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The Fortress
"If I had been another woman, I might have been skeptical. But I wasn’t another woman. I was a woman ready to be swept away. I was a woman ready for her story to begin. As a writer, story was all that mattered. Rising action, dramatic complication, heroes and villains and dark plots. I believed I was the author of my life, that I controlled the narration."
From their first kiss, twenty-seven-year-old writer Danielle Trussoni is spellbound by a novelist from Bulgaria. The two share a love of jazz and books and travel, passions that intensify their whirlwind romance.
Eight years later, hopeful to renew their marriage, Danielle and her husband move to the south of France, to a picturesque medieval village in the Languedoc. It is here, in a haunted stone fortress built by the Knights Templar, that she comes to understand the dark, subterranean forces that have been following her all along.
While Danielle and her husband eventually part, Danielle's time in the fortress brings precious wisdom about life and love that she could not have learned otherwise. Ultimately, she finds the strength to overcome her illusions, and start again.
An incisive look at romantic love, The Fortress is one woman’s fight to understand the complexities of her own heart, told by one of the best writers of her generation.
From their first kiss, twenty-seven-year-old writer Danielle Trussoni is spellbound by a novelist from Bulgaria. The two share a love of jazz and books and travel, passions that intensify their whirlwind romance.
Eight years later, hopeful to renew their marriage, Danielle and her husband move to the south of France, to a picturesque medieval village in the Languedoc. It is here, in a haunted stone fortress built by the Knights Templar, that she comes to understand the dark, subterranean forces that have been following her all along.
While Danielle and her husband eventually part, Danielle's time in the fortress brings precious wisdom about life and love that she could not have learned otherwise. Ultimately, she finds the strength to overcome her illusions, and start again.
An incisive look at romantic love, The Fortress is one woman’s fight to understand the complexities of her own heart, told by one of the best writers of her generation.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 20, 2016
56 people are currently reading
1101 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Trussoni
22 books1,535 followersDanielle Trussoni is the author of The Puzzle Box (October 8, 2024), The Puzzle Master, The Ancestor, Angelology, The Fortress and Falling Through The Earth. Danielle is an internationally best-selling author whose work has been translated into over 30 languages.
Please get in touch with Danielle by writing her at danielle@danielletrussoni.com
Please get in touch with Danielle by writing her at danielle@danielletrussoni.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
October 17, 2016
An autobiographical memoir ought to be simplest of genres, the author is also usually the narrator & principal character, the other characters are present in the author’s memory, & the plot seemingly a simple recounting of what happened in real life. But to a literary analyst, memoir is fiendishly complex. In what sense is Danielle Trussoni, a woman who once attended the University of Iowa MFA program identical with the Danielle Trussoni in this story, who lived in a castle in southern France while married to a Bulgarian novelist named Nikoli & who is telling this story? Is the 1st person narrator the same person as the writer who once wrote a novel I confess I never finished called Angelology? The narrator here mentions its publication & her American book tour, but solely for how those affected her marriage, much to my disappointment because I’d love to know where she got the idea & how she discovered the Book of Enoch & the Watchers. Should you want to fine-tune your literary theory, you can also ask about what theorists term “the implicit author”—the sort of person whose presence you feel behind the book you are actually reading. All four of them, the author, the narrator, the principal subject, & the implicit author, have in common the name Danielle Trussoni.
An Amazon review wondered that Nikoli didn’t sue Danielle for slander. Which Nikoli? we wonder. The Bulgarian novelist in real life or the character in Fortress. Can a character in a story book sue the author for an unflattering portrait? I’d love to attend the trial Falstaff v. Shakespeare. There is, however a website maintained by Nikoli the novelist & ex-spouse (tho’ she’s not mentioned) of the author Danielle Trussoni. There’s a picture of him wearing a top hat like the one described in Fortress that made a line from a song by Taylor Swift come immediately to mind: “Run as fast as you can.”
The two principal characters in Fortress are a crazy romantic from Wisconsin who encounters a darkly glamorous sexually magnetic Bulgarian., the Heathcliff figure every crazy romantic is eager to meet. It doesn’t matter that Danielle already had a child. (We discover later that she’s playing faster & looser with her domestic arrangements than she reveals @ 1st.) She gets pregnant & makes the mistake of going to Bulgaria to meet his parents & have the baby. (Her account of a Bulgarian L&D unit is utterly harrowing.) His dealing with the baby’s name on her birth certificate reveals straightway that he is a controlling liar. She makes the bigger mistake of marrying him, which means that under the law after they move to France, half of all their property will be his, even tho’ he contributes absolutely nothing to their finances. When @ last Danielle wises up (we are introduced to a White Knight, a handsome young Frenchman, as the start of the book), he resorts to blackmail, lying, gas-lighting, even parental abduction, & brings his parents from Bulgaria to try to torment Danielle into giving him custody of their daughter. In short, Nikoli fits every stereotype you ever had about Balkan males. Maybe it’s the effect of growing up in places that were once ruled by the Turks. (Nikoli also affects being a magician, a Buddhist mystic, & part vampire, tho’ with that “Oil Can Harry” hat, au fond he’s just the cheap shallow villain in the melodrama, but unfortunately he really does have the deed to the house.
Although Fortress dragged in the middle, I found it quite enchanting, with a heroine we love & suffer with, & a villain whom we want to strangle. The last portion, especially when the White Knight’s mother, the White Queen, comes to Danielle’s aid, had me wanting to stand up & cheer. So despite many flaws, Fortress deserves the whole five stars, even tho’ I’m not quite sure which Danielle Trussoni will accept them. Maybe the author of Angelology, one of the best fantasy novels I never quite got round to finishing.
An Amazon review wondered that Nikoli didn’t sue Danielle for slander. Which Nikoli? we wonder. The Bulgarian novelist in real life or the character in Fortress. Can a character in a story book sue the author for an unflattering portrait? I’d love to attend the trial Falstaff v. Shakespeare. There is, however a website maintained by Nikoli the novelist & ex-spouse (tho’ she’s not mentioned) of the author Danielle Trussoni. There’s a picture of him wearing a top hat like the one described in Fortress that made a line from a song by Taylor Swift come immediately to mind: “Run as fast as you can.”
