Overview
Award-winning novelist Mary Morris weaves together an unsolved family mystery, a poignant coming-of-age story, and a little-known corner of World War II history in this lyrical novel of family, loss and, ultimately, love.
Thirty years ago, Laura’s mother, Viola, went missing. She left behind her purse, her keys and her mysterious paintings of a red house. Viola was never found, and her family never recovered. Laura, an artist herself, held on to the paintings. On the back of each work, her mother scrawled in Italian, “I will not be here forever.” The family never understood what Viola meant.
Decades later, at a crossroads in her marriage and her life, Laura returns to Italy, where her parents met after World War II. Laura spent the earliest years of her childhood there before the family moved to New Jersey and settled into an American dream that eventually became a nightmare. Viola, who claimed to be an orphan, staunchly refused to speak of her life before marriage.
In Italy, Laura finds herself on a strange scavenger hunt to solve the puzzle of her mother’s lost years. She is certain that the paintings of the red house hold the answer to her mother’s past and her search takes her from her hometown of Brindisi, deep into Puglia where she encounters a man who knew her mother and who illuminates little-known secrets of Italy’s Second World War.
Blending elements of true crime with settings that evoke Elena Ferrante, Laura follows her mother’s trajectory as she ventures north to Naples, Turin and finally home. Along the way, she confronts the dark truth of her mother’s story and at last makes sense of her own.
Review
Laura’s mother, Viola, disappeared 30 years ago. Now Laura has decided to go Italy and see if she can unravel some of her mother’s past.
Laura is a character that I wanted to help. She is just a bit lost and is at loose ends. Her marriage is on the brink and this has led her to make a few decisions. And these decisions lead her on a quest for the truth. She soon discovered more than she ever bargained for.
This is told in 2 different timelines, Laura’s and her mother’s. I enjoyed both. These are woven together nicely to create a tale of secrets and hidden truths.
I have never read this author. I found her writing style to be very blunt. This is just an observation. I enjoyed it more than I expected. The narrator, Alyssa Bresnahan, did a very good job with this style of writing.
Need a family mystery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
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