Search - Up at the Villa

This is a delightfully quick read that leaves nothing out about how in the midst of tragic, stressful, and surreal events things about yourself are revealed to you more clearly than at another time. I so enjoyed this book because it had an effortless charm; I read it in maybe an hour and a half and felt as though I had just seen a movie. There was nothing unnecessary in this book just a good story.

Melodramatic story of a romantic woman and the chance encounter with a stranger that makes her face things in herself that she probably would have preferred to leave alone. Written by Maugham near the end of writing career, A long short story with deft characterization, it captures the atmosphere of Italy during a difficult time.

This book was made more enjoyable by my having recently been to Florence and Tuscany, so it was easy to picture the settings. Too quick a read to choose for a long plane ride (almost more like a short story), but very interesting and alluring. Couldn't put it down.