Hungary 1943 to the tensions of the 1956 Hungarian uprising.
This epic tale filled with passion and hope takes places mainly during WW11 and focuses on the toll the war took on civilians.
Eva César, a young woman from an affluent family awaits the return of her fiancé and is counting down her last days being single when by pure chance she meets Aleandro, a Romani artist, and falls in love with him. WW11 is raging on and the two are torn apart at summer`s end.....Aleandro is captured and sent to a concentration camp. Eva stays put and gives birth to their daughter, a child Aleandro never knew of..... This is a summer they will never forget.
The author recreates the atmosphere in Hungary at the time while the couple struggled to survive in a world where the Romani people where considered less then rodents and suffered terrible treatment from everyone. This story is filled with tragedy during the war and long after when Hungary was under Soviet occupation. A good part of this story covers the uprising and what came out of it.
We also follow each of their life after the war and share in their success as well as in their heartbreaks. Even if they were apart for many decades, Eva and Aleandro love never faded.
The narrative is unique and the mellow tempo is steady for most of the book although picks up when the two are separated. We have a mix of suspense, some passion, lots of love, too much sacrifice...array emotions to break the heart. Although at time Eva choices were iffy...in a way it places you in her shoes...We have a gamut of players well drawn and true to life: Dora the maid, a domineering father, Eva’s two men in her life: Eduard and Aleandro and many more that crosses the pages.
In conclusion, the author’s notes tells us that her fictional story has roots in real people lives and has let her fertile imagination run free...
Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book: these are my thoughts.
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