The Secret Messenger

Venice, one of the worlds most charming & beautiful citys should have been a slam dunk. Unfortunately this book was so awful that even Venice was a big yawn. I couldnt finish it. Why was Louisa in this book? Luisa was about as necessary as another flood in Venice. She had no emotional attachment to her mother, yet she was relentless in mourning her death. Dont waste your money. There are far more interesting books about resistance fighters.

I was appalled that with all the kudos the author gave to various Italian historians and researchers no one took the trouble to look at the Italian alphabet. The Secret Messenger\’s surname is Jilani. Unfortunately there is no J in the Italian alphabet. How could that obvious error have been missed by all those Italians who reviewed her drafts. Likewise, there were a number of holes in the story, primarily the lack of any story line about the mother and daughter relationship which this story\’s \’healing\’ process was supposed to be about. No explanation whatsoever about why mom Sofia was such a cold bitch when the grandparents were such wonderful people. The entire subplot, if that is what it was supposed to be, could have been removed and made no difference to the story.

The Secret Messenger was written by Mandy Robothman . It is a W orld War II novel and it is set in Venice. The book is a psychological thriller and it turned out to really be good, although it was long. The book is told in two parts, one in 1934-45 and one in 2017. The main character is the same person in both books, it is Stella Jajani. In 1934, Stella is seventeen and just setting out to find a job. She just loves her city of Venice. The descriptions she gives of its beauty shows her deep love for the city. She does not overlook the older parts of the city and just assumes that is part of its charm. She agrees with her Grandfather that the Italians were not to be giving everything to Mussolini although at this time, she doesnt have any idea of who Hitler is. She goes to works as a secretary and is promoted to working for General Breuagal and Cristen de Luca. She takes notes and then in the evening transcribes those notes into a magazine for the Resistence. She is living a very dangerous double life. The other section of the book is about 2017 where a young woman named Luisa is having to deal with the death of her Mother. Except for her boyfriend Jaimie, she is all alone. All she knows of her Mother she is finding in a box in the attic. She decides she must go to Venice to find out who she is. The book is good but It is a little difficult to keep the years apart.

It was an okay story. After her mother died a typewriter was found in the attic. Granddaughter decides to find out more about the owner (her grandmother). The story is focused on WWII Italy. It did not hold my attention, kind of boring.

Wow!! Such a great book!! So much detail about Vienna and the war there and afterward. Just outstanding!! It was deep in detail but not in the sense of dragging you down with details. The story had many zigs and zags and was rich and full!! Wonderful characters and terrific relationships and connections with others fighting for the cause of freedom from the fascists. It was so very well told~ The evil of the Nazis, the dedication of the Partisans, the love of country and countrymen, the beauty and traditions of Vienna, the daily fear, the many masks needing to be worn, the paranoia!! On and on I could go with the characters, the surprises in the story, the pain over losses, and loved ones, the heartache of betrayal and not knowing if your beautiful country will survive the evil onslaught!! Its beautifully written. Both the war years and the modern years were well written, well done~Im more drawn to the war years and couldnt wait to get back to that time frame, but I realize the modern times were needed to add to the story and in keeping it fresh. I love this book!! Its exceptional. pamarella PRCS

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