Review: Ciao, Amore, Ciao by Sandro Martini
Today, I'm delighted to welcome author Sandro Martini to Ruins & Reading. I'm sharing my review of his intriguing multi-timeline WWII novel, Ciao, Amore, Ciao. Read on!
Ciao, Amore, Ciao is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Find other fascinating tour stops HERE!
Ciao, Amore, Ciao
Alex Lago, Book #1
by Sandro Martini
Review:
I was intrigued when I first read the blurb of Ciao, Amore, Ciao. As an Italophile, delving into its less savoury past had to be done. And this novel gives you plenty to think about, long after you've read it!
A dark family secret is at the heart of the story, with viewpoints switching between modern day and the turbulent years of WWII.
When journalist Alex Lago discovers an old photo of his uncle in his late father's possession, he doesn't know that it will be the catalyst for questions about his own family, and events in Italy during and just after the war. He begins to dig into his uncle's past by publishing the photograph, but the revelations come as a shock.
During the gripping plot – which reads more like a political thriller than simple historical fiction – we switch to the disastrous Stalingrad campaign, and to a post-war event in Italy that showed the raw emotions of war, on all sides. The massacre in the prison of the town of Schio. The tone of the novel is gruff. There is no attempt at normalisation of the brutal effect war and partisanship had on men and women. On the contrary, it shows war as what it is: cruel, unfair, and manipulated.
During, and just after, the war, Italian society remained divided, into partisans – often communists – and those who followed Mussolini. It is an area Italy still seems to struggle with, given how consecutive post-war governments have dealt with the aftermath of the massacre of Schio. It was mob justice at its worst, and whilst initially, several conspirators were sentenced to death, eventually, those sentences were commuted.
The plot is quite complex, with several strands running through it, so you need to pay attention. The language and graphic description of war befits the scenes, and this may not be for every reader. But they add a rawness to the novel that many modern WWII novels lack. There is nothing twee about it; nothing rose-tinted. To me, it fits very well with the subject area. People had no time to be polite, and kindness was rare (and dangerous). But also, we witness the manipulation of the masses by those in power, on all sides.
Reading this novel at a time of re-emerging nationalist manipulation and rabble-rousing is doubly poignant. It's a key reminder of why we need to learn from the past, not relive it in a make-believe way that never existed.
Ciao, Amore, Ciao is a gripping, eye-opening thriller – unrelenting, descriptive in horrific detail, and brutally honest. It's well worth reading if you enjoy historical WWII fiction without the rose-tinted glasses. You can catch a realistic glimpse at the raw past that was never one-dimensional or glorious.
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Blurb:
An enthralling dual-timeline WWII family mystery, based on the heartbreaking true story of the massacre in a small town in Italy in July of 1945, from award-winning, bestselling novelist Sandro Martini.
In the winter of 1942, an Italian army of young men vanishes in the icefields of the Eastern Front. In the summer of 1945, a massacre in Schio, northeastern Italy, where families grieve the dead, makes international headlines.
In present-day Veneto, an ordinary man is about to stumble onto a horrifying secret.
Alex Lago is a jaded journalist whose career is fading as fast as his marriage. When he discovers an aged World War II photo in his dying father’s home, and innocently posts it to a Facebook group, he gets an urgent message: Take it down. NOW.
Alex finds himself digging into a past that needs to stay hidden. What he's about to uncover is a secret that can topple a political dynasty buried under seventy years of rubble. Suddenly entangled in a deadly legacy, he encounters the one person who can offer him redemption, for an unimaginable price.
Told from three alternating points of view, Martini’s World War II tale of intrigue, war, and heartbreak pulls the Iron Curtain back to reveal a country nursing its wounds after horrific defeat, an army of boys forever frozen at the gates of Stalingrad, British spies scheming to reshape Italy’s future, and the stinging unsolved murder of a partisan hero.
Ciao, Amore, Ciao is a gripping story of the most heroic, untold battle of the Second World War, and a brilliantly woven novel that brings the deceits of the past and the reckoning of the present together.
Praise for Ciao, Amore, Ciao:
“A gripping saga that roots excruciating betrayals in a nation’s tragic history.”
~ Kirkus Reviews
~ Kirkus Reviews
“Balances action, suspense, and emotional depth to deliver a truly immersive, thought-provoking read with an unflinching look at the sins of the past and the lengths to which the powerful will go to keep them buried.”
~ Sublime Book Review
~ Sublime Book Review
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Buy Link:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
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About the Author:
Sandro Martini has worked as a word monkey on three continents.
He's the author of Tracks: Racing the Sun, an award-winning historical novel. He grew up in Africa to immigrant parents, studied law in Italy, chased literary dreams in London, hustled American dollars in New York City, and is now hiding out in Switzerland, where he moonlights as a Comms guy and tries hard not to speak German.
You can find him either uber-driving his daughter, chasing faster cars on the autobahn, or swimming in Lake Zurich with a cockapoo named Tintin.
His latest historical suspense novel, Ciao, Amore, Ciao, is now available.
Connect with Sandro:
Website • Twitter / X • Facebook • Instagram
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