The Keeper of Lost Art - Historical Fiction Review

Goodreads:  The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli

Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  During World War II, a girl makes an unbreakable connection with a boy sheltering in her family’s Tuscan villa, where the treasures of the Uffizi Galleries are hidden. A moving coming-of-age story about the power of art in wartime, based on true events.

As Allied bombs rain down on Torino in the autumn of 1942, Stella Costa’s mother sends her to safety with distant relatives in a Tuscan villa. There, Stella finds her family tasked with a great responsibility: hiding nearly 300 priceless masterpieces from Florence, including Botticelli’s famous Primavera.

With the arrival of German troops imminent, Stella finds herself a stranger in her family’s villa and she struggles to understand why her aunt doesn’t like her. She knows it has something to do with her parents—and the fact that her father, who is currently fighting at the front, has been largely absent from her life.

When a wave of refugees seeks shelter in the villa, Stella befriends Sandro, an orphaned boy with remarkable artistic talent. Amid the growing threats, Sandro and Stella take refuge in the villa’s “treasure room,” where the paintings are hidden. There, Botticelli’s masterpiece and other works of art become a solace, an inspiration, and the glue that bonds Stella and Sandro as the dangers grow.

A troop of German soldiers requisitions the villa and puts everyone to forced labor. Now, with the villa full of German soldiers, refugees, a secret guest, and hundreds of priceless treasures, no one knows who will emerge unscathed, and whether the paintings will be taken as spoils or become unintended casualties.

Inspired by the incredible true story of a single Tuscan villa used as a hiding place for the treasures of Florentine art during World War II, The Keeper of Lost Art takes readers on a breathtaking journey into one of the darkest chapters of Italy’s history, highlighting the incredible courage of everyday people to protect some of the most important works of art in western civilization.

Genre:  Fiction - Historical

Why I Picked This Book:   I'm fascinated by how art was protected during World War II and the blurb caught my eye.  

My Impression:  I've read a few books set in Italy during World War II but none quite like this.   There is no pressure release valve of a dual timeline story here.  This is just the life of Stella, a preteen girl who has been sent to live with her aunt, uncle and cousins in the country while her mother stays in Torino to work in an ammunitions factory.  Stella is suddenly in a new place with new people and away from everyone and everything she has ever known.  There is no reliable news source or communication outside the village and news is passed from person to person in rumors and whispers.

This was a poignant story of survival as Stella and her family focus on feeding an ever-growing group of houseguests - some welcome and some not as well as an assortment of occupiers.  Stella really doesn't fully understand what is going on in the world around her she just knows she wants to survive it along with the people she cares about.  Through everything is her friendship with Sandro and their love of the art that is occupying a portion of the villa they are all living in.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and found it a bit different from other World War II Homefront stories.  I did have a bit of trouble keeping up with who was who as there are a lot of side characters but the feeling of the book made up for that.    

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  This is my first book by this author and it won't be the last.

Would I Recommend this Book?  I would - especially if you enjoy stories of endurance and survival.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James - Review

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

Rating: 1 Star

Description:  For her first job after the death of her business partner, Private Investigator Cordelia Gray, is hired to find out why wealthy Sir Ronald Callendar's son Mark committed suicide.  As the investigation progresses Cordelia becomes more emotionally invested in Mark and begins to wonder - what if it wasn't suicide at all?

Genre: Mystery

My Impression:  P.D. James is one of the great mystery authors - up there with Christie and Sayers - but try as I might I just don't like her books.  I gave this one a try because I thought a new detective might be more enjoyable and it was short so I wouldn't have to slog through 500 pages to decide I didn't like it.  Instead I ended up slogging through 250 pages spending most of that time somewhat perplexed to decide I didn't like it.  The level of connection between Cordelia and Mark passes between odd to morbid.  She is staying in the cottage that he lived and and wearing his clothes, including the belt that he hanged himself or was hanged with.  I figured out the twist about 50 pages before it even came up in the plot and when a big villain reveal happened it took me way too long to remember who that person was.  There was very little to recommend with this book, I thought the characters were unlikable and boring and the mystery was convoluted.  It was impossible to believe that Sir Ronald would go out of his way to hire someone to figure out his son's death.  After 250 pages I felt no more emotional attachment or level of interest to the characters and the story than I did at page 1.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: I shouldn't but I probably will.  I keep hoping I'll read one I like.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Absolutely not.

Anne of Ingleside and The Rubber Band - Reviews

Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

Rating: 3 Stars

Description:  This is the 5th book of the series in between Anne's House of Dreams and Rainbow Valley.  It's a mix between the story of Anne as a mother of 6 and the story of Anne's children with their own adventures.

Genre:  Children Classic

My Impression:  This is probably my least favorite book of the series.  Montgomery wrote it 15 years after the publication of the next 2 books and it has the disjointed feel of something added in afterwards.  The book can't seem to make up its mind about if it wants to be about Anne or about her children.  I was frustrated by the lack of development of Anne and especially Gilbert as adults.  Gilbert is one of the best male characters ever in my opinion and you only get tiny hints of his personality.  I loved the end scenes between Anne and Gilbert and the beginning with Anne and Diana but as a whole the characters were to shallowly drawn to be satisfying.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  Yes but not based off this book

Would I Recommend this Book?:  Probably not unless it was someone reading the entire series and it would be more of a "Might as well" then a true recommendation.

The Rubber Band by Rex Stout

Rating: 1 Star

Description:  The story starts with a pretty clear cut case of an employee stealing money out of an executive's desk. Then the accused employee hires the famed detective Nero Wolfe to investigate the identity of a man her father had saved 40 years ago who was supposed to give him and a bunch of other people money as repayment.  When 2 of those people are found murdered things get a bit more serious.

Genre: Mystery

My Impression:  I know Nero Wolfe is supposed to be one of the best fictional detectives - up there with Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.  I also know that Rex Stout is one of the best classic mystery authors.  Despite all that I didn't care for this book at all.  To me it read like someone was giving an explanation to what happened "And then she said this, then I walked over and got some coffee, then he told me to get the door".  I was definitely never pulled into the story and was never particularly interested in who did the murdering or the identity of the man who owed everyone money.  I was very disappointed that I didn't enjoy it since I'm always looking for new authors and Rex Stout would provide me with quite a reading list.  However, since I didn't care about the mystery or the characters at all I'll be giving his other books a miss.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?:  Unfortunately no

Would I Recommend this Book?:  No.