That Summer in Ischia

by Penny Feeny

A young woman’s adventurous quest to find the truth about her mother’s past in Italy—a tale rich with romance, dark secrets, mature storytelling, and sharp wit

Liddy and Helena are students working as au pairs on the island of Ischia in the summer of 1979. They expect to spend the summer having fun on the beach and in their new, opulent surroundings, looking after the children of the Verduccis and the Baldinis. But they hadn’t counted on a kidnapped child, dangerous love affairs, and the carabinieri. Twenty-five years later Liddy, walking her dog on an English beach, spies a figure reminiscent of her estranged friend—it is Helena’s daughter, Allie. At the risk of opening an old wound, she befriends her. And so Allie is set upon a startling quest for identity, taking her across Europe to the family villa where it all went so wrong for her mother. Her curiosity and persistence forges surprising links with two families she'd only heard about from Liddy, as she seeks her father and discovers what really took place during that summer in Ischia.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Italy, Summer

312 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2011

Reviews

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle, sentimental tale recounting the past adventures of 2 young women on an Italian island and how key events then have affected their lives since. The story is taken forward when the grown up daugher of one of the women goes back to Ischia and discovers new facts about those past events and the truth of her own identity. I thought the timeshifts flowed nicely between past and present. But it's really a relationships novel with an adventure element which is really quite tame. The main characters are easy to sympathise with and I was quickly hooked into the storyline. For me, Helen is the most authentic and rounded of the main characters. I found certain explanations expressed by Lyddia and Allie were not that convincing, and some of their motives and actions somewhat flimsy or unlikely. There is something a little old fashioned about the plot, the shocks not really that shocking by todays standards. For me though, this is probably a plus mark as I'm a refusenik against the ultra violent dross and escapist all action plotless crap that is so prevalent in contemporary literature and films today. The story has enough variety - and subtlety - to avoid being too predictable and much of the interest is just in the specific ordinariness of the characters and storyline. I found it an enjoyable easy read with a fluent style that kept my interest throughout, though the ending rather fizzled out, there is no great dramatic finale here. overall, I think this is a book that would appeal more to women than male readers. That said, I enjoyed it and would certainly read another novel by Penny Feeny. I would recommend this as a very good holiday read - lightweight, sunny outlook, mainly happy ending. It would go down smoothly with a G&T under your canopy by the hotel pool, especially in italy!!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Penny Feeny's debut novel, she's been quite succesful as a short story author in the past. I was drawn to the synopsis, the cover and the Italian setting of the story.
The lead characters; Helena and Liddy have been best friends for years and find themselves working together in the lap of luxury on a beautiful Italian island. With wall to wall sunshine, glamour and riches, a vibrant nightlife and handsome men around they are having a ball. The only draw back is the fact that they have to look after three small children to earn their keep.
It is when one of the children disappears, apparantly kidnapped that things start to go wrong and their friendship is tested to the limit. Twenty five years later their lives connect again and the real truth about the past is revealed.
The story is intriguing, the setting is wonderfully painted yet there is something missing from this book. There is very little depth or emotion to the characters. Helena and Liddy had been best friends for years, the events in Ishcia resulted in them falling out and losing contact for 25 years yet the scenes about the child abduction were quite flat and lacking in suspense or mystery.
And so it continues, a good plot but shallow, flat characters with some glaringly bad continuity errors - but even so, I kept on reading, it's not a terrible read by any means, there is something about the story that makes you really want to read the conclusion. I will definitely look out for the author's next book as I think she does have great potential

[Elizabeth Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘That summer in Irschia’ is a mature and well thought out novel.

Technically perfect, Feeny has done an excellent job of juggling the multiple characters’ storylines and lives.

The logistical events within this inspired plot were simple to follow, despite the leaps between places and times.

These jumps not only portrayed the confusion felt by Allie, Liddy and even Helena when faced with a lifetime of unanswered questions, but also worked hand in hand when unraveling the plot; and the chronological order portrayed the effect things in the past have over future lives.

The sheer number of vital characters, however, resulted in a lack of in-depth character description and I struggled a little to connect on an emotional level; their fate in an individual sense became trivial when faced with their role within the plot.

Although the characters failed to capture my emotions, the plot left me turning the pages right till the very end and for this reason I recommend this book.

Elizabeth Marshall

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never really fulfils its potential. I simply found the characters rather 2 dimensional , the atmosphere underwritten and lacking in any feel for the sense of place.

The plots quite good but nothings explored properly and to make matters worse the author simply allows the novel to fizzle out to a total anti climax.

