Beautiful Chiara is the last of the Ridolfi, a Florentine family of long lineage and eccentric habits. She is smitten with Salvatore, a brilliant b...
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reviews
Dec 04, 2010
Ali
rated it: 
This was a difficult book to get a handle on in many ways. I did enjoy it, although I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to, or as much as I did the Golden Child - which was the last Penelope Fitzgerald I read. I'm not sure what her "point" would be if there was one. I can't believe that it's just a story about a crumbling Italian family, with their bizarre history of dwarfism and mutilation, nor about a pair of rather ill matched lovers. Penelope Fitzgerald feels like one of those au
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Dec 12, 2009
LRB: [d.2000:]
Only after turning 60 did she start writing novels and biographies!
Review is on "So I have thought of you: the letters of PF" ed. Terence Dooley
PF: "I think you should write biographies of those you admire and respect, and novels about human beings who you think are sadly mistaken." In later novels, 'Innocence' and 'The Blue Flower', she combined the two, setting historic lives in fictional landscapes, but in the letters, whe More...
Only after turning 60 did she start writing novels and biographies!
Review is on "So I have thought of you: the letters of PF" ed. Terence Dooley
PF: "I think you should write biographies of those you admire and respect, and novels about human beings who you think are sadly mistaken." In later novels, 'Innocence' and 'The Blue Flower', she combined the two, setting historic lives in fictional landscapes, but in the letters, whe More...
Dec 07, 2010
Amy
rated it: 
Yeah, it was just okay. I am a big Penelope Fitzgerald fan, but maybe I didn't 'get' this one. Or maybe it was just not that wonderful. I think my problem was with the two main characters, Salvatore and Chiara. They just aren't sympathetic, or believable, in my opinion. Chiara is too impossibly innocent (hence the title) and sappy sweet. Salvatore is both super-cynical and seems to be struggling with an immense persecution complex. Also, we are supposed to believe that they fell truly, deeply in
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Aug 06, 2008
Kasia
rated it: 
Mama knows best! My mother's been on Ms. Fitzgerald for a while now and I had yet to jump on the bandwagon...until last night. I should have known - her choices are always golden! She reads incessently and with taste. I always thought she should eventually do a PhD in English Literature or perhaps pull a Fitzgerald and start her writing career at the age of 60.
Anyways, she's the only one whose recommendations actually I take to heart.
I think she got her love of books from my grandf More...
Anyways, she's the only one whose recommendations actually I take to heart.
I think she got her love of books from my grandf More...
Feb 12, 2010
Bibliophile
rated it:
I think I'm just going to have to give up and admit that I don't like Penelope Fitzgerald all that much. She's definitely got a wonderful way with words, but none of her novels actually seem to go anywhere and I'm afraid I am philistine enough to like plots to be wrapped up at some point! Innocence is better than the other Fitzgerald novels that I've read in this regard, and the setting (Florence in the 1950s) is well-done and there are many marvelously funny set-pieces, but ultimately, as wit
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Jul 28, 2010
Christina
rated it: 
Penelope Fitzgerald never disappoints me--her writing is full of surprises. I loved most the description of two young people falling in love, while marveling at how firmly it was set in meticulous descriptions of the Florentine countryside in the 1950s. I wish I'd read this book when I lived in Florence, but better late than never.
Dec 04, 2008
Amy
rated it:
Penelope Fitzgerald is becoming one of my favorite authors. This wasn't the quick read that The Bookshop was (perhaps it was all the Italian names?) but I love anything that has me giggling out loud. Barney was an exceptional treat--ah, I love that dry British wit.
Mar 22, 2010
Jennie
rated it:
When I finished it, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why she had bothered to write this book. It kept my interest; it was fairly well written, but I fail to see a point. Also, the character development was terrible. Strange book.
Aug 03, 2011
At around page 180, I had to put down my book and laugh for many many minutes. Not everyone's taste, but certainly mine.
Jan 04, 2012
RH
rated it:
This book is like a contest of eccentricity between England and Italy. Funny, sad and unforgettable.
Apr 02, 2009
Mike
rated it:
If you've ever wondered how Jane Austen would write if she were living today, read this book. It's the perfect late-20th century comedy of manners. A wonderful little book.
Sep 18, 2007
Elizabeth
rated it:
The first Penelope Fitzgerald I ever read. I went on to read everything she has written. Which tells you something.
Jan 09, 2012
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