The two principal characters in Fortress are a crazy romantic from Wisconsin who encounters a darkly glamorous sexually magnetic Bulgarian., the Heathcliff figure every crazy romantic is eager to meet. It doesn’t matter that Danielle already had a child. (We discover later that she’s playing faster & looser with her domestic arrangements than she reveals @ 1st.) She gets pregnant & makes the mistake of going to Bulgaria to meet his parents & have the baby. (Her account of a Bulgarian L&D unit is utterly harrowing.) His dealing with the baby’s name on her birth certificate reveals straightway that he is a controlling liar. She makes the bigger mistake of marrying him, which means that under the law after they move to France, half of all their property will be his, even tho’ he contributes absolutely nothing to their finances. When @ last Danielle wises up (we are introduced to a White Knight, a handsome young Frenchman, as the start of the book), he resorts to blackmail, lying, gas-lighting, even parental abduction, & brings his parents from Bulgaria to try to torment Danielle into giving him custody of their daughter. In short, Nikoli fits every stereotype you ever had about Balkan males. Maybe it’s the effect of growing up in places that were once ruled by the Turks. (Nikoli also affects being a magician, a Buddhist mystic, & part vampire, tho’ with that “Oil Can Harry” hat, au fond he’s just the cheap shallow villain in the melodrama, but unfortunately he really does have the deed to the house.
Although Fortress dragged in the middle, I found it quite enchanting, with a heroine we love & suffer with, & a villain whom we want to strangle. The last portion, especially when the White Knight’s mother, the White Queen, comes to Danielle’s aid, had me wanting to stand up & cheer. So despite many flaws, Fortress deserves the whole five stars, even tho’ I’m not quite sure which Danielle Trussoni will accept them. Maybe the author of Angelology, one of the best fantasy novels I never quite got round to finishing.
October 20, 2016
Danielle Trussoni is an author I've enjoyed in the past. This book did not disappoint. Yes, it wasn't a book of fiction like I've come to expect; but, the Fortress was an exceedingly honest and unvarnished report of an important period in her life. To be so forthcoming takes mountains of courage and I have the developed the utmost respect for her.
October 30, 2016
I can't believe this book got such good reviews, I finally quit halfway through, and I almost never do that. I absolutely couldn't stand either one of them, he was so narcissistic and selfish, she so pitiful and clueless. Truly couldn't waste another second in their world. I quit when she was desperate to renew her vows to the man she was repulsed by physically, who had repeatedly lied to her, and was completely absent from their lives, she was a moron!
December 8, 2016
My interest in memoirs really led me astray here. This was a combination of "lifestyle porn" à la Under the Tuscan Sun or Peter Mayle and a petulant tell-all attempt at self-aggrandizement. She'd be describing (uninterestingly but breathlessly) some incident that was soul crushing and then stop midway and describe the food she was eating or the design of drapery. (The fact that they lived in a 13th-century fortress must have been more than 50% of the reason she got this book contract.) Reading the summary I assumed that at least Trussoni would bring a feminist perspective to bear on a story of her disasterous marriage. But she hasn't an ounce of feminist consciousness (e.g. not recognizing that her position as the family's breadwinner put her in the traditional position of the "husband" and the power she wielded.)
She made her husband sound so awful that somewhere halfway I suddenly began rooting for him - and reflecting back on each thing she claimed he'd done to rethink it - virtually every "sin" was justifiable or had become so twisted by her telling that I didn't know what to think (nor cared too much). I figured out who he is with a quick Google search: Nikolai Grozni - a well-regarded Bulgarian novelist. (He should write his own book to rebut this, not to get revenge, which is her game, but to tell another truer story.)
The prose wasn't especially interesting - the vocabulary was simple, the sentence cadences never varied, the introspection was paper thin. Of course I'm usually more discriminating and deliberate in my reading choices than this. I have a lot of desk/screen work this week and needed audiobooks for a respite, but this was the only audiobook on my device. So why didn't I just load a couple of good podcasts if I disliked this so much? I guess I wanted to see how big the trainwreck got and how many silly things Trussoni said. (Not that I'm proud of continuing for that reason!)
She made her husband sound so awful that somewhere halfway I suddenly began rooting for him - and reflecting back on each thing she claimed he'd done to rethink it - virtually every "sin" was justifiable or had become so twisted by her telling that I didn't know what to think (nor cared too much). I figured out who he is with a quick Google search: Nikolai Grozni - a well-regarded Bulgarian novelist. (He should write his own book to rebut this, not to get revenge, which is her game, but to tell another truer story.)
The prose wasn't especially interesting - the vocabulary was simple, the sentence cadences never varied, the introspection was paper thin. Of course I'm usually more discriminating and deliberate in my reading choices than this. I have a lot of desk/screen work this week and needed audiobooks for a respite, but this was the only audiobook on my device. So why didn't I just load a couple of good podcasts if I disliked this so much? I guess I wanted to see how big the trainwreck got and how many silly things Trussoni said. (Not that I'm proud of continuing for that reason!)
December 13, 2016
Reviewing memoirs is always difficult for me because I feel like I'm judging the author, not just the book, if I didn't appreciate their story.
And, unfortunately, this was a tough one for me.
First, Trussoni reads her own audiobook, which, unless the author is a comedian or actor, is almost always a mistake. It was in this case. She would have been better served by having a professional read her story.
Second, while Trussoni's tale about the dissolution of her second marriage while living abroad in France is compelling, it's also an experience in frustration. She often makes terrible decisions. She is often self-absorbed to the point of ignoring her children's needs. She often justifies her poor decisions by pointing out how much more awful her husband is.
