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Eternal
736 pages
A sweeping, heartbreaking historical epic where the warmth of youthful romance collides with the devastating rise of fascism.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like watching a golden afternoon slowly succumb to a gathering storm. It begins with the sunlit warmth of deep, youthful bonds and the tender complications of a love triangle, wrapping the reader in a nostalgic and romantic atmosphere. But as the narrative progresses, the steady pace accelerates into a tense, dread-soaked experience. The emotional texture shifts from hopeful to harrowing, capturing the devastating weight of history as political darkness and prejudice encroach on personal lives. The prose is earnest and emotionally resonant, anchoring sweeping historical atrocities in the intimate heartbreak of shattered innocence. It is a poignant, tear-jerking journey perfect for readers who devour sweeping wartime epics where enduring love and friendship are tested by the absolute worst of humanity.
- Mood
- nostalgic
- tense
- dread-soaked
- tragic
- Tone
- earnest
- dramatic
- heartbreaking
- poignant
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- loss of innocence · endurance of friendship · love in wartime · personal versus political fates · devastation of prejudice
- The writing
- Accessible and emotionally resonant, focusing on intimate character bonds against a sweeping historical backdrop.
- The arc
- Moves from the sunlit warmth of youthful romance into the harrowing, heartbreaking crucible of war and betrayal.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sweeping historical epics that center deep personal relationships tested by the devastating forces of World War II.
Content notes
- antisemitism
- war
- fascism
- betrayal
- persecution
About the book
An aspiring writer, an athlete from a professional cyclist family and a mathematics prodigy find their bond tested by a love triangle and the spread of anti-Semitism and fascism in 1937 Italy.
"Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kind-hearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear - their families, their homes, and their connection to one another - is tested in ways they never could have imagined. As anti-Semitism takes legal root and World War II erupts, the threesome realizes that Mussolini was only the beginning. The Nazis invade Rome, and with their occupation come new atrocities against the city's Jews, culminating in a final, horrific betrayal. Against this backdrop, the intertwined fates of Elisabetta, Marco, Sandro, and their families will be decided, in a heartbreaking story of both the best and the worst that the world has to offer."--Provided by publisher.
Description from Open Library.
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