To summarise it starts out as a page turner though you quickly realise that its going nowhere.

[Jilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Penny Feeny's debut novel and I enjoyed it. It is essentially a story of relationships with a bit of mystery thrown in. The story goes back and forth between the past and the present and between places but it isn't confusing and the author has made a good job of juggling the different characters’ storylines and lives.

********

In the long hot summer of 1979, best friends Helena and Liddy travel to the beautiful island of Ischia to be au pairs to the children of two wealthy Italian families: the Verduccis and the Baldinis. From the opulent hillside villas and the sun-drenched beaches the girls plan their great adventure to find romance and excitement, whatever the cost, on the sleepy island. But when a little boy in their care goes missing the spell is broken and the girls find themselves under suspicion from the police. Under pressure, the cracks in their relationship are forced to the surface and one will betray the other, changing the course of both their lives forever.
Twenty-four years later, Liddy, walking her dog on an English beach, spies a woman strangely reminiscent of her estranged friend. Hoping for reconciliation, Liddy follows the figure home. But this isn't Helena; it's her twenty-three year old daughter, Allie, a daughter Liddy never knew about. As their friendship blossoms, new mysteries come to light, sending Allie on a startling quest to find out what really happened that summer in Ischia.

[Elizabeth Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best book I've ever read... The two main characters were irritating - Liddy was needy and nagging whilst Helena just wasn't a nice person. It was difficult to care about any of them - there ending was cliched and predictable.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is written in an engaging way — good work. It was very interesting to read.

At the same time, the scenario — two guys trying to drag a girl away by force behind a bar — seems rather implausible for the peaceful and respectable island of Ischia.

Maybe it’s just my quirk that I find it so unbelievable, having roamed around in the island so much myself? :)

I’d say this is more of a Napoli-area plot; Ischia is nice and well-behaved, not like Napoli (and I don’t really understand why there’s a need to portray such a beautiful island as some sort of den of thugs, why not choose Napoli?).

I don’t know, maybe things were different in the 1970s… but for me it’s still quite an unlikely scenario.

And stealing someone’s motorbike behind a bar in Ischia? The island is small - where would you go with the bike at night? Onto a ferry? Into the hills? Where would you hide it?

And who would have done it? Locals? Probably not. Naples crooks? But why would any Naples thug come to the island to steal a motorbike, when getting it off the island would be quite inconvenient and would have to be done quickly (ferries don’t run at every random hour, huh)?

Plus, considering it was 1970s and for the ferries (the ones you’d need to take a motorbike back to Naples), most probably took about 2–2.5 hours to ride... plus, were the ferries running on that hour at all (on 1970s)?

So, why take such a risk when there are far better opportunities for stealing a bike around Naples?

Also, the Italian in the book is sometimes amazingly incorrect. Why not just write the entire book in English, instead of making Maresa ask: what happens? (Instead of the "what happened")?

OK, anyway, a nice reading though, just a pity that the island was not portrayed much - I did not recognize my Ischia there.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel starts out okay--lovely setting--interesting protagonists--but it just never went anywhere. No real plot that I could discern.

Might be a spoiler: Even the big important question of paternity was never fully explained to my satisfaction. And none of the characters were particularly moral. Disappointing!!

[Ms Mary E Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A torrid tale

Beautiful descriptions of two English young women in Ischia looking after the children of 2 rich Italian families.
The events of that summer were to resonate down the generation. With a daughter seeking her father & finding a friend. With later events taking in Northern Ireland, New York & Ischia. Where the tangled webs unfold for good & ill.

[Jeanette Percival · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story in the book got better. But why choose such a unique island and not feature the hot springs it is known for. For me the story was enjoyable but jumped about a bit, trying to tie up every possible loose end. Life isn’t like that. Would I recommend it - probably not except as a good holiday read.

[Margaret Saal · Rating 2 out of 5]

A gentle, sentimental tale recounting the past adventures of two women on an Italian Island and how events have affected their lives. The story is taken forward when the grown up daughter of one of the women goes back to Ischia and discovers past events and the truth of her own identity.

[Meghan R · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of development at first that quickly became chaotic and hard to follow the plot. With so much development and complexity, the epilogue was so disappointing and felt like the author rushed to finish and/or gave up. You get hooked only to be disappointed by the ending.

[Lee Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists & turns

A super enjoyable easy read with twists and turns that keep you guessing. Set over decades with intertwined sub stories. I loved it.

[Georgina Heatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous summer story! Total Mamma Mia vibes!

