks up and the air around us is salty and wet.
The deep blue water gives way to a turquoise that seems fake, almost clear.
The water hits cold on my hot skin. It’s nearly breathtaking. After a few seconds the initial shock fades to a luxurious fresh sensation. Crisp and smooth, almost like velvet.
My skin is full of salt water and sunscreen
There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know.
2 peppermint tea bags per in one cup
It’s possible actions only have the weight we give them. We can decide what something means.
I don't think bad action makes you a bad person. I think life is far more complicated than that and it’s reductive to think otherwise.