I believe Trussoni is attempting to be honest about how she dealt with her dissolving relationship, and I appreciate that. But, instead of owning those poor choices, she plays the victim, and points out that she simply had no other choices . . . which . . . is . . . not true. When you choose to run away from your problems for a weekend because you need "you time" to have an affair, and you know your husband is unstable and unreliable, don't act surprised when he leaves with your daughter. Yes, I know I sound unsympathetic, but when you leave your children with a man you don't trust, that's a problem. Your children come first. Keep them safe.
Anyhow, that's just one of the frustrating moments, where both of the "adults" were in the wrong. There are plenty of others.
I do think this is an apt portrait of what happens when two selfish, mentally unstable adults find themselves unable to leave a toxic, potentially abusive situation, get counselling, or even get help of any kind, because they both want control of their finances, housing, children, and, ultimately, blame . . . it's an awful story.
I felt the worst for the children, because they truly had no choices, unlike their parents.
Heartbreaking for all involved. An act of frustration to read, because you can't step in and make the adults begin acting like adults.
*language, sexual situations
And, unfortunately, this was a tough one for me.
First, Trussoni reads her own audiobook, which, unless the author is a comedian or actor, is almost always a mistake. It was in this case. She would have been better served by having a professional read her story.
Second, while Trussoni's tale about the dissolution of her second marriage while living abroad in France is compelling, it's also an experience in frustration. She often makes terrible decisions. She is often self-absorbed to the point of ignoring her children's needs. She often justifies her poor decisions by pointing out how much more awful her husband is.
I believe Trussoni is attempting to be honest about how she dealt with her dissolving relationship, and I appreciate that. But, instead of owning those poor choices, she plays the victim, and points out that she simply had no other choices . . . which . . . is . . . not true. When you choose to run away from your problems for a weekend because you need "you time" to have an affair, and you know your husband is unstable and unreliable, don't act surprised when he leaves with your daughter. Yes, I know I sound unsympathetic, but when you leave your children with a man you don't trust, that's a problem. Your children come first. Keep them safe.
Anyhow, that's just one of the frustrating moments, where both of the "adults" were in the wrong. There are plenty of others.
I do think this is an apt portrait of what happens when two selfish, mentally unstable adults find themselves unable to leave a toxic, potentially abusive situation, get counselling, or even get help of any kind, because they both want control of their finances, housing, children, and, ultimately, blame . . . it's an awful story.
I felt the worst for the children, because they truly had no choices, unlike their parents.
Heartbreaking for all involved. An act of frustration to read, because you can't step in and make the adults begin acting like adults.
*language, sexual situations
June 18, 2016
One of my favorite pieces of wisdom is from St. Augustine. His words immediately came to mind while reading Danielle Trussoni's true adventures, grand and mis, of love and loss and love again - "The world is a great book. Those that never stir from home read only a page."
As someone who herself has stirred from home (from time to time), I found myself in great and sympathetic company with The Fortress. I've sometimes made those wild choices that paid off and other times cost way too much. I've rationalized, regretted and renewed. I am so grateful for Trussoni's honest accounting of the states of mind and emotions unique, I believe, to the female psyche which will cause some of us to throw caution to the wind one moment and demand on the sanctity of the hearth the next.
The Fortress helped me to remember that in the big picture, yes is almost always better than no, even if the outcome is not quite or not at all what you planned on. I was with her all the way. You will be too.
As someone who herself has stirred from home (from time to time), I found myself in great and sympathetic company with The Fortress. I've sometimes made those wild choices that paid off and other times cost way too much. I've rationalized, regretted and renewed. I am so grateful for Trussoni's honest accounting of the states of mind and emotions unique, I believe, to the female psyche which will cause some of us to throw caution to the wind one moment and demand on the sanctity of the hearth the next.
The Fortress helped me to remember that in the big picture, yes is almost always better than no, even if the outcome is not quite or not at all what you planned on. I was with her all the way. You will be too.
December 11, 2016
"I had always believed we were exceptional, but now I saw that we were just your run-of-the-mill egotistical assholes."
Um, whoa. I have a penchant for train-wreck relationship memoirs, but this might be one of the strangest and nastiest divorce narratives I've read yet (well, either this or Cleaving). It's seems odd to say I "liked it," but it was fascinating and sad.
Um, whoa. I have a penchant for train-wreck relationship memoirs, but this might be one of the strangest and nastiest divorce narratives I've read yet (well, either this or Cleaving). It's seems odd to say I "liked it," but it was fascinating and sad.
November 30, 2016
I'm not sure what the point of the book is, except to shake your head throughout and wonder what on earth Trussoni was thinking.
July 23, 2017
This book is subtitled "a love story" which is not at all true. The author is divorced and has a small child when she meets Nikolai, who is also divorced with a child. They quickly discover they are soul mates. His visa is expired so he has to return to Bulgaria to renew it, convinces her to come along, then they find out he has to stay there 2 years before leaving again. He convinces her to stay in Bulgaria (can't live without her), supported by his parents and she's pregnant. They have a child, he cheats on her, she's dumb, they move to France supposedly to resuscitate their marriage, but that's a disaster and it all goes downhill from there. Because again, she meets another guy and cheats on her husband. You would think she'd figure out that's not the way to start a relationship. Ugh
June 22, 2017
Did not enjoy at all- in fact, it caused me anxiety. The "love story" subtitle is totally misleading- should be a called a "hate story". The author fails to acknowledge that there are some deep mental issues happening with her husband, despite recognizing them in other characters mentioned throughout the book. Just because you've spent time in a foreign country doesn't mean your story makes for a great one. Was not at all what I was expecting from the synopsis.
September 15, 2020
Wow! This was such an interesting true life story, very much reads like fiction. Spoiler alert: I'm glad she was able to extricate herself from this damaged man after her "fairytale" start, & find true happiness elsewhere. I really enjoy her writing, whether it's fiction or non-fiction.
