The Last Great Race

by Mark Morey

Achille Varzi: the most successful of his time; hero to his followers; worshipped by the women in his life; driven to succeed. Told partly through the eyes of Varzi and partly by fictional Italian-Australian journalist Paul Bassi, we follow the many triumphs and tragedies of Varzi's life: his passionate love affairs, his tragic addictions, his recovery, his marriage and his re-signing to race once more. This is a fictionalised account of a real-life story that seems too incredible to be true, only it is.

423 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2016

About the author

Writing a novel didn’t cross my mind until after a visit to the local library where I couldn’t find a book that interested me. That led me consider a new pastime - write a book. That book may never be published, but I felt my follow-up cross-cultural romance-crime hybrid set in Russia had more potential. So much so that I wrote a sequel that took those characters on a journey to a very dark place.

The opening of the Red Sun Will Come came to me in a dream, and to this day I have no idea why Moscow. I had never been there before, but during the course of developing this novel we did visit Russia, and my wife and I both fell in love with Moscow. It is a world city: exciting, dynamic, visually beautiful and more What better setting for a romance with many difficulties?

Beyond part-time work and part-time writing I particularly enjoy travel.

But writing is my favourite pastime and I have many more tales that I would like to tell. Keep in touch to see where my next journey will take you.

Reviews

[Chloe Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of tragic love and loss, beautifully told. At times the intensity of feeling seems overpowering, so much that I emailed the author and had it confirmed that the telephone call actually happened, and probably on that day. Wow! Achille Varzi did everything with passion bordering on obsession, and it really is true!

This story is well paced, the characters are well developed and believable, the descriptions are superb, and the racing and the cars never get in the way of a story about people. Instead the racing and the cars are a fascinating backdrop to a story about people, and equally are reflective of turbulent political times. I recommend this to anyone who wants a good read, especially if they're looking for a story not constrained by genre or convention.

[Mary Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating story and not what I expected. A story of larger than life characters with thousands of fans, and adoration by thousands fans is a typically Italian way of things. While the real-life source material behind this story has it all, that material is superbly told. The Last Great Race is absolutely worth reading.

[Liz Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than a sports story

** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

When I read the summary of this book, I wanted to read it so badly. I’m a huge fan of all things connected to Formula One races. But this book is so much more than that. It’s a beautifully written tale about relationships, struggles, love, loss, and overcoming obstacles.

Since most of the characters are based on real people, it would be redundant to say the author made them seem realistic. However, his talent becomes apparent in the way he involves the reader and keeps him/her spellbound. It’s not an easy feat.

It’s also a great accomplishment being able to make a story as engaging as this is. Granted, Italy as a backdrop and pre-WW II as a timeframe are two powerful assets to any story. But, if an author doesn’t have talent, he/she won’t get anywhere. It’s not the case with The Last Great Race at all. On the contrary. As I turned the pages (so to speak as I read on my Kindle LOL), I felt like I was back in Europe, which has always fascinated me. More specifically Italy. It’s such an amazing country with such gorgeous people. What’s not to love about it, right?

Finally, the dual POV makes for a much more interesting storytelling style as it gives the reader a priceless opportunity to dive into different minds and have a more complex understanding of the situations.

I recommend The Last Great Race for anyone looking for a great book, regardless of their feelings about car sports because as I said in the beginning, this book is SO MUCH MORE than that.

[Allan Challis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in one of the most interesting decades of all time, large parts of this story are based upon real people and real events. The main character, Achille Varzi, is the most successful in his sport, until he falls in love for the first time. Although largely a true re-telling of a passionate affair, Shakespeare couldn't have come up with a better storyline of love and loss. It's a remarkable story, fitting around another great relationship, Achille Varzi with Norma. Told partly by Varzi and partly by a fictional journalist who has his own great love affair, this fictional character takes us through the Italian experience of the tragedy of World War Two. That particular sequence is really surprising and particularly interesting.

This is an extraordinarily well written story of a time of great change in world affairs, and a time of great change and excitement in top-level motorsport, all of which is told deftly, clearly and succinctly. It is a character-driven story, and the key characters really leap off the page. For those of you who know love, the story of Achille and Ilse goes beyond love or adoration, and it's impossible to find a word to easily describe their relationship. It's better to read this novel, and then you will understand.

[John Hendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the author's previous novel One Hundred Days and immediately bought this one when it came out, and I wasn't disappointed. The characters are alive and are real, the setting is fascinating, the story criss-crosses Europe from fascist Italy into Germany where the Nazis have just taken power, and we see the steady and inexorable path into war. Against that is the intense relationship between racing champion Achille Varzi and the beautiful Ilse Pietsch, bracketed by the surprising relationship of Achille Varzi and Norma Colombo. The author does a great job of bringing this deep thinking man to life, setting the scene when the fictional journalist's girlfriend meets Varzi for the first time. Great storytelling in that sequence, with much great storytelling throughout this novel.

Motorsport is just a background to a story of fascinating characters and fascinating events told superbly. It's the people and their relationships, love, lust and great friendships, which make this novel memorable.