A Capela no Fim do Mundo

by Kirsten McKenzie

Emilio e Rosa são namorados desde a infância e estão noivos. No entanto, estamos em 1942 e a guerra afastou Emilio da Itália, para uma pequena ilha das Orkney, onde é prisioneiro de guerra. Rosa vê-se obrigada a esperar pelo seu regresso, enquanto ajuda a mãe a gerir o hotel da família na margem do lago Como, na Itália. Sentindo-se cada vez mais frustrado com a situação, Emilio tem a ideia de construir uma capela na ilha deserta. Os prisioneiros juntam-se para criar um edifício extraordinário a partir de pouco mais de destroços de naufrágios e tintas caseiras. A capela de Emilio permanecerá na ilha muito depois de o campo de prisioneiros ser abandonado, mas irá o amor de Emilio por Rosa resistir às agruras da guerra e da separação? Rosa já não é a rapariga que ele deixou para trás. Envolve-se cada vez mais com o movimento de resistência italiano, colocando a sua segurança em risco, à medida que as amizades e as alianças se complicam devido à guerra.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Scotland, World War II, War, Historical

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Understated is the word that comes to mind in describing this story. I first came across this book at a London bookshop en route to Cape Town. I already had far too many books packed and knew there were more to be procured in Cape Town, so I didn’t purchase this. For some reason the title and the teaser for the book stayed with me. Perhaps it was because I was solidly in WWII genre at the time. Or perhaps it was a lovely reminder of stopping over in London and visiting my daughter, having just had tea in the secret tearoom and ducking into this bookshop in the rain. As a result I romanticized what this book would be - a tale of two lovers who prevailed throughout terrible hardships. I was disappointed initially. And yet this text represented truth, the emotions and tribulations of real people who had to figure out a way forward, individually and with, and for, each other.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Torn between giving this a 2 or a 3. It’s not really a bad book, but it’s not exactly a good book. It was great to have a story told from the Italian prisoners’ point of view, especially their use in war efforts which is a story worth remembering. And I liked the use of the Madonna throughout, but the creation of the chapel featured a lot less than I was expecting, given the title. I warmed to Rosa eventually, but she deserved a better ending. Although, her, like most of the characters’, development was too rapid to really buy into. And while I can imagine the POWs wouldn’t think exceptionally kindly to Orkney, I find the description of the Island’s & the people as almost perpetually grey a little lazy, I got little impression that the author spent much time there.

[Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing. It is clear that the character of the central figures were not the man who designed and painted the Madonna in the Italian chapel, and it became evident that the central premise of the story was how war and separation change people and relationships. I kept hoping for more about the construction of the chapel itself and being disappointed with the cursory nature with which that was dealt.
I think it was a pity that the author did not set it in one of the other camps where chapels were created, or just omit that side of the story altogether, since I, like many of the other readers, seem to have been annoyed with the misattribution of the work on the chapel.
If one disregards that it makes a fair stab at describing the effects of war and occupation, imprisonment and separation, but overall it lacks drive and colour and personality.

[Leif · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting but ultimately light-weight story that weaves the history of an Orkney island oddity with the world events taking place at the time. Unconvincing characters and serviceable writing make this a page-turner for the wrong reasons, but the premise itself is solid and the intentions seem laudable.

[MR M J WOMACK · Rating 1 out of 5]

Contender for worst book
Reading on recommendation of a good friend but fast loosing patience with continuity mistakes, muddled geography and syruppy writing
If the Orkney chapel wasn't such a source of fascination, I'd give up

[Trish Boese · Rating 2 out of 5]

2* A fictional WWII story but it just wasn't my style. A bit too crude and dark, I don't know what the point was, and I wasn't sure even what was happening a lot of the time. Perhaps someone specifically interested in the true story of this chapel built by Italian POWs would enjoy.

[Bonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ave actaually visited this chapel and reading this book really brought alive the story of the men who lived on the island during the war.

[Rebeccajb · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is so boring and I have no idea why I stuck with it.

[MRS ANNA LIVERSIDGE · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a well enough written book, however, I just struggled to get into it for some reason.
The premise is good and made me want to read it. It’s very slow and disjointed.

[tessa pedro monteiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Não gostei. Secante.

[Sue Corbett]

Good once I got into it.got a bit confused with characters at times, had to go back to check who was who.

[Ruth Waterton · Rating 3 out of 5]

We visisted Orkney recently and the little chapel built from very unpromising materials by Italian PoWs is certainly a memorable sight. I was rather surprised that it plays a relatively minor role in this narrative, which is split between the experiences of Emilio, one of the PoWs on Orkney and his fiancee Rosa, left behind in Northern Italy. It is really a story of how wars change people, and relationships, and the difficulty of keeping a love affair going after many eventful years apart.

