THE TUSCAN CHILD

A few comments on the recently published books I selected starting with Where the Crawdads Sing, continuing with Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and Becoming. These books are special. I look for books with unusual personal relationships, perhaps in foreign countries, and unique stories with surprising endings.  They may be fiction or non-fiction. Most of all, they are not predictable and are truly unforgettable. 

What you will rarely if ever see on my Blog are other genres that make up the majority of Bestsellers. 

The Tuscan Child, a novel by Rhys Bowen, was published in February 2018. In 1944, Hugo Langley, a British bomber pilot, is shot down over German-occupied Tuscany in the middle of the night. Parachuting down with a bullet leg wound, he lands in great pain, unable to walk. Sophia, a young girl from the nearby village, finds him and helps him to hide in a ruined monastery. She secretly makes repeated visits to bring him food, medicine, and bandages. During their many months of hardship Hugo and Sophia fall in love. Hugo manages to escape to England leaving Sophia pregnant. Thirty years later in England, Hugo dies of natural causes, survived by his daughter Joanna, a law student. She finds an old unopened letter addressed to Sophia returned as undeliverable. The letter’s contents prompt Joanna to undertake a quest to Tuscany hoping to find Sophia and her child. What she learns in Tuscany reveals much about her father and herself.

This story describes unusual personal relationships and personas of the characters that you will never forget.