Two Seas

by Lynn Rodolico

An American woman happily married to an Italian and living in Florence for the past twenty years, unexpectedly finds herself falling in love-with Sicily. This beautifully written, deeply personal cross-cultural memoir, recounted with an astute foreigner-in-residence perspective, offers a graceful strategy for growing the wonders in store for those willing to exchange the symptoms of an empty nest for the veil of a second honeymoon. By turns insightful and humorous, this seemingly simple tale of true happiness is chock-full of every page offers a glimpse of the sublime at the end of the rainbow.

348 pages, Paperback

First published February 29, 2012

About the author

Lynn April Barber Rodolico was born in Santa Monica, California, and grew up in the coastal town of Pacific Palisades. Her earliest, happiest memories come from inventing stories beneath the large fruit trees in her backyard, and later, when she was old enough to roam, the dramatic pounding of the Pacific Ocean below the town's cliffs.
Writing had always been a favourite pastime but it wasn't until she left her job as Administrator of a Shakespearean theatre company in Massachusetts that she started to write full time. She gave herself one year in which to succeed or fail as a writer. To perfect her skills, first in the Berkshires and later in New York City, she wrote commercial novels in the Romance genre under a series of pseudonyms. Her success was quick and exceptional. Her first published novel, PASSION'S FLIGHT sold 350,000 copies and was translated into seven languages. Her second novel, HEART & SOUL, proved a greater success, both commercially and literary, winning the Book of the Month Award in France. OPENING BID was another best seller romance and was translated into eleven languages. INTIMATES moved out of the romance category, allowing for real character development, but its circulation was thwarted when her editor changed publishing houses and the book remained orphaned in the warehouse.
In 1985 Lynn moved to Italy for a year to finish a novel. On her first day in Florence she met the man who would transform her life from a solitary search to a unified communion. TWO SEAS is a fictionalized memoir of their life on an olive farm in the Tuscan hills and their unexpected love affair with the Island of Sicily.
SMALL CHANGE, published in July 2013, is the story of newborn twins found abandoned in a trash bin in England. From an act of desperation is born the inspiring tale of love nd good fortune, not only for the twins but for the couple who have been awaiting to adopt. Rich in empathy and humor, SMALL CHANGE is a poignant recounting of love, loss and steadfast commitment.
INTIMATES and HEART & SOUL have been reissued by Eccolo Editions.

"Two Seas is a truly wonderful book. It is deceptively simple… It reminds me of the best foreign films … in which nothing much appears to happen and yet an entire world unfolds and wraps you in its arms. I was fully engrossed in that world and extremely sorry to come to the last page." Cheri Fein, NYC

Small Change: "Tender and Eloquent...an extraordinary eye for detail." Trisha Thomas, AP Journalist, Rome
"A novel of great intercultural sensitivity." Charles de Chassiron, London

Reviews

[Emilie]

I hesitate to write a review for this book. So allow me to explain.
January-February of 2013 I found myself planning a vacation to Italy. My husband and I would be world travelers for the first time in either of our lives.
I came across Two Seas in a quick search for books about Italy using the goodreads search engine. There were about 5 books that I was interested in that came up in the search. I wanted fiction that was full of descriptive language about the Italian cities that I'd be visiting in May... I was delighted to find that Two Seas had 5 stars here on Goodreads and that the book wasn't too long.

I felt disappointed when I lost interest in the book after about 50 pages. I think it's mainly due to the plot being slow. I liked the characters and loved how the author described the cities (Florence, Sicily, some of Rome, etc.) especially the Sicilian country side, Florence and the cultural attitudes of the locals.

When I came home from my vacation I tried to continue reading the book but I still couldn't get into it. The overall plot and back stories were nice but didn't do much to hold my attention. So I went back to Goodreads to read the reviews of the other readers who rated this book, hoping to find inspiring reviews, only to find that there were none. No one reviewed the book other than just marking it with 5 stars (that I could find anyway). I suddenly realized why it was given a 5 star rating by all of the 5 or 6 readers...

Moral of the story? Always read the reviews before you buy a book solely based on the 5 star rating!
Maybe some day I'll be able to finish this book and will adjust my star rating. You never know. :)