The evocative setting the bedrock of this book – Italy, a summer house on the water, an affluent professor, his educated family, the comic servants, the beautiful girls drifting in and out, the sensitive son too easily attached to people. The prose also was very elegant and the descriptions beautiful. My problem was that the novel failed to evoke a sense of the romance between the two young men. It took FOREVER to pull down that red bathing suit. During most of the novel, the stakes were entirely too low. Will they kiss? Will they not kiss? Only at the very end did I realize that their affair was a life changing event for both of them. But why?
hmm. interesting. sometimes romance can be nice without sex, but you need to feel that passion at some point. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know! I grew more disappointed as the novel went on. It was beautifully written and very static.
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