Last Voyage of the Valentina

April 17, 2006
Long-legged, lascivious Alba lives on a London houseboat, the Valentina
, moored in 1971 London. She is the daughter of a WWII romance; her proper English father, Thomas Arbuckle, and stepmother ("the Buffalo") never mention her mysterious Italian mother—Valentina—who died when she was a baby. As a discovered sketch sparks Alba's curiosity about her mother's past, she takes up with literary agent Fitz Conroy, then breaks it off and goes to Italy to learn the truth about her past. Though this is Montefiore's U.S. debut, more than three million copies of her books are in print in the EU (the press chat notes that Charles and Camilla "made their debut as a couple" at Montefiore's wedding to historian Simon Sebag). Presumably, her EU translators were able to make lines like "Don't talk, you fool. Kiss me," sound more seductive and surprising in other languages than they do in the King's English.

April 15, 2006
This historical romance sandwiched within a contemporary is the London author's first book to be published in the United States. The daughter of a World War II English soldier and an Italian woman who died young, 26-year-old Alba Arbuckle is drifting, seeking solace in promiscuity. On finding a hidden drawing in the houseboat named after her mother, Valentina, Alba decides to explore her roots, since her reserved father won't give any details. When she visits the rustic Italian village where Valentina lived, Alba discovers truths about herself as well as her mother. The author seems to be striving for Rosamunde Pilcher's depth, hoping to move from romance into the broader -women's fiction - genre -a reading group guide is included. But character transformations come too quickly; awkwardly shifting time periods and points of view give the story a hurried, jerky feel; and the symbolism is obvious. Fans of Elizabeth Adler, hungry for more romanticized visions of Italy's Amalfi coast, might like this story, but, unfortunately, it lacks both Pilcher's complex characters and Adler's light, humorous touch. An optional purchase." -Laurie A. Cavanaugh, Brockton P.L., MA"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2006
Montefiore is well known by women's-fiction readers in England but less recognized in the U.S. All that is about to change with her new book, a sweeping saga of wartime romance, family secrets, lost loves, and murder. Switching between wartime Italy and 1970s London, the book tells the story of Alba Arbuckle, whose father, Thomas, fell in love with a beautiful Italian girl during the war. After the war, he returns to the tiny Italian village of Incantelleria to marry his lovely Valentina, who has already borne him a child, Alba. But Thomas and baby Alba return to England alone. Devastated, Thomas eventually marries a tweedy Englishwoman who tries to mother the increasingly defiant Alba. As she grows up, Alba becomes a rebellious, shallow young woman with a string of lovers. Eventually, she goes to Italy to find her "real" family. What she discovers there changes her life forever. Montefiore is a grand storyteller. Her near-lyrical descriptive prose is appealing on its own; the plot is involving on multiple levels, crossing several genres; and her characters step well beyond formula. All in all, a fine way for American readers to get to know the Montefiore name, which will very soon be cropping up in the same sentences as the name Maeve Binchy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)