Hi! Going to Italy next month and I am looking for a book I can read on the plane to get me in the spirit!
I’ve already read:
The Good Left Under
One Italian Summer
Murder in Chianti
I typically like historical fiction or murder/mystery/family secrets. I’m not a huge romance reader unless it’s a sub plot.
Thank you in advance!
by anonymousflowercake
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Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride
Summary: In Miracle at St. Anna, toward the end of World War II, four Buffalo Soldiers from the Army’s Negro 92nd Division find themselves separated from their unit and behind enemy lines. Risking their lives for a country in which they are treated with less respect than the enemy they are fighting, they discover humanity in the small Tuscan village of St. Anna di Stazzema—in the peasants who shelter them, in the unspoken affection of an orphaned child, in a newfound faith in fellow man. And even in the face of unspeakable tragedy, they—and we—learn to see the small miracles of life.
Room With A View
G. T. di Lampedusa, The leopard
The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone
This is a painstakingly researched, historical-fiction account of the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the artist. It is very compelling and shows a deep view of Italian renaissance life: especially Florence.
Contemporary: Inspector Brunetti series by Donna Leon; Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri. I’ve read several from each.(Both have been made into TV series. Montalbano’s seaside Sicilian apartment must be seen! The Brunetti series is a German production, so the language seems odd in the gorgeous Venetian locations but you’ll soon adjust).
The Sicilian by Mario Puzo. Or Eternal by Lisa Scottoline. The second is about a love triangle during the Holocaust……so I don’t know it’s for you….Bonvoyage
*Suburra* – Giancarlo De Cataldo and Carlo Bonini
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins – has some historical fiction and murder and mystery and a nice twist, read it on a break and enjoyed it
If you like history, and a bit more challenging reads, have a look at Umberto Eco. Baudolino is a rather interesting take on Italian history and character.
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Not necessarily a story but a collection of described settings that are told by the narrator to a king who wishes to hear stories about beautiful cities. The narrator later states that every setting he is describe is a location in his hometown, Venice!