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smolbean_reads's review
4.0
** Note: This book is to be enjoyed more like a piece of art than a historical fiction, because if you're coming at it from that angle, it probably isn't going to work for you.**
3.75 stars
This novella is a love letter to human relationships, to noticing the varying smiles on a friends face, to finding warmth around a table of shared food when it is snowing outside. To the white sun and shimmering mountains. To stillness. The prose feels like a still life painting come to life. The kind of painting that doesn't ask anything of you, doesn't want you to find a deeper meaning, just lets you enjoy being there with it.
I'd never heard of author Lalla Romano before. She is an Italian poet, artist and journalist (born in 1906 and lived to the ripe old age of 95), whose works have barely been translated into English until now. In this story/memoir (she likes to be sure you know she has taken creative license) written in the 90's, she writes about sheltering from the action of WWII in a little Italian town with a married couple whom become her dear friends.
It is quiet, subtle, melancholy at times, and beautiful. You can tell has been written by an artist. I recommend it to readers who like gentle stories and memoirs that focus on atmosphere and the delicate nuances of people and relationships. I personally really enjoyed it. It felt easy to read, refreshing, intimate, whilst ever so peaceful.
3.75 stars
This novella is a love letter to human relationships, to noticing the varying smiles on a friends face, to finding warmth around a table of shared food when it is snowing outside. To the white sun and shimmering mountains. To stillness. The prose feels like a still life painting come to life. The kind of painting that doesn't ask anything of you, doesn't want you to find a deeper meaning, just lets you enjoy being there with it.
I'd never heard of author Lalla Romano before. She is an Italian poet, artist and journalist (born in 1906 and lived to the ripe old age of 95), whose works have barely been translated into English until now. In this story/memoir (she likes to be sure you know she has taken creative license) written in the 90's, she writes about sheltering from the action of WWII in a little Italian town with a married couple whom become her dear friends.
It is quiet, subtle, melancholy at times, and beautiful. You can tell has been written by an artist. I recommend it to readers who like gentle stories and memoirs that focus on atmosphere and the delicate nuances of people and relationships. I personally really enjoyed it. It felt easy to read, refreshing, intimate, whilst ever so peaceful.
hannahb123's review
5.0
this was SUCH a beautiful read (fuck it, i just changed my rating from four to five). the prose in this novel was fucking gorgeous and full and bursting with flavour. it's not really about much except the intimacy of sharing silences and the rawness of what they mean. it's set during ww2 in Italy and has only just recently been translated from Italian this YEAR. it makes me sad and wistful about how many amazing books im missing out on because im not fucking multilingual.
this is basically a snapshot between two couples and i can't even really say that much about it, because its only so recently been translated to english i can't find a lot of conversation about it. lalla romano, the author seemed like a boss ass lady. she started as a painter and gradually wrote more poems and prose. and i think that's why i find her writing so striking (and she even talks about this in her foreword) she just sees the world through such a disjointed, scintillating lens. the way (and i really love this in authors) but the way she describes moments within moments is wonderful and beautiful. miss romano is a big fan of her hyphens and i am HERE for it. so much of this book was lovely, and bright but also so so sad because war sucks but lalla romano is the queen of anti fascism. if u see this on a shelf anywhere, i would 10/10 rec if u love nice prose.
anyway time for me to drop some of my favourite bits hehe.
"ada was lying down on the bed. i was looking at her, contemplating her beauty, which seemed almost incorporeal, almost “risen from the sea” - to the point that, maybe, with a simple touch, she would come undone"
"her nature had been constrained - certainly not snuffed out, but a bit stifled - in a world that was too serious for her."
"the harshest thing they said was that all faults are reciprocal and, between people who love each other, involuntary."
:')
that's it, that's everything i have to say.
this is basically a snapshot between two couples and i can't even really say that much about it, because its only so recently been translated to english i can't find a lot of conversation about it. lalla romano, the author seemed like a boss ass lady. she started as a painter and gradually wrote more poems and prose. and i think that's why i find her writing so striking (and she even talks about this in her foreword) she just sees the world through such a disjointed, scintillating lens. the way (and i really love this in authors) but the way she describes moments within moments is wonderful and beautiful. miss romano is a big fan of her hyphens and i am HERE for it. so much of this book was lovely, and bright but also so so sad because war sucks but lalla romano is the queen of anti fascism. if u see this on a shelf anywhere, i would 10/10 rec if u love nice prose.
anyway time for me to drop some of my favourite bits hehe.
