Juliet's Answer

January 9, 2017
Dixon’s tiresome and repetitious tale of the quest for solace and love can be summed up quickly in a few words: man falls in love, woman doesn’t return love, heartbroken man goes to Verona searching for solace. When Claire spurns Dixon’s love, he sets off for Verona—the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—to help members of the Club di Giulietta answer the thousands of letters to Juliet from the lovelorn that arrive annually. All he brings with him are a broken heart, a smattering of Italian, and a lifetime of teaching Romeo and Juliet. After a few months in Verona, he returns to Canada, and, encouraged by the letters he’s reading, he writes his own letter to Juliet, and “Juliet” advises him that love arising from a long friendship is the most genuine kind. His hopes that this advice will bear fruit for him and Claire are soon dashed when she gets pregnant and marries someone else. Dejected, Dixon returns to Verona to answer more letters, though not before renewing his friendship with Desiree, who soon joins him in Verona, where the star-crossed lovers soon kiss on Juliet’s balcony. In the end, this light narrative feels artificially filled out.

February 1, 2017
Every year, the Club di Giulietta ( Juliet's Secretaries ) in Verona, Italy, receives more than 10,000 letters addressed to Shakespeare's Juliet, asking for advice on love. Dixon, a Canadian high-school English teacher, is suffering from his own case of unrequited love and decides to travel to Verona and volunteer to help answer those letters. He and his fellow secretaries take each letter seriously, and the excerpts he shares are often tinged with angst and despair. As Dixon struggles to find just the right advice, he muses over the ways of love, recalls his students' reactions to Romeo and Juliet, and remembers his own youthful experiences. He slowly shares the story of one woman he has loved for 20 years, who sees him as her best friend, and another woman who begins as a friend and becomes an important part of his life in Verona. Intermingled with the letters and thoughts on love are Dixon's explorations of the town and Shakespeare's play. This romantic, touching memoir is a charmer. A book discussion guide and walking tour of Verona are included.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)