October 8, 2016
I couldn't put this down. Danielle Trussoni whipped out every ounce of self-actualization and intellect from her holster as she recounted the disintegration of her marriage to Bulgarian dickhead Nikolai Grozni, and their ineffective struggle to turn the relationship around by moving into a little castle in the South of France. At times, it read like a fiction- I was turning pages so fast, I couldn't believe I was so frantically compelled by somebody's real life. What impressed me most is that she has every opportunity to demonize somebody who so royally threw a wrench (fine, buckets full of wrenches) into what should have been a loving family life, and instead, she shares responsibility every step of the way and elucidates her crumbling relationship with tenderness. I was wary in the beginning, ready to prejudge: "How many glasses of grenache in a sunlit courtyard will I have to sit through before I get bored?" "How many passive-aggressive interactions is it going to take before the shit really hits the fan?" "Come on, is the husband really that bad of a guy?" Let me tell you, I did not get bored once. The story is never dully repetitive- it only circles back on itself to descend to a new depth of hellaciousness that I, as a single and childless person, have personally never known. And yes, Nikolai truly sucks. Trussoni's power to summon up every demon, skeleton, and ghost in the graveyard of this wreck of a marriage is a force to be reckoned with. What's really something is that I can't even personally relate to her life (I don't even think I share personality traits with her), but I found myself hitched onto her wagon and very content to be there. I think I was actually sweating during the last 100 pages, wondering what other turns the story was going to take before its conclusion. If I had any criticisms to give, it would be that I would have liked to know a little more aftermath, but the story is so strongly centered around the , I can understand why that was not given to us. The Fortress isn't just a good memoir: it's a great one. Ya wanna feel a little pain and get really real? Read this.
Review for McLean & Eakin Monday Email 10/8/16:
A romantic at heart and so profoundly intelligent that you wonder how things could have gone so wrong, Danielle Trussoni details her marriage to Bulgarian writer Nikolai Grozni in a memoir that will have you sweatin' long before the story comes to a close. As their whirlwind romance begins to show its dark underbelly after years of ignored red flags and hopes to reclaim the fiery feelings that triggered it all, Danielle and Nikolai attempt to salvage their relationship by moving into a small castle in the south of France- with two children in tow. The fortress was intended to save them, but what this couple didn't realize was that battle could take place within those same stone walls. The self-actualized, humble tone of the author allows us to see the complexities of marriage on such a delicate scale that you can't help but look closely: so closely that the workings of love, with all its interlaced gears and cogs, gets a new mechanical breakdown that will shed light on the relationships you already know (or thought you did). This is a memoir you won't want to miss.
Review for McLean & Eakin Monday Email 10/8/16:
A romantic at heart and so profoundly intelligent that you wonder how things could have gone so wrong, Danielle Trussoni details her marriage to Bulgarian writer Nikolai Grozni in a memoir that will have you sweatin' long before the story comes to a close. As their whirlwind romance begins to show its dark underbelly after years of ignored red flags and hopes to reclaim the fiery feelings that triggered it all, Danielle and Nikolai attempt to salvage their relationship by moving into a small castle in the south of France- with two children in tow. The fortress was intended to save them, but what this couple didn't realize was that battle could take place within those same stone walls. The self-actualized, humble tone of the author allows us to see the complexities of marriage on such a delicate scale that you can't help but look closely: so closely that the workings of love, with all its interlaced gears and cogs, gets a new mechanical breakdown that will shed light on the relationships you already know (or thought you did). This is a memoir you won't want to miss.
May 19, 2017
At first blush, The Fortress may seem like one of those typical memoirs recounting a romantic adventure of a couple finding, buying and fixing up a rundown French villa ~~ but no, it is so much more. More complicated, deep, and especially, more real.
In The Fortress, Ms. Trussoni lays bare the consequences of her impulsive life. Her whirlwind romance in Bulgaria and then purchasing a run-down French villa called La Commanderie. Her husband confounds her with lies and he manipulates Ms. Trussoni into doubting her own sanity. But she hangs on to her rose-colored perception of their love. She refuses to give up, continuing to try and help the often cruel and increasingly psychotic Nikolai -- trying to fix what is, in reality, a collapsing marriage.
The writing is starkly beautiful and Ms. Trussoni strikes a wonderful balance between both the dark and the beautiful sides of their love, their messy and often glamorous life, and over what was versus what is.
"We were both extraordinary and wrecked, naive and experienced, brilliant and stupid, our exceptional parts snapping together as seamlessly as the damaged ones."
And this heartbreaking passage when Ms. Trussoni's mother unearths her hope chest and explains, this was what most young girls born in the 40's or 50's did to prepare and dream about their future marriage.
"It wasn't until later that I understood that I did in fact have a hope chest of my own. Not of wood, not locked up and hidden under a stack of quilts, but a hope chest nonetheless, one filled with dreams about my life. I believed in romance and destiny. I believed in love at first sight. I believed that when I found the right person, time would stop and we would be suspended in a state of endless passion. There was no place in my hope chest for disappointment or failure. There was no place for imperfection or broken promises or compromise. And while my hope chest ideas might have had all the trappings of a good romance, they didn't have the capacity to hold real love."
I gobbled this book, reading it in great gulps -- perhaps everything could work out, maybe some sort of redemption for them both. But The Fortress is a stingily true tale of life -- real, messy and rough around the edges. Finally, there are legal battles, children's welfare at stake, anger, tears and a resolution (of sorts).
Rest assured, despite everything, Ms. Trussoni makes it through. And in the end, this is a love story.
You'll have to read The Fortress yourself to discover the happy ending.
An advanced readers copy was provided by Dey Street Books, an imprint of William Morrow.
See all my book reviews at http://www.bookbarmy.com
In The Fortress, Ms. Trussoni lays bare the consequences of her impulsive life. Her whirlwind romance in Bulgaria and then purchasing a run-down French villa called La Commanderie. Her husband confounds her with lies and he manipulates Ms. Trussoni into doubting her own sanity. But she hangs on to her rose-colored perception of their love. She refuses to give up, continuing to try and help the often cruel and increasingly psychotic Nikolai -- trying to fix what is, in reality, a collapsing marriage.
