Eternal

Eternal

Adult historical fiction
I don't know how Lisa Scottoline managed to write her exquisite
novel Eternal. It's both inspiring and heartbreaking and so
beautifully crafted that you'll stick through the saddest parts. I
highly recommend that you read it. But not without a good supply of
Kleenex or hankies.
"Elisabetta made up her mind. Marco Terrizzi would be her first
kiss. She watched him doing bicycle tricks by the river, riding on his
back tire, his head thrown back in laughter, his teeth white against
his tanned face..."
Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro have been an inseperable trio
since childhood. But things are about to change. Puberty has kicked
in. Both boys have fallen in love with her. Elisabetta has no clue
how to choose one without losing the other.
Unfortunately this is by far not the only way in which their
friendship will be tested. The year is 1937. Italy is under the
dictatorship of El Duce and his Fascists.
Elisabetta has to grow up too fast. Her father had become an
alcoholic when an injury left him unable to paint. She balances
academics and work until her mother leaves for good and she becomes
the sole support of her family. She had wanted to finish high school
and become a novelist or journalist.
Sandro is a math genius. He's even started doing some work at a
local university. His life is going well until a government edict
purges all schools and universities of Jewish students and teachers.
Marco catches the eye of a local fascist commander. He gets an
entry level government job. He has no idea that his brother, Aldo, is
part of a resistance cell that is about to amp up its operations.
They and their friends and families (and two "willful" cats) are
caught up and constantly having to adjust to a terrifying new normal
in which nothing can be taken for granted, not even life itself. You
get to know these characters so intimately you'd recognize them if
they showed up on your street. You'll find yourself totally engaged
in their losses and triumphs. And by the time you reach the last page
your heart will have been broken and sewn up again.
Not everyone will be able to handle such an evocative novel.
But I bet you can.
On a purrrsonal note, As I read the book I couldn't help drawing
paralells between the plight of Scottoline's characters and our
situation as we go into COVID's third year. So much of life has
become beyond our control and terrifyingly unpredictable. Although in
the book there is war against other humans and we battle constantly
mutating pathogenic microorganisms nobody knew/knows what the future
will look like. Providing there is a future. People experience a
wide range of loss and limitations. And dictators are nothing, if not
charasmatic. For every one there are legions of followers who have
been led astray by belief in his vision. Today they are the science
deniers who see no need for vaxing and masking.
At the end of Eternal there is an image that can be of great use to us
now. Maria, Marco's mother, compares war life to cooking. She talks
about every meal starts with the question: "What can I make with what
I have?" She reminds her listeners that even when their hearts are
breaking, even when they don't have all that they want or they need
they can put together a meal.
Scottoline reminds us that even now with all the heartbreak and
loss and uncertainty, even when we don't have all that we want and
need, we can put together lives, relationships, and communities. (Jules)
My favorite characters are Rico and Gnocchi. Gotta love an author who
recognizes the excellence and agency and worth of cats. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Scottoline for this engaging and
thought provoking masterpiece. May you prosper and continue to
produce books for your legions of devoted readers.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


Sent from my iPod