The Collaborator by Gerald Seymour

The Collaborator is the brutal but compelling story of the daughter of a Mafia-like family who becomes a collaborator with the police.  The story revolves around Immacolata, the daughter of a criminal family who realises that her family has been responsible for the death of a friend.  She has been living in London where she meets Eddie who ends up being an innocent victim in the efforts of the family to prevent Immacolata giving evidence against them.  Be warned though, it really is grim and brutal in places, realistic though that may be.

The book describes the very different worlds of London and Naples very well.  I thought Naples particularly vivid but that may only be because that's new to me and not the fairly familiar world of London.  But more than that, it provides a great insight into Naples, its history and the local Mafia.  And it's one I won't forget in a hurry - unlike many thrillers.


The Collaborator is available from Amazon.com and from Amazon UK

Quietly in Their Sleep by Donna Leon

Donna Leon is an author new to me.  I was looking for something light and easy to read and it was coincidental that the book was set in Italy, in Venice. It couldn't be more different from A Thousand Days in Venice, apart from the setting of course, but even that took on a different view.

I was dismayed at first to read so many negative reviews on Amazon (UK) but that turned out to be because it has been republished with a new title, the US title.  Previously it was called "The Death of Faith".  People were understandably annoyed that they had bought what they thought was a new book only to discover they had already read it.

I enjoyed the book.  It is one of a number of books in the series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. The characters of Brunetti himself, his colleagues, and of his family were appealing to me.  It is quite a relief to read about a policeman who isn't an alcoholic or has a failing marriage, or any other major problem in his life.

There are a couple of big issues brought into the plot, one of which, paedophile priests, may have been the reason for the re-issue now that it's even more consistently in the news.  The other issue concerns Opus Dei and the power of the Roman Catholic Church.  Both I feel to be rather too deep for this book and sit uncomfortably in an otherwise lighter book.  They aren't really examined or addressed to any extent and I felt that they didn't quite mesh together or with the rest of the plot.

You are constantly aware of the setting in Venice with a strong sense of the city and of Venetian society.

Quietly in Their Sleep is available from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes

A very enjoyable read, but it didn't flow very smoothly, nor was it a page turner.  I thought the descriptions of local people and life in the village very interesting and not too patronising or over-romanticised as so many are in this type of book.  In my view it was much better than Under the Tuscan Sun which had a very self-satisfied tone that I didn't like.

I would have liked more information about Annie and her sister - it was a bit of a mystery how they transformed from holiday workers on the rose farm into part-time residents, or did I miss something?  What did they do in England and how were they able to travel back and forth so often?  I imagine the reason was to maintain some privacy, but it bothered me somehow.

The structure seemed to me to be a little odd. At first I thought it was going to be a description of a single year, only to realise that it was progressing through the years as well as the seasons. At times that gave a confusing/disjointed impression and it made it hard to follow in places.

Nevertheless it was a very entertaining read and one I would recommend to anyone interested in Italy.

A Party in San Niccolo by Christobel Kent

This is the story of an English woman who goes to Florence to spend a week with friends in an effort to overcome depression. From the point of view of the setting, it is a wonderful book. The atmosphere and images of Florence are beautifully drawn and the characters of the ex-pat set are very believable. The storyline, something of a murder-mystery, is hardly fast-paced, but enjoyable.

A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi

Subtitled "An Unexpected Romance", this book does provide you with a highly romantic view of life and of Venice, but then Venice must be one of the most romantic cities in Europe, if not on earth.The story, a true story, is based on what I once would have dismissed as a ridiculously fanciful notion, that of love at first sight. I'm older and wiser now, and I would never now reject such an idea out of hand.  Nevertheless, some of it is hard to swallow.  Really, would you give up your life in St Louis to marry someone after barely a few weeks' acquaintance?

However we aren't here to discuss romantic notions, but Venice and whether we can find ourselves there through reading. We can. Marlena de Blasi has managed to pin down the essence of Venice, the delight and joy of merely being there. Some people may think it over-done: I don't believe they can ever have been to Venice.

You can find A Thousand Days in Venice at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

I read Moloka'i fairly soon after reading The Island by Victoria Hislop because of the similarity of setting - a leprosy island.

Moloka'i was a relatively easy read and it left me with the feeling that I knew more about both leprosy and Hawaii than I knew before, and that is exactly what i want from a book. It doesn’t pull any punches in describing the ravages of leprosy. It has made me aware of Hawaiian culture, something I knew nothing whatever about before this, and has left me wanting to know more.