"ada was lying down on the bed. i was looking at her, contemplating her beauty, which seemed almost incorporeal, almost “risen from the sea” - to the point that, maybe, with a simple touch, she would come undone"
"her nature had been constrained - certainly not snuffed out, but a bit stifled - in a world that was too serious for her."
"the harshest thing they said was that all faults are reciprocal and, between people who love each other, involuntary."
:')
that's it, that's everything i have to say.
hannahb7's review
5.0
this was SUCH a beautiful read (fuck it, i just changed my rating from four to five). the prose in this novel was fucking gorgeous and full and bursting with flavour. it's not really about much except the intimacy of sharing silences and the rawness of what they mean. it's set during ww2 in Italy and has only just recently been translated from Italian this YEAR. it makes me sad and wistful about how many amazing books im missing out on because im not fucking multilingual.
this is basically a snapshot between two couples and i can't even really say that much about it, because its only so recently been translated to english i can't find a lot of conversation about it. lalla romano, the author seemed like a boss ass lady. she started as a painter and gradually wrote more poems and prose. and i think that's why i find her writing so striking (and she even talks about this in her foreword) she just sees the world through such a disjointed, scintillating lens. the way (and i really love this in authors) but the way she describes moments within moments is wonderful and beautiful. miss romano is a big fan of her hyphens and i am HERE for it. so much of this book was lovely, and bright but also so so sad because war sucks but lalla romano is the queen of anti fascism. if u see this on a shelf anywhere, i would 10/10 rec if u love nice prose.
anyway time for me to drop some of my favourite bits hehe.
"ada was lying down on the bed. i was looking at her, contemplating her beauty, which seemed almost incorporeal, almost “risen from the sea” - to the point that, maybe, with a simple touch, she would come undone"
"her nature had been constrained - certainly not snuffed out, but a bit stifled - in a world that was too serious for her."
"the harshest thing they said was that all faults are reciprocal and, between people who love each other, involuntary."
:')
that's it, that's everything i have to say.
this is basically a snapshot between two couples and i can't even really say that much about it, because its only so recently been translated to english i can't find a lot of conversation about it. lalla romano, the author seemed like a boss ass lady. she started as a painter and gradually wrote more poems and prose. and i think that's why i find her writing so striking (and she even talks about this in her foreword) she just sees the world through such a disjointed, scintillating lens. the way (and i really love this in authors) but the way she describes moments within moments is wonderful and beautiful. miss romano is a big fan of her hyphens and i am HERE for it. so much of this book was lovely, and bright but also so so sad because war sucks but lalla romano is the queen of anti fascism. if u see this on a shelf anywhere, i would 10/10 rec if u love nice prose.
anyway time for me to drop some of my favourite bits hehe.
"ada was lying down on the bed. i was looking at her, contemplating her beauty, which seemed almost incorporeal, almost “risen from the sea” - to the point that, maybe, with a simple touch, she would come undone"
"her nature had been constrained - certainly not snuffed out, but a bit stifled - in a world that was too serious for her."
"the harshest thing they said was that all faults are reciprocal and, between people who love each other, involuntary."
:')
that's it, that's everything i have to say.
hardcoverhearts's review
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
nini23's review against another edition
DNF 40%. I got tired of Paolo's tyrannical behaviour over the two women but it’s a well-written war piece about the relationships between people forced to spend time in close proximity.
lexiemeggen's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
tomx98's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I'd first like to say thank you to NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this novel. Although it wasn't one of my favorite books, it held my interest to keep reading. And it wasn't the fact of the characters, but the setting; the time period it took place in. The trauma the characters had to watch as their country was in the middle of WWII. But mostly the struggles that we read about throughout the novel with the main character and his issues that I assume were caused by the war. I might be mistaken, but I believe I'm right. All in all, this novel I would recommend to people who love historical fiction, along with war novels. It might not talk much about the war itself; the effects are prominent throughout.
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