OK, some of the contents of this book are a little far-fetched. I think that the author knew it, and early on in the book a couple call off their wedding several times within a few weeks – sending out invitations, cancellations, invitations again. Already we are in the territory of hard to believe. But finally I was happy to forgive some of this and just relax and enjoy the story – there was a lot I liked.
I am a sucker for themes involving someone moving away and starting a new life (because I did) and if the destination is a lonely Italian island off the coast of Napoli then even better. There is also a good stretch of the book where the main character finds himself being transferred to an office in the back of a lonely floor of a huge office building, left to his own devices. Later we find out why, but the dawning realization that he is on his own for the time being really hit me.
I have read another novel from this author, and while I enjoyed that one, it was a little futuristic and not as easy for me to identify with. The author’s writing is great here, reminding me a lot of Anthony Doerr, with that sort of dreamlike stream of poetic moments. It isn’t so esoteric that I got tired out, just really well written prose.
One of my favorite moments was a sort of heist of a one-eyed cat, delivered from a New York apartment to an island off Italy. I liked it better than Ocean’s Eleven.
The novel takes a turn for the spooky, especially near the end, and I really liked this sudden injection of the occult. It made a possible paradise turn into a possible prison. Well done.
Next I am reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.
