The Sunlit Stage

by Simonetta Wenkert

In Rome, in 1979, a shy young Englishwoman called Julia meets Ennio. The two fall deeply in love, but theirs will be a troubled affair, shrouded in secrecy and constantly under threat. For Italy in 1979 is a country of violent radical a dangerous, heady time, filled with bitter hope and fear. And Ennio is one of the most wanted men in Italy, a member of the notorious terrorist group, Sinistra Armata. Twenty years on, their daughter Lotte, brought up by a grandmother in London, knows nothing of her parents' love affair or the shocking events leading up to her birth. But on discovering the truth, she journeys to Italy to reclaim her past - only to find her mother's story haunting her more forcefully that she could have believed. Haunting, evocative and moving, The Sunlit Stage is a breathtaking novel about love and self-discovery.

1 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Sunlit Stage' by Simonetta Wenkert was an original and thought-provoking novel based on a period in Italian history I knew little about. Ennio is a young man with a sad childhood who decides to join an underground terrorist movement in Italy to rid the country of its corruption. His idealism eventually lands him in jail for life. In the heady days where he is involved in violence, kidnappings, and bank robberies and where secrecy abounds, he falls in love with an English girl Julia and they have a child. In 2000 a journalist interviews him in the Italian jail for a story; his daughter Lotte who is now 20, living in England and who didn't know her father, is learning the truth about her parents. The novel's structure (moving backwards and forwards, sometimes in the first person, sometimes the third) was occasionally annoying. But the biggest drawback for me with this beautifully written, poignant tale, was that the author decided to give the daughter a similar experience as her mother had. Lotte falls in love with the journalist, but he is described in such unflattering terms you wonder how on earth anyone would be attracted to him. And he never improved. Unsurprisingly, a year later, Lotte wonders what she ever saw in him. So the whole encounter seemed pointless and it really spoilt the story as there was no need for it.

[Una (EX) precaria tra i libri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review at https://precaria-tra-i-libri.blogspot...

[Chrishanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved It. Hope there will be a movie for this