The Enchanted April in Reading with Style

Apr 15, 2019 Whitney rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What a sensation! Our main characters are housewives who live in fear of doing wrong. They are so depressed by the March London rain and gloom that they make an impulsive decision to rent a villa in Italy. And they split the cost with 2 other women, and all of them are strangers. They all wish to get away for their own reasons.

And despite their language barriers, they fall deeply in love when doused with sunshine and warmth. It's like they themselves are flowers that were near death. And they do ...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Elizabeth (Alaska) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: early-20th-century, kindle, classics, women

This was a nice little interlude - both for the women in the story and for this reader. The author paints a story of the transformative power of love. While I believe in the theory, I was somewhat unconvinced that it took place in this story. The writing was easily understood and the characterizations clear. The women wrestled with thoughts of who they were and their place in the world - and with occasional humor.

I might not be reading more of this author, but not because I thought this unpleas ...more

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Sep 05, 2023 Wendy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 500-women, nyrb, armchair-travel, effing-delightful, 2023

I finally found my enchanting summer book of the year by early September, though this would be a good one to pick up during the doldrums of February. A group of four very different women, all strangers to each other, decide to split the cost of renting a castle on the Italian coast for the month of April. As expected, there are clashes of personality and selfishness at first (not to mention an exploding patented bath...), but this fantasy Italian atmosphere works its magic in a rather charming w ...more

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Apr 19, 2022 Joanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2022-read, audiobooks, rws-2022-spring

This is an easy read that made me long for vacation. The book brings together four near-strangers who club together to rent a castle in Italy for the month of April. All of the parts of the book that took place in Italy were lovely and I enjoyed the slow introduction of additional guests to the villa.

The parts of the book that took place in England as they dithered about whether they could really go, whether they could really afford it, and whether their husbands would mind took far too long and ...more

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Aug 18, 2020 Bucket rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary, reviewed, classic, nature-the-outdoors, friendship, women, identity, travel, adventure, read-with-dan

This was fun and simple. It reminded me quite a bit of I Capture the Castle, but less subtle if such a thing is even possible.

The events are heavy-handed. Lotty has near-magical empathy powers; the house transforms everyone who goes there for the better, even the curmudgeonly Mrs. Fisher, restoring old love and creating new.

But for a quick summer read, I didn't mind. And the characters are charming and the setting is well done, which is probably what has made this one stand the test of time a bi ...more

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