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A Funeral in Fiesole
Four bereaved siblings A water-tight will Grief, rivalry, and conflicting memoriesThey reunite at their mother's funeral. It's their childhood home, in Florence, where many memories were born. They bring light suitcases, and hearts heavy with grief, but loaded with mysteries from childhood. In their fifties, Paola, Nigel, Brod and Suzanna remember holidays in those hills. Youthful memories rarely match; the four recall their mother very differently. The inheritance they hope for is bound up in Nina Larkin’s will. The only thing they agree about is its mystery. A Funeral in Fiesole is told in turn by each of the brothers and sisters. Youthful dreams are revealed, together with hope for the future. Their family problems – which might be solved by Nina’s will – threaten to make something simple rather complicated. Will you read this to confirm how similar some families are ... or how different?
266 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 22, 2015
2 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
About the author
Rosanne Dingli
53 books84 followersThis author's latest release is Pledges of Loyalty, the latest in the Denisthorn Hall series.
Rosanne Dingli has authored fifteen novels, six story collections, five novellas, and her collected poems. She has had numerous articles, stories, reviews, columns and poems published Australia-wide and on the internet since 1986. She has worked as teacher, lecturer, workshop coordinator, magazine and corporate editor, travel consultant, cook, manuscript assessor, heraldic artist and business partner. Originally from Malta, she has travelled widely in Italy, the UK, Turkey, Greece, South East Asia, Holland, Belgium, and France as well as most Australian states. She lives in Western Australia with her partner Hugo Bouckaert, Belgian GIS expert, biologist and philosopher.
Books:
According to Luke
Death in Malta
Fascinating Trickster
The Hidden Auditorium
The White Lady of Marsaxlokk
Counting Churches - The Malta Stories
All the Wrong Places (poetry)
The Astronomer's Pig
The Day of the Bird
How to Disappear
A Funeral in Fiesole
The Frozen Sea
The Cartographer of Venice
A Place in Society
A Suitable Husband
Maids and Mistresses
Pledges of Loyalty
Petals & Pages
Vertical Hold
Two
The Geography of Solitude
Chance and Necessity: A novel of Narrogin and Williams
Rosanne Dingli has authored fifteen novels, six story collections, five novellas, and her collected poems. She has had numerous articles, stories, reviews, columns and poems published Australia-wide and on the internet since 1986. She has worked as teacher, lecturer, workshop coordinator, magazine and corporate editor, travel consultant, cook, manuscript assessor, heraldic artist and business partner. Originally from Malta, she has travelled widely in Italy, the UK, Turkey, Greece, South East Asia, Holland, Belgium, and France as well as most Australian states. She lives in Western Australia with her partner Hugo Bouckaert, Belgian GIS expert, biologist and philosopher.
Books:
According to Luke
Death in Malta
Fascinating Trickster
The Hidden Auditorium
The White Lady of Marsaxlokk
Counting Churches - The Malta Stories
All the Wrong Places (poetry)
The Astronomer's Pig
The Day of the Bird
How to Disappear
A Funeral in Fiesole
The Frozen Sea
The Cartographer of Venice
A Place in Society
A Suitable Husband
Maids and Mistresses
Pledges of Loyalty
Petals & Pages
Vertical Hold
Two
The Geography of Solitude
Chance and Necessity: A novel of Narrogin and Williams
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 25, 2016
Four middle-aged siblings return to Italy to attend their mother’s funeral and discover the nature of their inheritance, a sizable bequest comprising houses, shares and money. The loss of their mother is a shared grief, but each character also carries a private burden with them. Paola’s shock has been dumped on her out of the blue by her absent husband. Nigel’s anger is fuelled by financial difficulties. Suzanna’s life-long dream is also frustrated by lack of funds, while indecisive Broderick and his partner are at odds over a life-changing family desire.
