Dominic Smith, Return To Valetto.

- Dominic Smith is the author of the international bestseller The Last Painting of Sarah de Vos, which was excellent. This new novel is just as good if not better. It combines Anglo and Italian traditions beautifully. If you’re a lover of everything Italian, particularly the people, as I am, you’ll love this book. 

- There are lots of Italian sentences and phrases sprinkled throughout that are always repeated in English. That adds a delightful element. It's an homage to Italian culture and way of life. Food, cooking and restaurant ownership is in the family history, so great food is featured and celebrated. 

-Valetto is a town of only 10 people now, formerly three thousand, after a major earthquake virtually destroyed most buildings and houses in 1971. Valetto is a fictitious town but it's positioned in Umbria in central Italy.

- Italian-American academic, historian and author Hugh Fisher is the central character. He lives in Michigan and he's now on sabbatical at the family villa in Valetto. His three aunts and his grandmother Ida live in the villa, and Ida is about to turn 100 (or 'one thousand' in her view!). They've all had professional careers, and haphazard love lives, and their banter is sharp and funny. They plan a major birthday celebration for close to 200 guests. The food they eat is described in detail and it's, well, unbelievable!

- Aldo Serafino, Ida's husband, was a partisan during WWII but disappeared in 1944. The local pharmacist during the war was a dedicated patriot and fascist and enthusiastic supporter of Mussolini. He is still alive and ninety-six years old. He committed an act of atrocity which is central to the novel's development in its second half. 

- As the birthday party approaches the family plans an offical 'denunciation' of the old fascist during the dinner. The build up is tense and dramatic and the whole thing could turn ugly and unravel. The old man's family will be at the dinner too. 

- Smith's prose is beautiful and his portrayal of his characters sensitive and empathetic. He brings alive not only his characters but the country of Italy too, with its ancient traditions, its culture, and its social tensions. 

- A highly satisfying read.