An Italian-German family saga across four generations, from 1944 to the present day. A picturesque medieval village in the Marches in Italy, Ancona, the capital of the province, and Kempten, in the Allgäu region.
The suffering that German Wehrmacht soldiers inflicted on the partisan Teresa Moretti (1924-1952) just outside her village in August 1944 continues to have repercussions for her great-granddaughter, Simona Mälzer (29), an Italian-German “guest worker child” of the third generation.
Like her grandmother,Franca Mälzer (1945-2018), she has no idea who her father is. When Franca dies, and passes down Farina Hof, the house in the village where she was born, to Simona, Simona sets out on a search for traces of her lineage. She finds a family, heroines, a scandal – and her place in life.
The author showcases her narrative skills on a sweeping scale. The reader is placed right there in summery Italy, moved by the dramatic fate of the very special heroines and feeling as though she is part of this family. This book provides a mesmerizing, opulent, pleasurable reading experience.