By coincidence I am reading a few books, though one in particular chosen especially, that seem perfect choices for Valentine's Day. Although the three are more romantic love than any other kind, in my own life I fall into the other kind--love as an appreciate for friends and good books and sunny days and happy mail.
Let me start with a book I came across by chance and bought for Valentine's Day reading--because I am always drawn to letters, letter writing and on those especially happy days, days where something other than bills arrive in my mail box! Have you heard of the Juliet Club in Verona, Italy? It is a real place, and I vaguely recall seeing a movie based on it, so when I saw a collection of some of the letters they had received, I could not resist. Dear Juliet: Letters from the Lovestruck and Lovelorn to Shakespare's Juliet in Verona by the Juliet Club and Giulio Tamassia is pretty lovely.
The book is a collection of letters from all over the world--the facsimile of the letter side by side with the translation and in a few cases even a response from Juliet herself. Although I am on the curmudgeonly side when it comes to love these days, maybe there is a tiny warm place in my cold heart for something like this. Maybe it is true for someone out there, which is a nice thought and why I read books--if nothing else the stories are happy and we all need a little happy in life. The letters are about love--lost, unrequited, in search of, filled with problems, and sometimes found.
I think how the organization came about is really interesting--it began in 1972 by a group of artists and scholars and their love for Shakespeare's most famous pair of lovers. It started as a way to celebrate the story and has ever since received letters from all over the world. The Club awards a prize, the "Dear Juliet Award" for the most beautiful letters and there is also an international prize for literature, Scrivere per Amore, dedicated to novels, which I am very curious about.
Anita Abriel's,The Light After the War, which I am currently reading might be an odd choice for a love story, since it is a post-WWII historical novel which moves back in time from Naples after the war and Hungary during the war. Of course some of the best love stories are also war stories and usually they come with a good dose of the bittersweet. I have been a little wary of war fiction of late, particularly WWII as there is just so much of it around these days. It can be hard going, but this comes with as much lightness (and maybe more) as darkness.
The story opens with two young women, lifelong friends sitting in a sunny piazza in Naples savoring pizza and the sight of happy people going on about their business. This sweetness of life is tinged with sadness as the two are survivors of the war burdened by their losses and the pain that comes with living when so many of their loved ones have suffered and died. But here is the difference--the story is more forward looking and life is filled with new beginnings and potential love stories and happy endings, which sets it apart from so many other war novels these days. I like a story with a different slant than the rest. Bad things happen, or rather happened. But this is a story of 'after the war' and the promises that new beginnings bring. And there are many different kinds of love stories. Here there is promise or potential romantic love, but the affection that the two friends have for each other is as strong as, and maybe even stronger than any romantic love.
Anita Abriel based the story on actual events in her mother's life. Both she and her friend escaped the train carrying them and others to Auschwitz. It took them six years and journeys across four continents to begin their lives. The stories were told to Anita and now they carry on through her novel. Many thanks to the folks at Atria Books for sharing this wonderful novel with me.
Signe Pike's The Lost Queen never crossed my radar when it was first released. It somehow made it into my email inbox in an offer for a review copy on its paperback publication. I was in the mood for historical fiction, but not of the war kind (as noted above!). A story that is a cross between Camelot and Outlander? Hmm. A sweeping saga for fans of The Mists of Avalon? They had my attention. But it was a podcast between readers who loved, no--Loved, the book. Their enthusiasm carried me along and I had to have the book to read, too. I will say, they are right. I admit it took me a bit to get into the story. I liked the start, but as Languoreth comes into her own as a young woman--I am totally engrossed and don't want to put the book down.
So, somewhere in the 6th century in a place that sounds much like early Scotland where the old ways are the perhaps beginning to wane we meet a set of twins--Lailoken and Languoreth as children. Their mother, a Wisdom Keeper, is dead. Their father is King but the kingdom is getting smaller as their pagan ways are being edged out by Christianity. While Lailoken will lead men and become a Wisdom Keeper, Languoreth is left to mend ties and unite kingdoms. For a woman this means marriage. Of course she has fallen in love with one of her father's warriors, she is meant for greater things. This means she must marry into the family of not only another king, but a Christian one at that.
As I write this post she and her father and brother have just set off to cross the Clyde River to meet her potential match and unite two disparate kingdoms and hopefully settle any problems and unify against the warring Picts who are increasingly pounding at their doors.
I believe this is the first of three book, with the second, The Forgotten Kingdom, coming out in September. I am thoroughly enjoying this story. It is engaging and atmospheric. Historical fiction done really well. I can feel the mists swirling around and know the pain Langoureth feels to face a future she does not want and a love she cannot imagine with a man who is nearly an enemy to her people and way of life. What will happen next? I finish my post here to go find out. Many thanks to the people at Atria Books (again). I am busy with their books, it seems. Good stories, perfect for today (or any day). And my own perfect Valentine Day reading!