The dynamics each carry to the rambling family mansion in Fiesole are complicated by memories of growing up, old rivalries and judgments, and the miasma of gloom that is present as each senses the end of an era and the coming disposal of their childhood home. Their mother, Mrs Larkin, has done her best to avoid in-fighting by dividing assets according to the needs and natures of each sibling, but did she succeed? One of the compelling lures for the reader is turning the pages anxiously, waiting to find out who gets what. Only at the very end can we relax. Meanwhile, over the course of a week, significant personal changes occur. People no longer see one another through the eyes of distorted memory, but begin to perceive one another as adults who have changed and been moulded by life.
Apart from the division of assets, Mrs Larkin has included in her bequest a special, secret gift for each of her children. She is portrayed as a loving and sensitive mother who understands the hearts of her offspring and provides for the aged Matilde, her longterm housekeeper. This is a thoughtful family story, told from multiple viewpoints so we are always in the mind of the speaker, understanding their private concerns. Characters live on in the mind as the reader cheers them on and imagines the new directions opening in each life. As ever, Rosanne Dingli’s prose is smooth, unadorned and compact. The reader of ‘A Funeral in Fiesole’ may be assured of a satisfying read.
The dynamics each carry to the rambling family mansion in Fiesole are complicated by memories of growing up, old rivalries and judgments, and the miasma of gloom that is present as each senses the end of an era and the coming disposal of their childhood home. Their mother, Mrs Larkin, has done her best to avoid in-fighting by dividing assets according to the needs and natures of each sibling, but did she succeed? One of the compelling lures for the reader is turning the pages anxiously, waiting to find out who gets what. Only at the very end can we relax. Meanwhile, over the course of a week, significant personal changes occur. People no longer see one another through the eyes of distorted memory, but begin to perceive one another as adults who have changed and been moulded by life.
Apart from the division of assets, Mrs Larkin has included in her bequest a special, secret gift for each of her children. She is portrayed as a loving and sensitive mother who understands the hearts of her offspring and provides for the aged Matilde, her longterm housekeeper. This is a thoughtful family story, told from multiple viewpoints so we are always in the mind of the speaker, understanding their private concerns. Characters live on in the mind as the reader cheers them on and imagines the new directions opening in each life. As ever, Rosanne Dingli’s prose is smooth, unadorned and compact. The reader of ‘A Funeral in Fiesole’ may be assured of a satisfying read.
December 8, 2015
Wonderful story from four siblings' point of view, each processing grief and the past in their own manner. We could all imagine or maybe even have experienced for ourselves, the reverting back to our childish perceptions when thrown into a situation that tugs at the heart. This story is a thoughtful glimpse of a family drama triggered by a funeral - and a reminder that all families have secrets… a good short read with wonderfully unique characters. ***I read the kindle version.
December 8, 2015
A Funeral at Fiesole is a new style for this accomplished writer, but still loaded with artistic detail, complex characters who reveal themselves and each other in richly coloured contrasting perspectives, music, and raw human emotions.
Four siblings gather in small Tuscan town of Fiesole, near Florence, for their mother’s funeral, and to hear her will read by the Italian attorney. Each brings along their own expectations, their own emotional and economic burdens, and their partner. Because they have met infrequently during their adult lives, their interactions hark back to the relationships they shared as children and teenagers, spending long summer holidays with their mother at the Fiesole villa, growing in the Tuscan sunshine, and tedious school terms boarding in England. This scenario forms the basis from which a complex tale loaded with desire, resentment, envy and suspicion grows as the individual characters emerge like moths from their cocoons.
Rosanne Dingli creates very believable characters, full of complex detail, hang-ups, doubts and abrasive edges. She blends them together with the skill of a master painter, revealing layers of character, unexpected depths, and complex bonds. Written from the perspective of each character in turn, she gradually unfolds the family dynamics, along with a few unexpected twists just to spice things up a bit. Her backdrop is full of artistic symbolism, music and romantic energy, with intimate and diverse recollections of their mother. And it wouldn’t be a Dingli story if there wasn’t an interesting twist in the tail of her tale.
