Tag: HF Reading Challenge

#BlogTour #BookReview #Giveaway The Lost Boy of Bologna by Francesca Scanacapra @rararesources

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The Lost Boy of BolognaWelcome to the opening day of the blog tour for The Lost Boy of Bologna by Francesca Scanacapra. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my digital review copy. Do check out the post by my tour buddy for today, David at David’s Book Blurg.

WinI’m delighted to say there’s a (UK only) giveaway with a chance to win one of five paperback copies of The Lost Boy of Bologna. Enter via Rafflecopter here.

Giveaway Terms and Conditions –

  1. UK entries only.
  2. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.
  3. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email.
  4. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner.
  5. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.
  6. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

The Lost Boy of BolognaAbout the Book

Bologna, 1929. A newborn baby boy is abandoned by his desperate unmarried mother, who believes he is dead and that she is to blame. Heartbroken, she leaves her child, accepting that her actions will haunt her for the rest of her days. But unbeknown to her, the kindness of a stranger means the starving baby survives. And so begins the extraordinary life of Rinaldo Scamorza…

Following several years in an orphanage, where Rinaldo still holds onto the hope that his mother will come to claim him, he is entrusted to a heartless foster-mother who treats her charges as nothing more than financial opportunities. Yet amidst the cruelty and violence of this loveless environment Rinaldo meets fellow orphan, Evelina, and the two children create a bond which they believe will never be broken.

Rinaldo holds tight to the few people who show him love, and he becomes a loyal, intelligent and kind boy. But his life is shattered when aged barely 13, Evelina is sold into prostitution by their foster-mother. As he grows up and becomes more resourceful, he finds work as an errand boy in a brothel, where he encounters Evelina once again. But in his efforts to help her escape her life of exploitation, another dark misfortune pulls them apart and she disappears.

When at last Italy begins to emerge from the shadows of World War II and Bologna’s economy recovers, Rinaldo uses his intimate knowledge of the city to change his life for the better. But through everything, the successes and the moments of loneliness and misery, the women he yearns to see again – Evelina and his mother – are always on his mind…

Format: Paperback (288 pages)  Publisher: Silvertail Books
Publication date: 4th April 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

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Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

The book description tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the plot, except how events will eventually play out for Rinaldo and Evelina.  Rinaldo’s experiences once he leaves the orphanage have the air of the picaresque as he comes into contact with all sorts of colourful characters (my favourite being an old down and out very attached to his broom). Cleverly, the significance of Rinaldo’s seemingly random encounters only becomes apparent towards the end of the book, even if some of these fall into what I call the ‘Casablanca category’ – “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”

Some of the most powerful scenes for me were those involving Evelina, so much so the book could just as well have been titled The Lost Girl of Bologna. The author really brings to life, in unflinching detail, the cruelty and depravity that those without the protection of family or friends can be subjected to, especially young women.  But there is also the unexpected kindness of strangers; in one particular case, a kindness that will bring its own reward.

Eventually Rinaldo’s fortunes change courtesy of a combination of luck and his own entrepreneurial spirit. His unique business idea – many decades ahead of its time – made me chuckle.

Those familiar with the city of Bologna will enjoy the descriptions of its streets, squares and notable buildings and those who are not will be probably be adding a visit to the city to their bucket list. The Lost Boy of Bologna is billed as the first book of the ‘Bologna Chronicles’ so those not able to make an actual visit to the city may, courtesy of the author, look forward to returning via the medium of the written word.

In three words: Emotional, immersive, detailed

Try something similar: Lily by Rose Tremain

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Francesca ScanacapraAbout the Author

Francesca Scanacapra was born in Italy to an English mother and Italian father, and her early childhood was spent in Bologna, the city whose rich history has been the inspiration for the Bologna Chronicles series of novels. Francesca’s adult life has been somewhat nomadic with periods spent living in Italy, England, France, Senegal and Spain. In 2021 she returned to her native country and back to her earliest roots to pursue her writing career full time. She now resides permanently in rural Lombardy in the house built by her great-grandfather which was the inspiration for her Paradiso Novels. (Photo: Twitter profile)

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#BookReview The Sunken Road by Ciarán McMenamin @VintageBooks

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The Sunken Road PBAbout the Book

Annie, Francie and Archie were inseparable growing up, but in 1914 the boys are seduced by the drama of the Great War. Before leaving their small Irish village for the trenches, Francie promises his true love Annie that he will bring her little brother home safe.

Six years later Francie is on the run, a wanted man in the Irish war of Independence. He needs Annie’s help to escape safely across the border, but that means confronting the truth about why Archie never came back….

Format: Paperback (272 pages )          Publisher: Vintage
Publication date: 17th February 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

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Purchase links
Bookshop.org
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Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

The story unfolds in alternating chapters moving between the trenches of France in 1915/16 and Ireland in 1922 during the Irish War of Independence. I’ll admit the latter is not something I knew much about prior to reading this book. What I learned can perhaps be summed up by one character’s observation, ‘The North, the South, the British, the Specials, the Free State Army, the IRA. It’s a right fuckin’ mess up here’.

The author has an actor’s ear for dialogue and the rhythm of Irish speech. The book’s vivid, punchy language accentuates the black humour of Frankie and his comrades. Apart from drink, it’s their only shield against the memories of the terrible scenes they have witnessed and the senseless loss of life. The madness of war is exemplified by a trench raid which is hailed a success despite it yielding no results apart from the death of a highly regarded officer, awarded a posthumous DSO. ‘For conspicuous gallantry, in action… There is nothing conspicuous about him now. Apart from his fucking absence.’

The Sunken Road is not a book for the faint-hearted as it includes harrowing scenes depicting the realities of trench warfare in France and Belgium during the First World War. ‘There is a uniformity to men’s voices when they choke on their own blood while begging for their mother’s tit. A million shells from thousands of guns for hundred of hours.’ It is during his time serving with the British army that Frankie first encounters the man who will become his nemesis – a man who is a bully, a coward and a hypocrite.

It is only in the final chapters of the book that Annie – and the reader – discover the tragic circumstances surrounding Archie’s failure to return from the war. The author resists the temptation to end the book on an uplifting note (echoes of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) although you could say that a kind of justice is served.

I thought the writing was superb and the characters of Frankie, Archie and Annie beautifully realized. There’s Archie, the gentle dreamer who believes it is his ‘destiny’ to liberate Europe, Frankie, the loyal friend tormented by guilt, and Annie, the feisty young woman torn between love and an unwillingness to forgive.  Although not an easy read, I found the book incredibly moving, immersive and utterly gripping.

The Sunken Road is the fifth book I’ve read from the thirteen books on the longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2022 and it’s definitely up there with my favourite book so far, The Fortune Men.

In three words: Powerful, dark, gripping

Try something similar: Where God Does Not Walk by Luke McCallin

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Ciaran McMenaminAbout the Author

Ciaran McMenamin was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, in 1975. A graduate of the RSAMD, he has worked extensively for the past twenty years as an actor in film, television and theatre. His acclaimed first novel, Skintown, was a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick.

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