Casa Rossa

Rating:
Summary: Italian Secrets
Review: A unique blend of page-turning drama with thoughful prose that makes the reader want to linger over the words. The varied plots about family secrets, political unrest, unfulfilled yearnings and an insider's view of Italy are skillfully woven into an enchanting tapestry. CASA ROSSA left this reader eager to visit Italy. Even before I finished this novel, I went out and bought the author's other novel.

Rating:
Summary: Italian Secrets
Review: A unique blend of page-turning drama with thoughful prose that makes the reader want to linger over the words. The varied plots about family secrets, political unrest, unfulfilled yearnings and an insider's view of Italy are skillfully woven into an enchanting tapestry. CASA ROSSA left this reader eager to visit Italy. Even before I finished this novel, I went out and bought the author's other novel.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling and insightful
Review: Francesca Marciano has the verbal equivalent of a master sculptor's chisel for creating believable characters. In "Casa Rossa" she not only tells a compelling tale about three generations of a southern Italian family, she gives many wonderful insights into daily life in Italy today and in the early 20th century. I particularly liked her spin on the tarantella. Although now merely a lively dance at Italian wedding receptions, Marciano reveals the folkloric purpose of the tarantella and the ritual that is connected with it with a clarity I had not before read. The novel has great atmospheric sense as well, whether the location is the deepest Italian south, Rome, northern Italy or New York. It's only drawback is its cinematic pace.

Rating:
Summary: gripping saga, powerful women, beautiful Puglia
Review: I loved Rules of the Wild, with its witty and incisive look at European expatriates in East Africa but I was totally unprepared for Casa Rossa. It is a very ambitious book. A gripping saga of a southern Italian family, it spans 3 generations, and would be a great book just for the ride, Paris in the '20, giddy Rome in the'50s (cinecitta, paparazzis), Italy under the dark influence of terrorism in the '70s, all anchored by the family old house in beautiful, hot Puglia. At the core of the story is the complex relationship between a mother and two daughters, their family secrets, the transformation of family history as it is passed down.These are strong, funny, at times terrifying women. What an exciting, wonderful book...

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Fiction
Review: I was not certain I would enjoy Casa Rossa after reading the first chapter, but was shortly thereafter swept away by the various stories within the novel. Marciano does a fantastic job at character development. More than likely, you will need to keep reading to find out what will happen to them. Each character also has a distinct personality that shows the depth of the novel. This is the type of novel that remains in your thoughts throughout the day until you can return to it again. If you are interested in Italian culture, this novel should also intrigue you.

Rating:
Summary: Escape to Italy
Review: Marciano is able to transport the reader into the lushness of her settings with all the sights, smells, sounds and history. Being in Kenya while reading "Rules of the Wild" was wonderful. Now Italy with the added complexity of family and romance and food. I look forward to Francesca's next book and setting perfect for escape.

Rating:
Summary: Escape to Italy
Review: Marciano is able to transport the reader into the lushness of her settings with all the sights, smells, sounds and history. Being in Kenya while reading "Rules of the Wild" was wonderful. Now Italy with the added complexity of family and romance and food. I look forward to Francesca's next book and setting perfect for escape.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully evoked flavors of Italy in the 1970s-80s.
Review: Marciano's book is absorbing and works beautifully on two levels: a story of multiple generations of women in which one comes to care about the characters, and an evocation of Italy during two decades of turmoil, including terrorism. I learned a lot about Italy reading this book, because interwoven among the fictional threads of the plot are glimpses of Italy's social realities: the division between North and South, for example. About one-third of the way through, this book just "took off" and I couldn't stop reading; it surpasses 'Rules of the Wild' which I also enjoyed, having lived in Kenya for a while.