The writing is starkly beautiful and Ms. Trussoni strikes a wonderful balance between both the dark and the beautiful sides of their love, their messy and often glamorous life, and over what was versus what is.
"We were both extraordinary and wrecked, naive and experienced, brilliant and stupid, our exceptional parts snapping together as seamlessly as the damaged ones."
And this heartbreaking passage when Ms. Trussoni's mother unearths her hope chest and explains, this was what most young girls born in the 40's or 50's did to prepare and dream about their future marriage.
"It wasn't until later that I understood that I did in fact have a hope chest of my own. Not of wood, not locked up and hidden under a stack of quilts, but a hope chest nonetheless, one filled with dreams about my life. I believed in romance and destiny. I believed in love at first sight. I believed that when I found the right person, time would stop and we would be suspended in a state of endless passion. There was no place in my hope chest for disappointment or failure. There was no place for imperfection or broken promises or compromise. And while my hope chest ideas might have had all the trappings of a good romance, they didn't have the capacity to hold real love."
I gobbled this book, reading it in great gulps -- perhaps everything could work out, maybe some sort of redemption for them both. But The Fortress is a stingily true tale of life -- real, messy and rough around the edges. Finally, there are legal battles, children's welfare at stake, anger, tears and a resolution (of sorts).
Rest assured, despite everything, Ms. Trussoni makes it through. And in the end, this is a love story.
You'll have to read The Fortress yourself to discover the happy ending.
An advanced readers copy was provided by Dey Street Books, an imprint of William Morrow.
See all my book reviews at http://www.bookbarmy.com
November 3, 2016
I was a woman ready to be swept away. I was a woman ready for her story to begin. (12)
A Love Story, says the subtitle, but don't discount that crack running through the cover.
Trussoni was fresh out of another relationship when she fell for Nikolai, a writer and pianist from Bulgaria. Theirs was supposed to be that swept-away-by-love story, and for a while it was. But the cracks showed early—there's a moment when Nikolai reads the journals that Trussoni had told him (directly) were off-limits, and my mind boggled. (As someone who has on and off kept journals, and who has other writing that is better off unexplored...I consider reading one's private writing a break-up-able offense.) There are other moments.
The Fortress stretches across years and across space, moving with the relationship across the US and Europe. Because of this, Trussoni is able to show so much of the framework that built both people and relationship. Nikolai, for example: when they live for a time in Bulgaria, she comes to understand him as something of a hothouse flower, cultivated by his parents to be intelligent and educated and a brilliant pianist but not entirely fit for a world in which he must work hard, a world in which his talents are not widely lauded. She examines her own flaws, too, from the things that made her stay in the relationship to the things that contributed to the cracks in the relationship. And when that relationship collapsed, it did so in spectacular fashion.
I won't spoil the story—better to let it unfold as you read—but I'll say this much: there are moment near the end when I could feel anxiety rising, uncertain as I was how much Trussoni would lose before the end, and then she'd drop in a little hint, just a line or two, to give the reader an idea of how things turned out. I barely noticed the first one, but at the second I paused to go back for the first. It's a complicated enough ending that these 'spoilers' don't tell anywhere near the full story, but their placement is intriguing.
A love story, but not a happily-ever-after.
A Love Story, says the subtitle, but don't discount that crack running through the cover.
Trussoni was fresh out of another relationship when she fell for Nikolai, a writer and pianist from Bulgaria. Theirs was supposed to be that swept-away-by-love story, and for a while it was. But the cracks showed early—there's a moment when Nikolai reads the journals that Trussoni had told him (directly) were off-limits, and my mind boggled. (As someone who has on and off kept journals, and who has other writing that is better off unexplored...I consider reading one's private writing a break-up-able offense.) There are other moments.
The Fortress stretches across years and across space, moving with the relationship across the US and Europe. Because of this, Trussoni is able to show so much of the framework that built both people and relationship. Nikolai, for example: when they live for a time in Bulgaria, she comes to understand him as something of a hothouse flower, cultivated by his parents to be intelligent and educated and a brilliant pianist but not entirely fit for a world in which he must work hard, a world in which his talents are not widely lauded. She examines her own flaws, too, from the things that made her stay in the relationship to the things that contributed to the cracks in the relationship. And when that relationship collapsed, it did so in spectacular fashion.
I won't spoil the story—better to let it unfold as you read—but I'll say this much: there are moment near the end when I could feel anxiety rising, uncertain as I was how much Trussoni would lose before the end, and then she'd drop in a little hint, just a line or two, to give the reader an idea of how things turned out. I barely noticed the first one, but at the second I paused to go back for the first. It's a complicated enough ending that these 'spoilers' don't tell anywhere near the full story, but their placement is intriguing.
A love story, but not a happily-ever-after.
November 4, 2018
This book was promoted as a love story and to some it may be; but what kind of love and of what? It is this is the author's description of her pathetic obsession with a twisted, narcissistic, manipulative man-child and her blind (both emotionally and in reality) need to maintain a self-destructive marriage for all the wrong reasons.
I keep in mind that she is an author writing about herself and a toxic life choice so she is hardly objective enough to see that she had choices and opportunities to extricate herself and her children from this man and marriage. She is clearly not a realist. She seems to celebrate that fact that she was weak, needy, stupid and self-destructive to herself and her children. I was not the least sympathetic to her.
If the purpose of the book was cathartic, even in that it seems to me she failed. I forced myself to finish the book in the vain hope that she would wake up and take decisive action as soon as he started locking doors and other peculiar behavior. She finally broke this tragic spiral but only with the help and support of others.
If she was in love, it was only with the idyllic fanciful idea of what a love-filled marriage should be, reality be damned.
In short, Danielle Trussoni and I clearly don't have the same definition of a "love story! That she is "critically acclaimed" according to the fly-leaf of the book also leaves me scratching my head. I would have said the book was sad, self-flagellating drivel were I the reviewer.
