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On a tiny island off the coast of Italy, Amedeo Esposito thinks he has finally found a place where he can belong. The newly-trained doctor is welcomed into the small community and marries Pina, the widow of a local school teacher.
However, “by noon on the day of Pina’s baby’s birth it was rumoured across the whole island that the doctor had delivered two babies, one his wife’s and the other, his lover’s.”
The scandal grips the inhabitants of Castellamare, it threatens Amedeo’s marriage, and causes him to be sacked as the local doctor. So he throws his life into restoring the House at the Edge of Night and reopening its bar to the public, as well as rebuilding his marriage to Pina.
The family saga unfolds through the many chapters and the reader delves into the layers which hold the family together throughout the book, which spans a long period from 1914 to 2009. It is a big read, 470 pages, but the story line flows easily and one is soon absorbed into the dramas of everyday life: floods, wars, storms and earthquakes.
A paratrooper washed ashore during World War Two is accepted into the Esposito family. Television also comes to the island, but when tourists begin to arrive, the islanders are forced to re-evaluate their lifestyles to accept that this may be how they earn their living in the future.
Catherine Banner was born in Cambridge and began writing at the age of fourteen, signing her first publishing deal shortly after sitting her final GCSE. She now lives in Italy but did her research for this novel while teaching in the north of England. This is her debut adult novel, and will be enjoyed by anyone who loves a family saga. Banner has divided the book into five parts and I enjoyed the inclusion of the old Sicilian and Italian folk stories at the beginning of these sections.
Reviewed by Lesley McIntosh
The House at the Edge of Night
by Catherine Banner
Published by Hutchinson
ISBN 9780091959333
Under Italian Skies is the latest book by Nicky Pellegrino. Nicky was kind enough to answer questions about her book and I’ve incorporated them into this review.
“I tend to avoid change in my own life. But often it’s forced on us and we have to deal with it; which is Stella’s situation. I think she does panic to begin with because she’s a person who is used to having a plan and making things happen. Then when she comes up with the house-swap idea she throws herself into it with all the efficiency she brought to her working life. The character wasn’t inspired by any one real person but I guess I always take bits and pieces of things that people say and do, and end up stitching them into my stories.”
Nicky Pellegrino spent her childhood summers in Italy and I asked if there was a particular influence for Triente. Nicky says,”It’s actually a real place, called Maratea (image to left), which is beside the coast of Basilicata in the south west of Italy. My father’s cousin has a house there which we’ve stayed in several times: that is what Villa Rosa is based on. It’s a beautiful area – kind of like Amalfi but without the crowds – but I changed its name because I wanted to be free to do a bit of creative “town planning”. There is a linen shop there though, that is very like the one in my books. And many churches and a harbour area with lots of seafood restaurants. It’s become a special place to me over the years.”
When a young Englishman on secondment to a Berlin bank witnesses a violent assault on a woman, he does what most of us would do – intervene and try to stop it. For Jago Browne, that sets in motion a chain of events that will test the mild-mannered banker and put his life – and the lives of many others – in danger.
Every family has a past, most of which is concealed in collective and individual whispers. The resulting silence creates wide gaps between parents and children, brothers and sisters. Yet the time eventually comes when some people, tired of distance, look for answers.
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