Eternal Literary Greatness
I am not typically a historical fiction fan (no reason in particular, I'm just not big on historical in general)...HOWEVER, I am a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline so I definitely wanted to give Eternal a fair shake, and I must say, I was not disappointed in the slightest. I honestly really got into the storyline following Marco, Elisabetta, and Sandra, and listened with abated breath waiting to see what was going to happen. It was a decently long story (nearly 500 pages, or a little over 19 hours listening), but honestly it didn't feel like it was long at all while going through it! I am a huge fan of Scottoline's mystery books, but I would not hesitate to pick up any other books of any other genre of hers, after reading Eternal. Scottoline has an impeccable ability to tell a beautiful (or mysterious) story, that keeps the reader attention throughout the entire book! She also has a way of telling an incredibly beautiful, heartfelt story! Eternal was narrated by some of the best in the business, Cassandra Campbell and Edoardo Ballerini, with a forward by Lisa Scottoline herself. Honestly, I don't think you can find better narrators that Campbell and Ballerini, so brace yourself for listening to one of the best story's you'll hear all year! Overall, Eternal was an incredibly beautiful and heartfelt story that really touched me and left me reeling for days after reading it! I am so glad that every once in awhile, I step outside of my comfort zone and read something outside of my normal reading, because had I not, I would not have gotten to experience this literary greatness! Well done Lisa Scottoline...WELL DONE!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
a deeply emotional story
As she flexes her writing skills from mystery/thrillers to historical fiction, Lisa Scottoline adds her considerable talents into this powerful book set at the beginning of WWII in Italy. I had not read many stories centered on the Italian point of view, so much of the background in the story was new to me. That always adds a depth to a story, pulling the reader....me....deeper into the lives and many challenges met by our three main characters. Ms Scottoline has always built characters that are true to the eras in which they live, adding small details along the way to enrich the story. If this is her first try at historical fiction, the only question is .....why did she wait so long?
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Eternally Remembered
Eternal touched everything I love in one book. I always felt 'comfortable' each time I opened it up to read. I love historical novels making this the first one I ever read about Italy during 2nd WW. It was so informative. I had wished the author included the death of Benito Mussolini after his downfall. I loved each character as she made them all family. The Jews especially reveled acceptance, loyalty, example, and love for their neighbors which won over evil in the end. This strength sustained them. Scottoline did a magnificent job uniting them all including the reader. Georgene Villanueva
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Timely and Timeless, heartbreaking and powerful
I LOVED this story. Though really, is loved the right word for a story so powerful, tragic, wrenching, gut tearingly poignant? I don't know. But I've read this multiple times and loved it each time. I've given it as a gift and will continue to add it to my gift lists for friends and family. It's one of those books that I keep trying to find new people to gift it to. It's just that good. Finished it in days the first time I read it. Always looked forward to listening to it (audio version was great, too). I couldn’t remember a story set in Italy at the rise of fascism, i felt the family dynamics so distinctly. So much of this story was so powerful and heartbreaking, so much of it was smaller moments set within the larger context of the beginning of WW2. It stuck with me when i was finished. This story feels timely and timeless. I keep wondering how we haven't yet begun to learn from history. What's that saying about what happens when we don't remember or learn from our history?
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com