A Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante by Lily Tuck

     Have you ever started reading a biography of someone that not only you did you know nothing about but you had not even heard the subject's name before?
     I found myself in this reading situation recently and was pleasantly surprised about how captivating it can be to discover a life unfolding.  
     Woman of Rome by Lily Tuck explores the life of Italian Writer Elsa Morante and the history of her time as she was writing during WWII. Tuck is the author of the National Book Award winning novel, The News from Paraguay. Having thoroughly researched Morante's personal and professional life, Tuck offers the reader an intimate glimpse into the writer's thought process and emotional state during heightened moments. I was initially drawn to this book merely from the book jacket which features a glamorous yet mysterious portrait of Morante. Best known for her novels History (1974), Arturo's Island (1957), and House of Liars (1948), Morante was a well-known literary figure in Italy and Tuck's characterization intrigued me to want to read each of Morante's novels as well as Tuck's literary works.

"All my thoughts, like flags beating against the wind, turned back to the burning season behind me which had cut short my childhood and transformed my destiny. Even today, in a sense, I live in that childhood summer around which my spirit wheels and beats carelessly, like an insect around a dazzling lamp." (House of Liars)

    Morante was a woman struggling to establish her own identity. A tumultuous marriage to Italian Writer Alberto Moravia created a continual competition to be recognized solely for her own work. She surrounded herself with artists, poets, writers, and creative contemporaries. Her work was often a product of her dreams which she documented regularly in journals. Tuck's vast knowledge of Italian language, culture and customs is translated into a beautiful telling of the behind-the-scenes life of Morante the writer as well as Morante the woman.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca

Book Beginnings: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

 Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.

 "Hot, thought the Parisians. The warm air of spring. It was night, they were at war and there was an air raid. But dawn was near and the war far away."

Suite Francaise has been on my To Read list for many years and I am excited to finally be delving into it. From the introduction, the reader can sense the heaviness not only of the subject matter but also the mental, physical and spiritual weight that will be placed upon the characters as they are staged within a war. I am still in the early pages of this novel but the writing is breathtaking. The scene is set with such elegance that one forgets the bleakness of the situation. I am looking forward to getting lost in this story.

About the Book: Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Francaise tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy- in their town, their homes, even in their hearts.
     When Irene Nemirovsky began working on Suite Francaise, she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For sixty-four years, this novel remained hidden and unknown.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca 

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

"I'd like to add some beauty to life," said Anne dreamily. "I don't exactly want to make people know more...thought I know that is the noblest of ambition...but I'd love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me...to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn't been born." (page 54)

About the book (from wikipedia.com): The book's title is fitting, as Anne is no longer simply "of Green Gables" as she was in the previous book, but now takes her place among the "important" people (and the "grown up" people) of Avonlea society, as its only schoolteacher. She is also a founding member of the A.V.I.S. (the Avonlea Village Improvement Society), which tries to improve (with questionable results) the Avonlea landscape.

"After all, Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string." (page 161)

My Thoughts: Anne of Avonlea is the second book in the Anne of Green Gables series. My book club is currently reading the entire series, which has been a wonderful treat to revisit this classic young adult set. Anne of Avonlea details a more grown-up Anne. She is teaching at the local school and enjoying her time back at Green Gables with Marilla, after Matthew's passing.
     There are many new characters introduced in this story, including Davy and Dora, twins which find their way into Marilla and Anne's care and also their hearts. Throughout Avonlea, mischief continues to inadvertently find Anne, but most endearing is that she maintains her optimism and gratitude for the small things in life that one can easily overlook in the hustle and bustle of daily routine- the beauty of nature and the blessing of a simple day spent with family and friends.
     Love is the major theme of Avonlea with several of the characters rekindling past relationships and Anne contemplating her true feelings for Gilbert Blythe. In a world where everything changes and evolves so rapidly, reading Anne of Avonlea was a chance to enjoy the slowness of Victorian times, leaving the reader to sigh deeply when reaching the final page.

**  To read my review of Anne of Green Gables, click here.

About the Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success. The central character, Anne, an orphaned girl, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following. The first novel was followed by a series of sequels with Anne as the central character. Montgomery went on to publish 20 novels as well as 500 short stories and poems. Many of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island, Canada and places in the Canadian province became literary landmarks. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935. Montgomery's work, diaries and letters have been read and studied by scholars and readers worldwide.

 Book Club Idea: In Chapter 13 of Anne of Avonlea, Anne and her best girlfriends plan a picnic and spend the day exploring nature and sharing dreams. Take your book club meeting to the park for a picnic or stage a picnic in your back yard, complete with a Victorian themed menu of scones with jam and tea. Enjoy!

Happy Reading,

Rebecca

Book Beginnings: Anne of Avonlea

 Today I am linking up to Book Beginnings hosted by Rose City Reader where readers share the first sentence of the current book they are reading.

"A tall, slim girl, "half-past sixteen," with serious gray eyes and hair which her friends called auburn, had sat down on the broad red sandstone doorstep of a Prince Edward Island farmhouse one ripe afternoon in August, firmly resolved to construe so many lines of Virgil."

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (1909, Bantom Books) is the second book in the Anne of Green Gables series. From the introduction of Avonlea, the reader is informed that Anne is now sixteen, setting the stage for a coming-of-age story. Anne is an endearing character that has captured the attention of readers for over a century. My book group is currently reading the entire series together and I am excited that this novel begins in August, helping to instantly connect me to the storyline.

L.M. Montgomery

About the book (from wikipedia.com): The book's title is fitting, as Anne is no longer simply "of Green Gables" as she was in the previous book, but now takes her place among the "important" people (and the "grown up" people) of Avonlea society, as its only schoolteacher. She is also a founding member of the A.V.I.S. (the Avonlea Village Improvement Society), which tries to improve (with questionable results) the Avonlea landscape.

About the Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success. The central character, Anne, an orphaned girl, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following. The first novel was followed by a series of sequels with Anne as the central character. Montgomery went on to publish 20 novels as well as 500 short stories and poems. Many of the novels were set on Prince Edward Island, Canada and places in the Canadian province became literary landmarks. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935. Montgomery's work, diaries and letters have been read and studied by scholars and readers worldwide.

Happy Reading!
Rebecca