[melina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a decent book. I read because it was set in Italy/ischia. Not really sure what the like lesson or meaning was since they didn’t really figure out the plot I feel like

[Pauline Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pleasant enough little book. The story is fairly slight - two friends filling a post-university hiatus with a cosy little job in Italy, and the after-effects when things go wrong. There is a bit of a mystery to resolve, but it wouldn't exactly tax the little grey cells of Hercules Poirot.

The characters are OK, without ever being very memorable. There are a few moments when they behave oddly, but on the whole they are believable, if uninteresting. The two settings, Liverpool and Italy, are well drawn and evocative. I know Liverpool quite well and that part certainly rang true, and the Italian parts seemed convincing enough to me too. Mind you, is there really so much street crime in Italy? It seems no one can move without being mugged. I doubt the tourist board will be promoting this book.

The plot was quite creaky in places. When Allie goes to Italy to seek out her father and is instantly accepted by the current generation at the villa where her mother worked, you can almost hear the author's thoughts: hmm, that was too easy, need some conflict there, and perhaps dreaming up the whole business of the withered arm to generate tension. And since the plot needs Allie to meet up with the policeman involved in the case from her mother's time, suddenly she is mugged (of course), hauled off to the police station and sent off for the night to a retired colleague now running a tourist operation. Oh look, it's Enzo. Well gosh, never saw that one coming.

The ending seemed a bit flat to me. The 'mystery' of what happened to Mimmo is resolved by Allie saying: well, I think it must have happened like this. Not that it was a big surprise, of course, I expect everyone worked it out several chapters before, but still, a bit more drama might have helped. And the astonishing reveal about Allie's father - well, huge surprise (not). And then we drift into an epilogue which summarises what happened to everyone, by way of some slightly forced business with old friends. All rather contrived. I don't know anything about the author, but the whole book has the feel of a formula, a sort of 'writing by numbers' effort, with just the right amount of tension here and partial reveal there and a carefully balanced mix of characters.

I don't mean this to sound too harsh. It's a professional piece of work, with no glaring problems, and some parts were excellent - the little descriptive flourishes, for instance, and the two older women, Liddy and Helena, who were the nearest this to fully rounded characters. Jake's story was also well done, cleverly revealed in tiny doses along the way, although, again, some contrivance was needed to get the final stage into the open. It's a perfectly readable book, although I have to confess that I never got totally absorbed in it, finding it all to easy to set aside. Basically, I never cared much about any of the characters, I never got invested in the story and it was almost a relief to get it finished. So that makes it three stars, a competent effort that would pass muster for light holiday reading, especially if you were going to Italy. Or Liverpool, maybe.

[Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly a compelling read. From about 50 pages in I was hooked to keep reading, at any opportunity, to find out what was happening and as such I can't really give it less than 5 stars. I probably wouldn't reread this novel so perhaps 4 and a half would be fairer but that is not an option!

The plot begins following Liddy, in the present, as she has a chance encounter that reminds her of her time in Ischia. The story then reverts to the past and follows Liddy and Helena, two best friends, as they serve as au pairs to two wealthy families in Ischia. Unfortunately, this all ends drastically when one of the children, goes missing believed kidnapped. The story follows the fallout from this day for Helena, Liddy, their friendship and also Allie (Helena's daughter).

Throughout the book the narrative switches between following Liddy and Helena both in the past and the present and also Allie in the present. Whilst some reviewers have commented that the characters seemed a bit flat and two dimensional I would disagree, there were clear differences between Helena and Liddy in the past and the present day, showing they had grown and been changed by the events of the past, and I felt different things about them in the two scenarios. My favourite perspective to follow was that of Allie, with her passion and as she was a very strong, capable young woman. Having followed her for so much of the story in the middle it was almost a shame to read the ending from the perspective of Liddy.

Whilst the ending does have a slight air of predictably about it *Major Spoiler* in that ultimately the friends are reunited and it is suggested Allie is involved with 'Max' whom she meets on her travels* it suited the story well and was generally satisfying.

[Samantha Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good, light and entertaining read.

Set, unsurprisingly, on the island of Ischia, it tells the story of Helen and Liddy, two school friends working as au pairs for two strands of an Italian family. It's 1979 and Helen has persuaded Liddy to join her for the summer. It was meant to be an idyllic summer spent soaking up the sun and letting loose before returning to university. It's not long, however, before the ideal is replaced with a nightmare of kidnapped children and forbidden love affairs.

