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Melodía En La Toscana (2010)

by Belinda Alexandra(Favorite Author)

4.05 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Ediciones Martínez Roca

review 1: Wow. I'm completely exhausted after finally finishing this book. I feel as though I've just run a marathon. My jaw dropped at least 10 times while reading this novel. Definitely worthwhile, if for no other reason than the look into Italy during WWII. The characters were somewhat flat and simple and I felt like the author's language was not nearly complex enough to match such a complex theme. Things like "Rosa had a bad feeling about this man" or continually saying things like "Will the war ever be over?" made me eye-roll several times. Beyond that, however, the relationships were so unelaborated that I didn't feel any particular pull, especially for Luciano. He's supposed to be the love of Rosa's life but so little is said about why; there are so few details to make the re... moreader fall in love with him too. The beginning of the book was incredible and I got hooked immediately, loved the way Rosa could sense origins; the middle seemed to drag on forever (literally, years) and then the ending was good and fast-paced again but I felt it ended way too abruptly. After reading over these decades about how anything can happen and nothing is safe, how are we supposed to have any satisfaction at the end? Rosa still hasn't been reunited with her children. I know it points that way, but as a mother myself, I needed to see the actual reunion take place to make sure those kids (especially Sibilla who was my favorite character) got their mama back. And the Marchesa swore that Mussolini would avenge her... which wouldn't be too far-fetched considering all that's happened- so I guess I just wanted a more concise ending for Rosa and Antonio) by the way, I'm happy they at least found each other.)All that being said- the twist at the end about the Marchesa's true identity was WILD. Of the many possibilities, that was absolutely never one I had expected. There's something so incredibly creepy about someone posing as someone else for that long and no one realizing it. I was frankly terrified of her after finishing the book. How deliciously spooky. The only other complaint I have about the book is how little the author expanded on the witches at Villa Scarfiotti. It kept popping up so I thought it would develop into a fuller storyline but it never did. Oh well. 4 stars, definitely a worthwhile read.
review 2: Hmmm where to start... Love the author, have read most of her other books, I have done the audiobooks, so want to disclose that, just in case, some readers of this review must know. This one left me a little "not fulfilled." I thought it was a bit out there with the main character ability to see animals and people by concentrating on objects, a bit supernatural for my taste. The story is well written, it shows a lot of research went into the time of events and World War II true horrors, yet it was so hard to read at times-just overwhelmingly bad things happen to the characters in this book. It is definitely a book I recommend but be aware it is long, maybe a bit too long, and it does depress you at times. One last thing I thought of, is that unless you are of German descent, you really cannot help hating the whole German population; in fact, I wonder if the atrocities committed against Jews, Italians during WWII, and the horrors against French people in the 1914 occupation, all by Germans in different times in history, means they are genetically predisposed to cruelty against human beings. I don't know. Growing up I had a great couple of German friends and they were the nicest kids. However, it appears to me that in many books I read over the years, and this one too, the Germans were brutal. Just my take. Read this book, it is very good. less

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