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The Garden of Letters by Alyson Richman
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The Garden of Letters (edition 2014)

by Alyson Richman

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19320140,453 (3.9)11
"Portofino, Italy, 1943. A young woman steps off a boat in a scenic coastal village. Although she knows how to disappear in a crowd, Elodie is too terrified to slip by the German officers while carrying her poorly forged identity papers. She is frozen until a man she's never met before claims to know her. In desperate need of shelter, Elodie follows him back to his home on the cliffs of Portofino. Only months before, Elodie Bertolotti was a cello prodigy in Verona, unconcerned with world events. But when Mussolini's Fascist regime strikes her family, Elodie is drawn into the burgeoning resistance movement by Luca, a young and impassioned bookseller. As the occupation looms, she discovers that her unique musical talents, and her courage, have the power to save lives. In Portofino, young doctor Angelo Rosselli gives the frightened and exhausted girl sanctuary. He is a man with painful secrets of his own, haunted by guilt and remorse. But Elodie's arrival has the power to awaken a sense of hope and joy that Angelo thought was lost to him forever. Written in dazzling prose and set against the rich backdrop of World War II Italy, Garden of Letters captures the hope, suspense, and romance of an uncertain era, in an epic intertwining story of first love, great tragedy, and spectacular bravery. "--… (more)
Member:Margeryw
Title:The Garden of Letters
Authors:Alyson Richman
Info:Berkley (2014), Paperback, 384 pages
Collections:Your library, Read but unowned
Rating:***
Tags:novel

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The Garden of Letters by Alyson Richman

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» See also 11 mentions

English (19)  Dutch (1)  All languages (20)
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
Good book great story the focused on present and past. great switching of perspectives and I also loved the time period. Great want to read more by her soon ( )
  lmauro123 | Dec 28, 2023 |
Good book great story the focused on present and past. great switching of perspectives and I also loved the time period. Great want to read more by her soon ( )
  lmauro123 | Dec 28, 2023 |
Truly enjoyed the premise of a girl cello player having an important part in the underground resistance sending messages and taking place in Italy. Excellent descriptions of life for the town people as the war became more of their lives. Had a confusing time with the switching of dates and time issues and with whose story is being told since there is the doctor's love life, her parents before and during their marriage, and Elodie's past with Luca and present situation living with the doctor. The author did tie the events nicely together at the end especially the room with walls of letters and the cello. Overall well written with getting a feel for the various personalities. ( )
  kshydog | Dec 13, 2020 |
First of all, I received a free copy of Garden of Letters through goodreads. Thank you!

Elodie, protagonist of Garden of Letters, is put in one of the most fascinating situations I've ever seen in a book. In WWII-era Italy, she works with the Italian Resistance to deliver coded messages via cello music. The logistics of the code itself, combined with the threat of being discovered, made for an intense, beautifully-described book.

Here's the thing. This was also somehow the book's downfall for me, too.

See, the whole coded cello music aspect is amazing. I wanted more of that -- more practising, more details, more performances, more stress. How could I not? It's so engaging.

But this meant that there were some aspects of the story -- like the romantic aspects, for example -- that I just didn't care about as much as I should have. I was always impatient to get back to Elodie and her cello.

But, overall, beautifully written, fascinating concept. This book is going to stick with me, I can tell already. ( )
  bucketofrhymes | Dec 13, 2017 |
Almost 4 stars - when I finished the book I thought the ending was too easy and lacking the depth of the rest of the book. Having said that, the writing was beautiful, the setting different and the story well told and interesting. I found myself totally invested in the this book. ( )
  kimkimkim | Aug 21, 2017 |
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
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"Portofino, Italy, 1943. A young woman steps off a boat in a scenic coastal village. Although she knows how to disappear in a crowd, Elodie is too terrified to slip by the German officers while carrying her poorly forged identity papers. She is frozen until a man she's never met before claims to know her. In desperate need of shelter, Elodie follows him back to his home on the cliffs of Portofino. Only months before, Elodie Bertolotti was a cello prodigy in Verona, unconcerned with world events. But when Mussolini's Fascist regime strikes her family, Elodie is drawn into the burgeoning resistance movement by Luca, a young and impassioned bookseller. As the occupation looms, she discovers that her unique musical talents, and her courage, have the power to save lives. In Portofino, young doctor Angelo Rosselli gives the frightened and exhausted girl sanctuary. He is a man with painful secrets of his own, haunted by guilt and remorse. But Elodie's arrival has the power to awaken a sense of hope and joy that Angelo thought was lost to him forever. Written in dazzling prose and set against the rich backdrop of World War II Italy, Garden of Letters captures the hope, suspense, and romance of an uncertain era, in an epic intertwining story of first love, great tragedy, and spectacular bravery. "--

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