There are passages of great beauty describing the Orcadian landscape and slowly the narrative draws you in. Rosa's experiences turn out to be more violent and traumatic than Emilio's, as she becomes inlolved with the partisans in Italy and has to make some very difficult choices under Nazi occupation. The scene dealing with the brief, unofficial return of her brother from the war is particularly moving. I liked the idea that the Madonna in the chapel reflects the uncertainties Emilio has about himself and Rosa, and for that reason she feels uncomfortable when she actually sees it. Kirsten McKenzie has the gift of picking out a simple incident and investing it with righ emotional meanings. The olive tree Emilio plants, surviving the Orkney climate, albeit in a stunted form, against all the odds. Also, the encounter of Bernardo, Emilio's troubled comrade, with a local woman and his sense of kindness and goodness radiating from her - little things like this are beautifully conveyed, and the way they help the characters to keep hope and their ideals alive.

But I would have liked more detail of the chapel. Possibly McKenzie felt constrained by the awareness that she was writing about real people, some of them still living - they are lightly fictionalized but it still feels somewhat intrusive. However, the fact that the story doesn't quite deliver as an account of the building of the chapel should not detract from the fact that it is a very good novel of the Second World War.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells personal stories of various characters during the Second World War. All are Italian. Emilio is engaged to Rosa and joins up to fight in North Africa. He is captured by the British and eventually ends up as a POW in Orkney. Meanwhile, Rosa is having second thoughts about her engagement and gets caught up in the resistance, dragging her mother in too at the hotel they run by Lake Como.
A bit of a slow starter but a very enjoyable read. Not a typical, happy-ever-after book.
I found it really interesting to hear about events in Italy. I found the story of Rosa's brother (fighting in Mussolini's army and then labelled as a traitor by the Nazis) and the effect this has on Rosa's mother particularly moving as well as the emerging relationship between Rosa and Pietro.
Emilio's story is slower paced but becomes more and more fascinating as the book progresses.
This book is based around truth, the chapel that Emilio and his fellow PoWs build on Orkney is still there today.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

didn't like this at all.I was aware before reading this book of the story of the chapel built by Italian prisoners during the war on Orkney. to give characters a personal background and dramatic plot, McKenzie has altered facts - particularly WHO was behind the idea of building the chapel-so one could end up confused between what is history and what is fiction. I didn't feel the characters to be well drawn, seemed to be mainly cardboard cut-outs. I didn't find place descriptions to ring true or create atmosphere -Italy,Orkney and Africa seemed interchangeable.Not one I'd recommend.

[Amie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great premise, lack-lustre execution. I don't think I've read a novel with flatter characters in years, which meant that I didn't care about them all. There wasn't even enough to dislike; it was completely blah. Living in Scotland, and having visited Orkney, I was excited about the combination of WWII Italy and the prisoner of war camp here on Orkey-- but even those circumstances and settings were blanched of colour by the very dull writing.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually rather enjoyed this. I picked it up in my local library attracted by the cover & then couldn't get it back in the shelf so I decided to take a chance with it.
I found it to a well written book, with some good descriptive writing.
I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't more about the actual building of the chapel.
Loved some of the characterisation & the author creates a very convincing sense of place & atmosphere & minute observations of human behaviour.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept was great and interesting but there was very limited detail even when swapping between narrators which meant it was often confusing and hard to follow as well as underdeveloped so despite such a moving and gripping story happening in both Orkney and Italy I was either wanting more time to know what happened or just didn’t care enough in one story meaning overall it was just hard to get gripped and follow.

[Gerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

A big disappointment. I had expected a story about the Orknian chapel. Instead I got a book about flat characterless characters whose behaviour was beyond understanding and at times I would say the Italian people were at times insulted by this writing. I had debated between 1 and 2 stars but gave it the benfit of the doubt.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story never gelled for me. I haven't read a lot about the Italians in WWII, so those sections were mildly interesting but in moving back and forth between Italy and the Orkney Islands, the author never really gives the reader enough time to develop relationships with the characters. I kept expecting some kind of villanous behavior from Bertoldo, but it never materialized.

[Laura]

I like the cover. And the title. So I am reading it.

***

Oops, back to the library.

[Nora29 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must read for those who have visited the moving and beautiful Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, Orkney.

[Jackie Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really interested in this story as I had never heard of the chapel and knew little about Italy in WW2. I want to learn more.

[Debbie Lundmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting but didn't follow some of the facts. It did make me want to learn more about the chapel.

[Samantha Panther · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I thought it would be.

[Lunaia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice to read, interesting perspective for my history loving side but didn't really manage to capture me.

[Magpie]

Has been in bookclub