Early
1950s, Hal Jacobs has fled England to find his future as a writer in Rome. When
a friend cannot make it to a party of a highly-regarded Contessa, Hal takes the
invitation and goes there instead. At the door, he is rejected, but the host
finds him interesting and ask him to enter. The same evening, he meets a woman
whom he will never forget, but she is gone as suddenly as she appeared. Only
two years later, when Hal has accepted a job with the Contessa, he will meet
her again. To promote a film project, the actors as well as other staff will
sail the French-Italian coast and stop over from time to time. Hal is asked to
accompany them and to write about the trip. When he meets Stella, he is struck,
but the presence of her husband makes it difficult for him to approach her.
Yet, their former meeting is not the only secret on board.
Lucy Foley
sends us back into the post-war era of Italy. The gap between the rich and the
poor is visible everywhere, as are the scars from the war-time. Everybody has made
their traumatising experiences and wants to bury them. However, some things are
not as easy to forget as others. It is this specific ghost that the author
awakes in the characters and manages to portray in a convincing way. The
atmosphere of this time and place can well be felt throughout the novel. The
setting is one of the strongest points for me. The characters are also
interestingly drawn, especially Stella with her slowly unfolding past can lead
through the novel. But also the male characters, especially when Stella's husband
realises Hal's interest in his wife become more and more interesting.
All in all,
a journey back into the past which profits from the author's capacity of
creating a stunning setting for an unusual love story.