Twenty-five years later Liddy befriends Helen's daughter, Allie, and starts a chain of events which will lead Allie to uncover the dark mysteries of her mother's past and leads her on her own voyage of discovery.

The story flits seamlessly between 1979 and present day, and between the various characters' perspectives. It was easy to follow whose perspective the story had switched to.

I found Helen very hard to empathise with in the early stages of the book but had similar problems with Liddy at some point. They were both flawed and thats really what makes them such real characters.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book. It makes a great holiday read.

[Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. I usually love dual narrative stories, although tend to prefer one time period over another. And this novel started promisingly in present day, before reverting to the 1970s when two students go to Ischia (Italian island) for the summer to nanny for two families. However I found it hard to distinguish between the two girls, not just with the narration (audio book) but also with with the way the characters are drawn as the text chops and changes. Disaster befalls one of the girls and then we permanently switch to present day. Frankly this was where I began to get bored. I found Allie (who wants to discover about family history and journeys to Ischia) to be frilly and unbelievable. The plot also relied on a number of coincidences. To add further confusion, all the characters were known by more than one name and these were used interchangeably.

[Aunty Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good 'beach read'. Not too taxing, but drew me in enough to enjoy reading to the end. I did get mixed up a few times, confusing the main characters and had to go back to check which was which, but that's because I wasn't concentrating! The story surrounds 2 women; what happens to them on a working holiday and then the future, dealing with the consequences over the years. Clearly marked sections move backwards and forwards in time. I found the ending rather predictable, but enjoyed the story anyway and would certainly recommend the book for a holiday read.

[Kirsty Darbyshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable piece of easy reading. Less than a day to read, interesting cast of characters, nice locations, a story with some depth to it and I'd certainly pick up another book by Feeny in future. But there were parts where I felt the book could have been much better. The characters seemed half heartedly realised at times and some things that ought to have been totally shocking were more or less skated over. And I felt like the book didn't quite know how to end. On the whole though it was a good read and a good story.

[Rachel Cotterill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gentle, easy read, with a vivid Italian backdrop (and some sections in an equally-romanticized Liverpool). The characters are all well-drawn, each with their own faults and foibles, and their stories are compelling. If there's one flaw in the plausibility, it's that everyone seems very quick to forgive people who worm into their lives under false pretences. But I really enjoyed it and would happily read more from this author.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it could have been a good story, but there was too much left undeveloped. There was a lot of detail about things that didn't matter, but there were details and explanations left out that did matter. Also, the characters were lacking, and not very likable. I would have given it three stars, just because it wasn't horrible, except for the unnecessary language and eye-rolling sex scenes. I did like the little comments and descriptions about Italy, which were spot on.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

What to say about this, it's a summer holiday read, not taxing and an average reasonable story. I can't a say much more so, slather on the sun cream, settle on your sun lounger with cocktail or G&T to hand and enjoy. I was pleased that in the last few pages the wonderful Anthony Gormley iron men "Another Place" got a mention, you can't set a novel on Crosby Beach without including them? They made it a 3!

[zenbren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first read on my new Kindle. An impulse and nostaglic buy as I was in Ischia in 79.I loved revisting this enthralling island and found both the characters and storyline interesting. It also captured the eeriness of some of the ruins on the island perfectly and transported me right back there. Spent a lovely few hours with this book. What more can you want.

[Maggie White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light reading with a few twists. Founs it pretty predictable though. Story of 2 girls who become nannies over in Ischia for a summer. There is a kidnap and the consequences of this shape the rest of their lives.
I enjoyed the descriptions of Ischia having worked there myself one summer but not as a nanny.

[Silma Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lovely holiday read, very mellow and pleasant. I enjoyed the story and the writing style, which kept me interested until the end. At times I found it over-written -- the author almost made it too easy for the reader to unpick the plot. I would have liked a better handling of the suspense parts of the plot, but that may have turned it into a different genre of book altogether.

[Jed · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was unable connect with any of the characters finding them to be selfish and unlikeable, but as the story progressed, I found myself being drawn into the story and wanting to know what happened. A book to while away a few hours and a perfectly acceptable read, just don't expect to be blown away.

[Lynn Murdoch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started well, with the story building nicely albeit it was difficult to empathise with any of the characters as none of them were particularly attractive. However, by halfway through the story just petered out with revelations made without suspense being generated first and the ending was a complete damp squib.

[Lyndsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much going for it and initially promised to be a really good read.
In reality, it never seemed to get going and there seemed no real climax at the end after a long build up.
Pretty disappointing and at times difficult to get through