Lead Review
- Book: The Rome Affair
- Location: Rome
- Author: Karen Swan
“Every sense was spoilt in Rome: the scent of jasmine wandered the air while the hum of scooters zipping round the perimeter roads was as calming as the buzz of bees”
A lovely split narrative that will immerse you in the wonder that is Rome.
Cesca has made Rome her home. She lives in a tiny flat, up a flight of outside steps, adorned with plotted plants tended by her landlady. It’s a simple existence now, but there is a hint that she has a “past life” back in the UK. She is a well known character in the locality, with her tall willowy gait, a fiery mane of red hair, and a penchant for vintage clothes, which raises a few eyebrows amongst the well styled Italians.
A fluke discovery of a designer handbag, consigned to the rubbish bin, leads to a meeting with Principessa Elena dei Damiani Pignatelli della Mirandola (known as the Viscontessa), who lives in a huge Palazzo just around the corner from where Cesca lives. In the handbag is a pivotal letter addressed to the Viscontessa. Upon returning the bag to its owner, she finds Elena is looking for a biographer of her very varied and colourful life – several husbands, mixing with the elite of America’s East Coast…. A dream job, it would seem, especially as she is already notching up considerable reader numbers for her blog, titled “The Rome Affair” where she shares ‘her’ Rome. But there are several naysayers who prophesy a bitter outcome when they hear that Cesca is working for Elena.
It soon becomes clear that Elena – or Laney back in the day – has a version of the truth that does not tie in with Cesca’s research. All the smoke and mirrors and artifice are like a red rag to a bull – Cesca was a barrister in her previous life, thus she is pretty astute at spotting when things don’t add up. And they certainly do not add up when it comes to Elena and her portrayal of her life.
Bang! Suddenly a sink hole appears in the beautifully tended garden of the palazzo. (Sinkholes are unfortunately pretty common in Rome, more than 80 were reported in 2016 alone). Rome has been built layer upon layer of history and much of the city sits on, what is in effect, a honeycomb of structures. Below the Piazza Navona, for example, there a Greek style stadium. And it is Signor Cantarelli, an urban speleologist (yes, I had to look it up, it is someone who studies caves and karsts) who comes in to examine the sizeable hole that has opened up in the middle of the Viscontessa’s garden. A handsome fellow, who certainly catches Cesca’s eye, but who seems strangely diffident in her presence.
A huge diamond ring is found in one of the tunnels and this opens up a new chapter in the story that the Viscontessa has been weaving, it is indeed like the past is seemingly swallowing up the present…..And a good few twist later round off this hugely readable tale.
Every time I opened up the novel to read more, I felt like I was opening a door into life in Rome. I could see the “amber light and the sparrows“, feel the heat and engage with the buzz of the capital. The author travelled to Rome for a research recce, intent on finding the palazzo she had in her mind’s eye. She wanted to try and find one that fronted onto a principal square with a smaller square to the side, but to no avail. The palazzo is a fabrication which had to be invented. However, the bakery “next door” is in fact based on Biscottificio Innocenti in Trastevere and Cesca’s house is inspired by a little house the author found just nearby. The ice cream parlour where four of the characters chew over their lives is based on Giolitti in Via del Vicario.
This review first appeared on our blog – where the author talks to us about her favourite vintage clothes shops in the city
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