This is novel writing at its best; written in beautiful prose that carries one forward, wrapping the reader in the story, creating a subtle compulsion to turn the next page. Whilst there is no cataclysmic climax, it is warm and compelling, and truly satisfying when you reach the end.
A Funeral at Fiesole is perhaps her best book yet.
Four siblings gather in small Tuscan town of Fiesole, near Florence, for their mother’s funeral, and to hear her will read by the Italian attorney. Each brings along their own expectations, their own emotional and economic burdens, and their partner. Because they have met infrequently during their adult lives, their interactions hark back to the relationships they shared as children and teenagers, spending long summer holidays with their mother at the Fiesole villa, growing in the Tuscan sunshine, and tedious school terms boarding in England. This scenario forms the basis from which a complex tale loaded with desire, resentment, envy and suspicion grows as the individual characters emerge like moths from their cocoons.
Rosanne Dingli creates very believable characters, full of complex detail, hang-ups, doubts and abrasive edges. She blends them together with the skill of a master painter, revealing layers of character, unexpected depths, and complex bonds. Written from the perspective of each character in turn, she gradually unfolds the family dynamics, along with a few unexpected twists just to spice things up a bit. Her backdrop is full of artistic symbolism, music and romantic energy, with intimate and diverse recollections of their mother. And it wouldn’t be a Dingli story if there wasn’t an interesting twist in the tail of her tale.
This is novel writing at its best; written in beautiful prose that carries one forward, wrapping the reader in the story, creating a subtle compulsion to turn the next page. Whilst there is no cataclysmic climax, it is warm and compelling, and truly satisfying when you reach the end.
A Funeral at Fiesole is perhaps her best book yet.
September 26, 2020
I found the tenses used in this book slightly jarring, although I didn’t think they were wrong, just unusual. It’s too convenient when everyone has enough money to make life easy and fulfil their dreams.
February 24, 2016
Four siblings gather for a few days in the house of their childhood summers. It is in Fiesole, a town in Tuscany, Italy. This setting—the climate, the town, the garden, the house—becomes almost a character in itself. It pulsates and resounds with the past of the siblings and the native Tuscans.
The occasion for the gathering is the funeral of their mother and the reading of her will. Such an event is a milestone in most lives, and one which is very relevant to adults of today’s baby-boom generation. The emotions, issues and reflections of the characters combine to produce intense interactions.
As have all her previous books, this new novel by Rosanne Dingli is marked by a subtle facility with words and a sure story-telling craftsmanship. Through the narration by each of the siblings in rotating sequence, the reader is immersed in the complexity of family relationships and the uncertainties of memory. Each character has a distinct voice because of the author’s variation of prose style and print font. Their different points of view make compelling reading. And the question tugs at the reader right to the end: What is in the will?
Each of the siblings grapples with their individual past and their present needs, as well as the difficulties in relating to the others. Each changes significantly by the end of the story.
Reading this novel made me think about my own life, memories and relationships. Now and then it helped me shed new light on them.
Over the whole story hovers the presence of the mother. In the reminiscences of her children and their efforts to interpret her meaning in their present lives, she pervades everything as an abiding source of love and wisdom. At several points in the novel I was moved to tears by the power of this. The story reminded me in a unique way that love—what we do and do not do for others—is extremely complex in its expression but so elemental in its impetus. And it lives on after death.
This book deserves a huge readership.
The occasion for the gathering is the funeral of their mother and the reading of her will. Such an event is a milestone in most lives, and one which is very relevant to adults of today’s baby-boom generation. The emotions, issues and reflections of the characters combine to produce intense interactions.
As have all her previous books, this new novel by Rosanne Dingli is marked by a subtle facility with words and a sure story-telling craftsmanship. Through the narration by each of the siblings in rotating sequence, the reader is immersed in the complexity of family relationships and the uncertainties of memory. Each character has a distinct voice because of the author’s variation of prose style and print font. Their different points of view make compelling reading. And the question tugs at the reader right to the end: What is in the will?
