Casa Rossa

Loved the details about the different locations in Italy. This book kept me entertained and often I would look up events in Italian history to supplement my reading.

Francesca Marciano's 'Casa Rossa' tells the story of three generations of the same family and focuses on Alina Strada, who is packing up the contents of 'Casa Rossa', a rambling old farmhouse in Puglia, which has belonged to her family since the 1920s when it was bought and restored by Alina's painter grandfather, Lorenzo, and which is now being sold along with the olive groves surrounding it. As Alina sifts through the family possessions, she also sifts through her memories and, in this way, the reader learns of her family's difficult and tumultuous past. We read of Lorenzo marrying Renee, a beautiful, but wayward Tunisian, who abandons him and their daughter, Alba, when she falls in love with a German woman; we learn of Alba growing up with an embittered father who is only too ready to transfer his own guilt about informing on his anti-fascist acquaintances in the 1930s, by intimating that his estranged wife was in collaboration with the Nazis. After marrying successful screenwriter, Oliviero Strada, Alba becomes, in turn, a rather dysfunctional parent to her two daughters, Alina and Isabella, and when Oliviero dies under what his daughters feel are baffling circumstances, both girls feel their mother is in some way responsible. Despite having been almost inseparable as children, Isabella and Alina enter a difficult period in their teenage years and, later, Alina becomes involved in a damaging relationship with Tomas, a choreographer who introduces her to drugs, and Isabella rebels and becomes part of a left-wing terrorist group. Alina then escapes to America, where she works in an art gallery and meets and falls in love with a journalist, but just when she thinks a new life might be beginning for her, she learns that Isabella has been arrested for terrorism…Francesca Marciano's Italian landscape is vividly described, as are the courtroom scenes when Isabella is on trial for terrorist crimes. The author also carefully portrays how family secrets and repressed feelings have far reaching repercussions, not just for those involved at the time, but also for those who come afterwards and for those around them. Although there were parts to this novel that were not entirely convincing (I can't explain further without revealing spoilers) Francesca Marciano is a good storyteller, and the way she weaves together the more romantic parts of her story with its political aspects, was deftly accomplished. An interesting downtime read, as was the author's first novel ( 'Rules of the Wild' ), and I am now considering looking at more from Ms Marciano.4 Stars. 'Rules of the Wild'

Excellent order process.

A house is never just a building once families have passed through its doors. Casa Rossa provided the stability in this story, and at the same time contributed to some of the turmoil. If you've ever been in rural Italy, especially in the south, you'll recognize the casa and the community around it.Reading this book made me appreciate my own relatively uncomplicated family. Secrets and their effects across relationships and across generations is well told. The changing patterns of society were reflected and woven into the narrative to make this a bigger story than simply one family's tale. For those who aren't familiar with Italy's culture and the sometimes stark differences between north and south, or urban and rural, this novel provides a good introduction. We like to think that we are masters of our own destiny, but tradition, economic opportunities, political strife all pile on top of individual personalities and help shape individual choices.

I love the way this woman writes. SHe has an easy yet lyrical style. I don't really like reviews that give away the book, suffice to say:This story is set during Italy's "anni di piombo" the lead years of terrorism in the 70's. It follows the story of two sisters who go very different ways during these years.I found the writing a sheer pleasure to read and I thought the way she handled the story was like a master craftsman weaving layer upon layer of story to reveal, at the end, a tapestry which is beautiful, but bathed in teh sweat blood and tears of all the proitagonists. I have read her other two books and - to me- she writes as a friend might tell you a story, which I love. There is something quite raw and honest about her writingHighly recommended