Two Women in Rome, the latest novel from Elizabeth Buchan, tells the stories of Lottie Archer and Nina Lawrence, the titular women, living in Rome 40 years apart, whose lives have parallels.
Lottie Archer has just moved to Rome to be with her new husband and to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers what appears to be a valuable 15th century painting in the archives of Nina Lawrence, Lottie becomes obsessed with Nina’s life. As she discovers more about Nina and her rewarding life as a successful landscape gardener in the 1970s, she can’t help but wonder why no one attended her funeral when her life was cut short by a vicious murder. As Lottie begins to understand more about Nina’s chosen path in life, she cannot help but draw comparisons with her own life.
I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this book when I began as I did not immediately engage with Lottie. The narrative suggested that she was making a huge mistake with her rushed marriage and I thought I knew what path the plot was going to take. However, as the book progresses, while the differences between Lottie and her new husband and the resultant rifts do feature, the main focus of the book is on Nina’s story in the 1970s.
The lives of the two women are told in split narratives and this helps the reader to properly understand the emotions and actions of each of the women. There was some exposition in both storylines about the troubles in 1970s Italy, but this was probably necessary – for me it certainly was – and was written effectively rather than crowbarred in.
It was Nina’s story that I found much more interesting as there was clearly more to her than was immediate obvious. As her story begins to unfold then some things do become quite obvious, and by the end of the book I had already worked out – without really trying – many of the ‘surprises’.
Nina’s doomed romance with Gabrielle, the trainee priest, is at the heart of the book. The author’s writing when telling this heart breaking love story is elegant and moving, and the denouement deftly demonstrated the strength of different types of love.
The vivid descriptions of Rome run throughout the book and instantly take the reader to the hot dry city filled with history and beautiful buildings. Although I have been only once, reading the book did bring back memories as landmarks were mentioned in passing.
Largely, while I quite enjoyed the mysteries surrounding Nina’s life and death, I never felt totally engaged by the overall story.
Lottie Archer has just moved to Rome to be with her new husband and to begin her new job as an archivist. When she discovers what appears to be a valuable 15th century painting in the archives of Nina Lawrence, Lottie becomes obsessed with Nina’s life. As she discovers more about Nina and her rewarding life as a successful landscape gardener in the 1970s, she can’t help but wonder why no one attended her funeral when her life was cut short by a vicious murder. As Lottie begins to understand more about Nina’s chosen path in life, she cannot help but draw comparisons with her own life.
I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this book when I began as I did not immediately engage with Lottie. The narrative suggested that she was making a huge mistake with her rushed marriage and I thought I knew what path the plot was going to take. However, as the book progresses, while the differences between Lottie and her new husband and the resultant rifts do feature, the main focus of the book is on Nina’s story in the 1970s.
The lives of the two women are told in split narratives and this helps the reader to properly understand the emotions and actions of each of the women. There was some exposition in both storylines about the troubles in 1970s Italy, but this was probably necessary – for me it certainly was – and was written effectively rather than crowbarred in.
It was Nina’s story that I found much more interesting as there was clearly more to her than was immediate obvious. As her story begins to unfold then some things do become quite obvious, and by the end of the book I had already worked out – without really trying – many of the ‘surprises’.
Nina’s doomed romance with Gabrielle, the trainee priest, is at the heart of the book. The author’s writing when telling this heart breaking love story is elegant and moving, and the denouement deftly demonstrated the strength of different types of love.
The vivid descriptions of Rome run throughout the book and instantly take the reader to the hot dry city filled with history and beautiful buildings. Although I have been only once, reading the book did bring back memories as landmarks were mentioned in passing.
Largely, while I quite enjoyed the mysteries surrounding Nina’s life and death, I never felt totally engaged by the overall story.