Inheritance
A Novel
-
-
4.8 • 4 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Natalie Danford's exquisitely written novel Inheritance asks a simple question: How well do we know our parents? One half of the story begins after the death of Luigi Bonocchio, an Italian immigrant whose daughter, Olivia, discovers a mysterious deed among his possessions. The deed is to a house in Urbino, Italy---the hometown he barely spoke of. Intrigued, Olivia travels there. At first she is charmed by the historic city, the relatives she's not met before, and the young lawyer she's hired to help her investigate the claim. But when Olivia tries to sort out the deed, she is met with a puzzling silence. Everyone in the town remembers her father, but they are not eager to tell his story. However, Luigi tells his part of the tale directly to the reader as the chapters alternate between Olivia's search for the truth and Luigi's account of his history. By the end of this skillfully constructed book, the reader understands both sides of a heartbreaking yet ultimately satisfying love story.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After her Italian immigrant father, Luigi, dies, Olivia Bonocchio discovers among his effects the deed to a property in his hometown of Urbino, Italy, though what she finds out in Danford's debut complicates her idea of who her father was. Olivia, mysterious deed in tow, travels to Urbino to learn if the deed is "a fluke." What she learns about her father's family's wartime lives shocks her. Olivia's travels are interwoven with flashback chapters that chart Luigi's life, from his teenage years in Urbino as the Germans approach, to his immigrant experience in America, where, in 1959, he settles in Shaleford, Calif., and marries a local store owner's daughter. The perspectives of Luigi and Olivia provide intriguing takes on each other's hometown, and the tension roiling beneath the surface should carry readers though the moments of awkwardly handled Italian-sprinkled dialogue. Danford (a PW contributing editor) handles her wide canvas wartime Italy, postwar California and the tricky terrain of dark family secrets with confidence.
Customer Reviews
Fascinating story but ...
I really liked the story and the characters, but I didn't appreciate how it skipped in time from the past to present and back again. Most of it takes place in italy and I could actually see the town of Urbino and I enjoyed getting to know the main characters. Unfortunately, I found myself skimming sections because I just wanted to get to the action and find out what happened.
It's a fascinating story and a pretty good book, but not a great one.