A sweeping, swashbuckling epic set in the Kingdom of Sicily.
Riggio translates Natoli’s historic Sicilian romance into English for the first time.
Palermo, 1698: Sicily is a chess piece in the vast political game between the powers of France, Spain, and Savoy, and the cavaliere Don Raimondo Albamonte, younger brother of the Duke of Motta, wants desperately to be a player. When the duke is killed fighting for the king of Spain, Don Raimondo schemes to have his infant nephew kidnapped so that he can inherit his brother’s title—and all of the wealth and influence that comes with it. Flash-forward 15 years, when the young peasant Blasco da Castiglione arrives in Palermo. An orphan raised in a convent, the adventurous Blasco has come to the city looking for a priest he knew in his youth who might be able to shed light on his obscure origins. His path soon crosses that of the Beati Paoli, a much-feared secret society who “are everywhere, invisible, impossible to find, yet always present. When one least expects it, they are at our sides, at our backs, in church, along the street, perhaps even at home; and we are not aware of it…. No one can guard against them.” With its hooded members unafraid to take on the political and religious powers that be, the Beati—and Blasco—are poised to change the course of Sicilian history. The novel, which was originally published serially in 1909, is regarded as a classic in Italy and counted Umberto Eco among its fans. (Eco’s introduction to the 1971 Italian edition of the novel is included as an afterword.) This first of two volumes is an immersive wonder—Riggio’s translation maintains the richness of the earlier era, evoking the romances of Walter Scott and Alexander Dumas: “Blasco threw his cape over his shoulders and went out. Midnight had sounded…Blasco didn’t have anyone waiting for him; he had neither a carriage nor a litter nor a portantina, nor servants with torches or lanterns to light up his path.” Lovers of a certain vintage of adventure will be grateful for this newly translated classic.
A sweeping, swashbuckling epic set in the Kingdom of Sicily.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9781635769272
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Radius Book Group
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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