Casa Rossa
by Francesca Marciano
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Description
This second novel by the author of the acclaimed Rules of the Wild is very much in the tradition of The Leopard or The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, a compelling story of three generations in twentieth-century Italy. Casa Rossa, the home of the Strada family, is a magnificent farmhouse standing amidst the olive groves of Puglia. The story opens as the house is being sold. Alina, the daughter entrusted with packing it up, is piecing together the fragments of her family's past. Her show more grandmother, Renee, a beautiful Tunisian pied noir, muse and model to Alina's painter grandfather, left him for a woman and fled to Paris. Her mother Alba, who grew up at Casa Rossa, marries a melancholic screenwriter, who dies in mysterious circumstances. And then there is her sister Isabella, once her best friend, who becomes a stranger caught up in a bitter fight for a dangerous ideology. The sisters' love for each other is always precarious, and in time shifts to a betrayal of which they can never speak. A haunting story of what happens when family secrets collide with history, Casa Rossa moves from the duplicity of Italy's role in the 1930s to the dark years of the Red Brigade's terrorism in the seven show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Through this book I learned a little more about life in Italy and radical politics and activities. But in many ways it is a conventional tale about sisters, lovers and mothers. Marciano recognizes the essence of these often problematic relationships but does not delve deeply enough to expose any original ideas. Also the subplots and interlinked threads seemed less unified than they should have been. Perfectly readable if you're interested in Italy, village life, family relationships, Rome, as I am, but you will find more compelling works on the subjects.
the bonds between sisters, in all their complexity. This novels gets off to a slow start but is worth the investment.
Did Dad die from murder or suicide? Terrorism, drug abuse, family saga, what more can you want?
I loved this book!
“An enthralling tour de force …The gritty details of modern Italian life make Casa Rossa impossible to put down.” —USA Today
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Author Information
12 Works 815 Members
Francesca Marciano lives in Rome, where she works as a filmmaker and screenwriter.
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Casa Rossa
- Original title
- Casa Rossa
- Original publication date
- 2002
- People/Characters
- Alina Strada; Isabella Strada
- Important places
- Puglia, Italy; Rome, Italy; New York, New York, USA
Classifications
- Genres
- General Fiction, Fiction and Literature, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 823.914 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction 1900- 1901-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PR9120.9 .M36 .C37 — Language and Literature English English Literature English literature: Provincial, local, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 193
- Popularity
- 170,066
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.31)
- Languages
- 9 — Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 23
- ASINs
- 1