I keep in mind that she is an author writing about herself and a toxic life choice so she is hardly objective enough to see that she had choices and opportunities to extricate herself and her children from this man and marriage. She is clearly not a realist. She seems to celebrate that fact that she was weak, needy, stupid and self-destructive to herself and her children. I was not the least sympathetic to her.
If the purpose of the book was cathartic, even in that it seems to me she failed. I forced myself to finish the book in the vain hope that she would wake up and take decisive action as soon as he started locking doors and other peculiar behavior. She finally broke this tragic spiral but only with the help and support of others.
If she was in love, it was only with the idyllic fanciful idea of what a love-filled marriage should be, reality be damned.
In short, Danielle Trussoni and I clearly don't have the same definition of a "love story! That she is "critically acclaimed" according to the fly-leaf of the book also leaves me scratching my head. I would have said the book was sad, self-flagellating drivel were I the reviewer.
September 25, 2016
Does the idea of writing books on your life influence the way you live your life? A question I had while reading this intriguing memoir about the marriage and break-up of two headstrong and complicated individuals.
October 28, 2018
I abandoned this because I was so bored.
April 3, 2020
I admire Ms. Trussoni's courage to share her memoir concerning her marriage to her Bulgarian husband, Nikolai. As she remarked in her book: "My instincts were telling me something important about this charming, handsome, brilliant man, but I didn't listen." Some don't have the awareness they are embarking on a narcissistic romance; Ms. Trussoni had a "gut feeling," but failed to take her time and detect the red flags. Within six months, they had married and were expecting a child. They both were divorced and had toddlers from their previous marriages. Seasoned travelers, she had lived and worked in Japan, he, a child piano prodigy in his homeland, had lived and studied four years in India with Tibetan Monks, and became a renown author in Bulgaria.
The two met while attending the University of Iowa School for Writers. He was on a temporary visa and had over stayed his visit; therefore, she and her toddler followed him to Bulgaria. He said they would live in Europe two months during the summer. However, his visa did not allow him to return to the States for two years. Although hired to teach at a university in Sofia, his salary provided one-hundred and twenty-five dollars a month; therefore, his parents paid their rent and bought groceries for them and their now two children. In addition, he appeared very dependent on his parents.
They returned to the States and moved to Rhode Island to work and attend Brown University. Nikolai divulged information about himself, that, if they had spent more time getting to know each other prior to marrying, she could have gracefully extricated herself from Nikolai. He had an affair with one of his students at Brown. To save their marriage, she suggested couple therapy. He preferred seeing a therapist without her. In actuality, he later admitted he never saw a therapist. He became good at deflecting, projecting blame and inflicting guilt. Yet, she still loved him and wanted their marriage to succeed.
She successflly authored a book; the rights were bought by a movie studio, and, to save their marriage, she decided to buy a small castle in the south of France, called The Fortress. There, she hoped they could rekindle their relationship.
The south of France, a fantastic place to live, could not revive their marriage. He hated living there and his behavior worsened. Unfortunately, their behavior affected the children.
Marriage can either be a source of great peace and joy, or unfortunately for some conflict and sorrow.
Trussoni revealed honesty concerning her own behavior, her own truths
No marriage is perfect. We all have flaws. This couple came from unhappy childhoods, which played a role in their unhappiness and conflict that prevented their marriage from being vibrant and successful, and a legacy for their children.
This is an excellent book to read before making a commitment.
I believe it took guts and lots of tears to write this memoir. I am giving Ms. Trussoni five stars.
The two met while attending the University of Iowa School for Writers. He was on a temporary visa and had over stayed his visit; therefore, she and her toddler followed him to Bulgaria. He said they would live in Europe two months during the summer. However, his visa did not allow him to return to the States for two years. Although hired to teach at a university in Sofia, his salary provided one-hundred and twenty-five dollars a month; therefore, his parents paid their rent and bought groceries for them and their now two children. In addition, he appeared very dependent on his parents.
They returned to the States and moved to Rhode Island to work and attend Brown University. Nikolai divulged information about himself, that, if they had spent more time getting to know each other prior to marrying, she could have gracefully extricated herself from Nikolai. He had an affair with one of his students at Brown. To save their marriage, she suggested couple therapy. He preferred seeing a therapist without her. In actuality, he later admitted he never saw a therapist. He became good at deflecting, projecting blame and inflicting guilt. Yet, she still loved him and wanted their marriage to succeed.
She successflly authored a book; the rights were bought by a movie studio, and, to save their marriage, she decided to buy a small castle in the south of France, called The Fortress. There, she hoped they could rekindle their relationship.
The south of France, a fantastic place to live, could not revive their marriage. He hated living there and his behavior worsened. Unfortunately, their behavior affected the children.
Marriage can either be a source of great peace and joy, or unfortunately for some conflict and sorrow.
Trussoni revealed honesty concerning her own behavior, her own truths
No marriage is perfect. We all have flaws. This couple came from unhappy childhoods, which played a role in their unhappiness and conflict that prevented their marriage from being vibrant and successful, and a legacy for their children.
This is an excellent book to read before making a commitment.
I believe it took guts and lots of tears to write this memoir. I am giving Ms. Trussoni five stars.
January 4, 2021
*Warning: Possible Spoilers*
This is one of those stories that I could almost completely identify with. I say almost b/c I've never lived outside the US.
I've seen so many women become trapped in a marriage/relationship with an ego maniacal narcissist - myself included. It's easy for people to say this book is 'boring' or whatever, but unless you can relate I guess it's hard to understand. It's so easy to be swept away in a new infatuation and let it overtake you, and then to fight for it b/c you already put so much time and energy into it. Next thing you know it's months (or longer) later and you're fighting to breathe. I found myself wanting to punch Nickolai in the mouth on several occasions. Lie after lie, gaslighting to the Nth degree... And on top of it relies solely on mommy and daddy to fight his battles for him while paying for everything. All b/c he got replaced as a top pick as pianist. We've all been replaced by someone less talented with better connections. It's the way of the world. Deal with it.