Each of the siblings grapples with their individual past and their present needs, as well as the difficulties in relating to the others. Each changes significantly by the end of the story.
Reading this novel made me think about my own life, memories and relationships. Now and then it helped me shed new light on them.
Over the whole story hovers the presence of the mother. In the reminiscences of her children and their efforts to interpret her meaning in their present lives, she pervades everything as an abiding source of love and wisdom. At several points in the novel I was moved to tears by the power of this. The story reminded me in a unique way that love—what we do and do not do for others—is extremely complex in its expression but so elemental in its impetus. And it lives on after death.
This book deserves a huge readership.
December 14, 2015
A Funeral in Fiesole by Rosanne Dingli
The story concerns four adult siblings, who have spent little time together since childhood. They are drawn back to Italy to Fiesole for their mother's funeral. Despite the cause of their meeting up again A Funeral in Fiesole is a heart-warming and enjoyable read. The villa and its surrounds came to life for me, from its crumbling fresco to its neglected garden. Who will inherit? Paola the eldest, who has travelled from Australia, her sister Suzanna who doesn't need the money, or will it, be their brothers Brod and Nigel? Has their mother been fair to all of them? This skilled author presents each siblings perspective in turn .They each arrive with their partners and with hopes and expectations as well as secrets and resentments. As you read it is impossible not to sympathise and agree with that point of view. Until you read the next section and change perspective. An expertly crafted book that will leave you wanting more. This is a book that you will read quickly for the sake of the story. Yet you may well go back to it to read it again, this time to linger over the apt descriptions of people and places, which have all been meticulously researched. A book which is a far better than average read and one that would make a great present for any baby boomer.
The story concerns four adult siblings, who have spent little time together since childhood. They are drawn back to Italy to Fiesole for their mother's funeral. Despite the cause of their meeting up again A Funeral in Fiesole is a heart-warming and enjoyable read. The villa and its surrounds came to life for me, from its crumbling fresco to its neglected garden. Who will inherit? Paola the eldest, who has travelled from Australia, her sister Suzanna who doesn't need the money, or will it, be their brothers Brod and Nigel? Has their mother been fair to all of them? This skilled author presents each siblings perspective in turn .They each arrive with their partners and with hopes and expectations as well as secrets and resentments. As you read it is impossible not to sympathise and agree with that point of view. Until you read the next section and change perspective. An expertly crafted book that will leave you wanting more. This is a book that you will read quickly for the sake of the story. Yet you may well go back to it to read it again, this time to linger over the apt descriptions of people and places, which have all been meticulously researched. A book which is a far better than average read and one that would make a great present for any baby boomer.
January 21, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, set in Fiesole, a day-trip from Florence in Tuscany. Rosanne Dingli has the ability to make the exotic settings in her novels come alive. This is no exception.
In Funeral in Fiesole, we read about a family of four siblings, who gather for the funeral of their mother. Each of the siblings tells his or her own story. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of them, together creating a satisfying whole. We learn about childhood pleasures and arguments, about partners present and past, about the history of the villa in which they meet, and about their hopes and desires for the future.
As well as the funeral, they are concerned about the contents of their mother's will. The author has crafted the novel so that the reader, also, is intrigued by how the old woman has bequeathed her estate.
My fuller review can be read at http://maureenhelen.com/rosanne-dingl...
In Funeral in Fiesole, we read about a family of four siblings, who gather for the funeral of their mother. Each of the siblings tells his or her own story. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of them, together creating a satisfying whole. We learn about childhood pleasures and arguments, about partners present and past, about the history of the villa in which they meet, and about their hopes and desires for the future.
As well as the funeral, they are concerned about the contents of their mother's will. The author has crafted the novel so that the reader, also, is intrigued by how the old woman has bequeathed her estate.
My fuller review can be read at http://maureenhelen.com/rosanne-dingl...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews