Eternal
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4.5 • 953 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
#1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome...in the creeping shadow of fascism.
What war destroys, only love can heal.
Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kind-hearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear--their families, their homes, and their connection to one another--is tested in ways they never could have imagined.
As anti-Semitism takes legal root and World War II erupts, the threesome realizes that Mussolini was only the beginning. The Nazis invade Rome, and with their occupation come new atrocities against the city's Jews, culminating in a final, horrific betrayal. Against this backdrop, the intertwined fates of Elisabetta, Marco, Sandro, and their families will be decided, in a heartbreaking story of both the best and the worst that the world has to offer.
Unfolding over decades, Eternal is a tale of loyalty and loss, family and food, love and war--all set in one of the world's most beautiful cities at its darkest moment. This moving novel will be forever etched in the hearts and minds of readers.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In Lisa Scottoline’s epic historical romance, three young friends grow up in the shadow of war. Betta, Sandro, and Marco are teens in Rome, where fascism is just starting to take root. As a burgeoning love triangle threatens to disrupt their once-serene friendship, Italy allies with Nazi Germany—pushing Jewish families like Sandro’s right up against discrimination, oppression, and worse. From the brutality of Italy’s fascist troops to the appalling “rastrellamento“—when thousands from Rome’s Jewish ghetto were rounded up and sent to concentration camps—Scottoline gives us a deeply intimate view of these horrors through the eyes of her idealistic protagonists. Their lovingly depicted friendship made this sweeping historical tale feel even more personal, intensifying both the beauty and the tragedy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Scottoline's admirable foray into historical fiction (after her Rosato & Associates series) visits pre-WWII Italy during Mussolini's rise to power as three teenage friends navigate a love triangle. Elisabetta D'Orfeo works at a restaurant to support her alcoholic father. Marco Terrizzi, the son of a bar owner, begins his rise in the Fascist government, using his wit and charm to hide the secret of his learning disability and inability to read. Sandro Simone, a brilliant student, lives in Rome's Jewish quarter with his obstetrician mother and lawyer father, Massimo. Sandro's parents want him to date a Jewish girl, but he is determined to court Elisabetta, plans that are put to a halt by Mussolini's racial laws barring relationships between Jews and non-Jews. Elisabetta succumbs to Marco's charms, but their relationship is derailed after Marco falsely takes credit for a notebook left for her by Sandro to encourage her writing. As the Nazis occupy Rome, threatening to arrest and deport Jewish residents, the Simones are stripped of their livelihoods. Sandro and Massimo are eventually rounded up by the Nazis, and Marco and Elisabetta go to increasingly dangerous lengths to try to rescue them. While the dialogue is a bit wooden at times, Scottoline expertly brings historical events to life. Fans of WWII fiction will be drawn to this immersive, emotional novel.
Customer Reviews
Awesome
We written. I couldn’t put it down. An excellent read.
Lisa’s Best Novel
I am an Abruzzo - born immigrant who did not meet my father till I was 7 yrs old in Chicago. My Dad came to America in 1955, seeking his father who he had never met (he celebrates his 95th Bday next week). Indeed...our story is of family and love and memories. Lisa, this storyline resonated with deep memories. Thank you for being our family historian. Much love.
Eternal
This book had it all! There was love, romance, war, historical fiction, life and death. The characters became real as they experienced so many emotions with family and others.