However, despite not relating to the subject matter, the story is extremely well written. Her writing style is personal and, in a way, comforting. I swear I'll read anything this woman writes. I'd read the phone book if she decided to write one. It's the "world building" and creation of a literary portrait that does it for me. I feel like I'm there and I love that. I follow here on IG and she's hinting at a new book which I cannot wait for!
P.S.:
I'm so glad Trussoni got her happy ending!
This is one of those stories that I could almost completely identify with. I say almost b/c I've never lived outside the US.
I've seen so many women become trapped in a marriage/relationship with an ego maniacal narcissist - myself included. It's easy for people to say this book is 'boring' or whatever, but unless you can relate I guess it's hard to understand. It's so easy to be swept away in a new infatuation and let it overtake you, and then to fight for it b/c you already put so much time and energy into it. Next thing you know it's months (or longer) later and you're fighting to breathe. I found myself wanting to punch Nickolai in the mouth on several occasions. Lie after lie, gaslighting to the Nth degree... And on top of it relies solely on mommy and daddy to fight his battles for him while paying for everything. All b/c he got replaced as a top pick as pianist. We've all been replaced by someone less talented with better connections. It's the way of the world. Deal with it.
However, despite not relating to the subject matter, the story is extremely well written. Her writing style is personal and, in a way, comforting. I swear I'll read anything this woman writes. I'd read the phone book if she decided to write one. It's the "world building" and creation of a literary portrait that does it for me. I feel like I'm there and I love that. I follow here on IG and she's hinting at a new book which I cannot wait for!
P.S.:
I'm so glad Trussoni got her happy ending!
August 2, 2022
I enjoyed The Fortress because of the strong narrative art of Danielle Trussoni, and how she uses metaphor...her life and marriage to a writer/magician(?) is like a fortress that keeps her from realizing her own independence and spiritual progress. I also am writing memoirs, and enjoy how she makes her memoir into an art form, a sort of novel of disappointment, domestic friction, eventually ending hopelessness and making a new life. Many have read this and found it self-serving, but I thought her depiction of her husband and his moodiness and isolation fair and almost clinical, yet depicts him as he describes himself, a magician, sorcerer, and demanding her total obedience. It works for a while, but in the end self-serving types wind up serving themselves because the wise flee them.
There was, in The Fortress, a tone that Trussoni establishes, and how her isolated world in a old fortress with many dark memories translates into the spiritual life her husband wishes her to embrace. I won't say force, because Trussoni admits she was in love with this man and these traits appealed to her for a time. Eventually, she needed light, not darkness, and Hadrian, a French lover, provided this. perhaps it is trite but Gaullic warmth becomes a needed restorative to slavic foreboding. In the end, the human spirit needs sun, not just the moonlight of brooding romanticism. I thought the cover very well-designed. It was a very thoughtful read, with many enjoyable passages.
There was, in The Fortress, a tone that Trussoni establishes, and how her isolated world in a old fortress with many dark memories translates into the spiritual life her husband wishes her to embrace. I won't say force, because Trussoni admits she was in love with this man and these traits appealed to her for a time. Eventually, she needed light, not darkness, and Hadrian, a French lover, provided this. perhaps it is trite but Gaullic warmth becomes a needed restorative to slavic foreboding. In the end, the human spirit needs sun, not just the moonlight of brooding romanticism. I thought the cover very well-designed. It was a very thoughtful read, with many enjoyable passages.
April 12, 2018
Having been familiar with Trussoni's writing [ANGELOLOGY, ANGELOPOLIS, & FALLING THRU EARTH (memoir)] I thought I knew what I was in for when I opened THE FORTRESS. As I read on, I was so completely involved that I almost forgot it was a true story. The reality overwhelms the reader at times especially given the family's idyllic setting but tumultuous life in France. I couldn't help thinking about how her writing life was being affected along the way, her personality as well. I fell in love with Trussoni's style of writing, the fact that she had Wisconsin ties, and eagerly awaited the second book in her Angelology trilogy - then I had the chance to meet her at a local bookstore with my book club. Her physical appearance, demeanor, and almost absent passion for her subject matter disappointed my group and devastated me. So upon seeing this new title out there, I dared to read it to see if she found her self again . . . or discover what happened to her.
Needless to say, I eagerly await the third and final book in the ANGEL trilogy!!!
Needless to say, I eagerly await the third and final book in the ANGEL trilogy!!!
December 30, 2019
Having read Danielle Trussoni's first memoir recently, I decided to continue with this one as I thought I might be able to relate to it, also having an international relationship. But wow, she has lead one heck of a life. This is the story of a disintegration of a power couple marriage. It recounts how she fell in love with what turned out in the end to be a crazy man (grain of salt, its only one side of the story, but he seems extremely manipulative) and all the wild things that happen trying to manage your life as a foreigner, while also just, you know, buying a castle, and then failure of said marriage, in a foreign country. Some parts were a bit trying, but its always interesting to jump into someone else's shoes. Somewhere between 3-4 stars.
I listened as audiobook, she reads it, and I thought it was well done. (I see others here disagree)
I listened as audiobook, she reads it, and I thought it was well done. (I see others here disagree)
September 13, 2020
I loved Trussoni's fantasy novels, Angelology & Angelopolis, and have been waiting avidly for more of those. Being at home on medical leave, I opted to listen to some novels instead of reading the heavier stuff I normally read (doctor's orders). Thinking I'd like a different one of hers, I chose to listen to The Fortress.
No...
Not drawn in, not enjoying the self-absorbed feeling of her obsessive observations about her ex. And really (I suppose I am a harsh critic as a former theatre & TV actress myself), she should have allowed someone else to read it.
