Casa Rossa

Bookclub read [UoG]: Casa Rosa, the red house or home (in my head I translated it as home, it felt more personal - it is almost a character in itself, holding on to it's secrets beyond the final pages). Not a book that I would necessarily have chosen to read going by the blurb but the cover would have definitely grabbed me had I seen it in a bookshop.

Ultimately it is the story of a family, the three generations of females - grandmother, mother, daughters - seen through the eyes of of one of the daughters, Alina. This means that hers is the only life with details and the others are sketched from memories, tales, letters and paintings. I found Alina engaging, her life was interesting and Marciano maintained the flow whilst bringing her family's stories in too. I can see, however, that it would be a difficult read if one disliked her or her voice.

Much of the story does not take place at Casa Rosa, it is a place of memories, of the family coming together, both “now” and then. Alina's story is set in the 70s and 80s, across Italy and the USA, and touches on the politics of the time without delving too deep. Marciano writes like photographs, the memories yellowing with age yet still sharp. The images on the covers are a stunning too, beautiful timeless images that surprised me by being from the early 40s (and from France), I'd recommend searching for the works of Jacques Henri Lartigue.