Well, I'll keep waiting for more real entertainment with the exciting and alluring angels. (While I go back to actual theology, metaphysics and angelology...) Now that I'm recovered, I'm not sure that I'll finish it. Sadly the audio book also cost a good deal more than I would normally pay for a novel.
Sigh.
No...
Not drawn in, not enjoying the self-absorbed feeling of her obsessive observations about her ex. And really (I suppose I am a harsh critic as a former theatre & TV actress myself), she should have allowed someone else to read it.
Well, I'll keep waiting for more real entertainment with the exciting and alluring angels. (While I go back to actual theology, metaphysics and angelology...) Now that I'm recovered, I'm not sure that I'll finish it. Sadly the audio book also cost a good deal more than I would normally pay for a novel.
Sigh.
June 16, 2024
Whew. This was a train wreck. Hard to read, but hard to put down.
I would have liked the author to be more up front about her own behavior. She was very forthcoming about the husband's behavior, but she fessed up to her own actions here and there in odd places.
She would go on for several chapters about Nikolai's antics, and then suddenly, she would say, "Yeah, I wasn't perfect during all of that either. I would scream and belittle him sometimes." Just a quick mention after the fact, and it made me distrust her.
I did appreciate that she fully owned her own misbehavior in the end. The husband clearly had some serious issues, and living with him for 10 years would probably make anyone lose it. The poor kids though.
I would have liked the author to be more up front about her own behavior. She was very forthcoming about the husband's behavior, but she fessed up to her own actions here and there in odd places.
She would go on for several chapters about Nikolai's antics, and then suddenly, she would say, "Yeah, I wasn't perfect during all of that either. I would scream and belittle him sometimes." Just a quick mention after the fact, and it made me distrust her.
I did appreciate that she fully owned her own misbehavior in the end. The husband clearly had some serious issues, and living with him for 10 years would probably make anyone lose it. The poor kids though.
November 10, 2025
Whew. This was a train wreck. Hard to read, but hard to put down.
I would have liked the author to be more up front about her own behavior. She was very forthcoming about the husband's behavior, but she fessed up to her own actions here and there in odd places.
She would go on for several chapters about Nikolai's antics, and then suddenly, she would say, "Yeah, I wasn't perfect during all of that either. I would scream and belittle him sometimes." Just a quick mention after the fact, and it made me distrust her.
I did appreciate that she fully owned her own misbehavior in the end. The husband clearly had some serious issues, and living with him for 10 years would probably make anyone lose it. The poor kids though.
I would have liked the author to be more up front about her own behavior. She was very forthcoming about the husband's behavior, but she fessed up to her own actions here and there in odd places.
She would go on for several chapters about Nikolai's antics, and then suddenly, she would say, "Yeah, I wasn't perfect during all of that either. I would scream and belittle him sometimes." Just a quick mention after the fact, and it made me distrust her.
I did appreciate that she fully owned her own misbehavior in the end. The husband clearly had some serious issues, and living with him for 10 years would probably make anyone lose it. The poor kids though.
October 24, 2017
Adam Gopnik while being interviewed said " No one wants to read about a good marriage...but everyone wants to read about a bad marriage". This is that bad marriage and yes I did keep turning those pages faster than you can say divorce! The only problem I had with this book was why the author felt the need to tell us this story. I'm not being critical but rather curious. I don't think I could have ever told the world about my bad marriage unless there was something so rare and different about my situation that may help others. This was not that kind of marriage..bad, yes but different than millions of others that didm't work out...absolutely not!!
November 6, 2019
Danielle Trussoni’s memoir is about the dissolution of her marriage. In reading this you must take this into account. It shows her attempts at first to follow through the marriage then the breaking point.
The name of the book represents the stone fortress in France where she tried to save the marriage and how it became to her.
At the mid-point, I became engrossed in the book and wanted to learn how it played out. Then I wished there had been some great resolution, but there wasn’t. I think that speaks to what life is sometimes, you have to get through these trying times to get to a better place even if it is a painful process.
The name of the book represents the stone fortress in France where she tried to save the marriage and how it became to her.
At the mid-point, I became engrossed in the book and wanted to learn how it played out. Then I wished there had been some great resolution, but there wasn’t. I think that speaks to what life is sometimes, you have to get through these trying times to get to a better place even if it is a painful process.
July 3, 2017
This is not the type of novel I usually praise. However Trussoni says that this is a true story written as fiction with some name changes and some speculation on the dialogue. All in all I think that the writing must have been as excruciatingly painful as the living of a fairy tale love turned nightmare. Two very talented people, artists, well educated but both selfish with viewpoints bases only on self. Very interesting but sometimes painful to read. For those of you who think you might be able to change another person to fit your needs, this is a must read, but take warning!
January 3, 2019
Haunting memoir
I have read Trussoni’s thrillers about angels on earth, so I was eager to read her memoir of divorce. At times, I felt like a gawker thumbing through a gossip magazine, entranced by the drama of Danielle and Nikolai. They are both novelists who chose to live an enchanted life, writing and raising children in an ancient fortress in the south of France. What could go wrong? This chronicle of the heartbreaking dissolution of a marriage shows how two people with so much love ended up hating each other—sometimes, it seems, for good reason.
I have read Trussoni’s thrillers about angels on earth, so I was eager to read her memoir of divorce. At times, I felt like a gawker thumbing through a gossip magazine, entranced by the drama of Danielle and Nikolai. They are both novelists who chose to live an enchanted life, writing and raising children in an ancient fortress in the south of France. What could go wrong? This chronicle of the heartbreaking dissolution of a marriage shows how two people with so much love ended up hating each other—sometimes, it seems, for good reason.
April 17, 2018
I greatly admired Danielle Trussoni's first memoir, Falling Through the Earth, which explored her volatile relationship with her dad who served as tunnel rat in Vietnam. I felt similarly drawn into The Fortress, which recounts the evolution and dissolution of Trussoni's marriage. I confess that reading this was a little bit like watching reality TV--you know you shouldn't be privy to the story, but the camera keeps rolling and you can't turn your eyes away.
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