This is the perfect book to read on a warm and sunny autumn afternoon. It is set in Italy and while it is about two people who fall in love, it is also about Shirley Hazzard’s love for the country she once worked in and now visits regularly.



Tancredi, an architect separated from his wife, meets Sophie at a dull tea-party. He does not find her particularly attractive at first and she makes up her mind that she will not allow him to woo her, but they do start to fall for one another.

The novel is a love puzzle rather than a love story. Hazzard indulges in all manner of delightful and tiny detail but does not paint the bigger picture. The couple do not seem to function in a real world; they are absorbed by each other and by their own insecurities.

The key questions
We are left to work out Sophie and Tancredi’s motivation for ourselves. Is he lonely or vain? Is she repressed or a tease?

Further questions
Why did Hazzard make Sophie half-Italian?
What does the soldier’s song represent?
Is Hazzard cynical about love?
I was impressed with the dialogue. Were you?

This book reminded me of many films particularly for instance 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. It was populated by characters with no visible means of support. We were not told what Sophie was doing in Italy. Very little happens in the short novel and I wondered whether the author had intended a larger work but had run out of ideas. I expected some great catharctic revelation but in the end did not care enough about the main characters so could not recommend a purchase.

Mike Williamson, London, uk

The picture that Shirley Hazzard paints of the Italian countryside through it's seasons is far more real than her characters. Both Tancredi and Sophie were shadowy 'half-people' and it was hard to discern their motives. Sophie in particular was a mystery - she seemed fully English yet was half-Italian. We never found out anything of her background, and her supposed love for Tancredi was unconvincing. We were left with no idea of her reasons for going back to her old life. We know that the 'thread of her happiness' was not strong (Chap. 8) but it's hard to fathom why. I was left with a strong sense of dissatisfaction at the end of the novel, longing to see the real characters and not just the remnants of them.

Jill Freeman, Whitstable, UK

Hazzard's crisp prose and sharp observations ensure that this novel is not homogenous saccharine pap - there are no heaving chests or pattering hearts here. Rather, there is a more realistic approach, involving lack of attraction throughout most of the first meeting, when Tancredi, having discovered that he and Sophie have a mutual acquaintance, muses wistfully on his love for that acquaintance, and how she is more beautiful than Sophie. But, as in life, sparks can be ignited from stone, and Tancredi and Sophie slowly get to know each other and embark on a love affair. The way in which a glimpse of something innocuous can suddenly catch the attention is well portrayed at the end of the first meeting when Tancredi realises how sensuous he finds the innocent action of her rolling up her sleeve. Despite the slightly rushed, unreal feel of the affair, the atmosphere of Italy and the gorgeous landscapes and warmth of the people come across beautifully.

Leyla Sanai

There was something in this novel that reminded me of E.M.Forster - perhaps partly the setting, which is very well done. As to the questions Alyson Rudd poses, I feel that neither of the protagonists have deep feelings for each other - after all, it's a summer interlude for both. What will happen to either of them aftyer the book's end is not made specific. I enjoyed the book, it was an easy thing to read on the London Underground!

Rita Keyes, Harrow, London

I read this beautifully written story on a wet Sunday afternoon and from the first page I was transported not only to a different country but to another world. With strikingly vivid description Shirley Hazzard evokes the atmosphere of Italy throughout the seasons and tiny details, like sweet vermouth and stale macaroons, hand gestures and the nightingale’s song at dusk, contribute to the very essence of Italy. Dialogue and body language add to the romantic interest. The conversation between Tancredi and Sophie, as they consider each other at the tea party, reminded me of a courtship ritual between a pair of birds. When Sophie folded back her sleeve to rescue her bracelet from the fountain, Tancredi had never seen a more seductive thing than that ‘unconsidered gesture’. Tancredi’s wife has left him and he admits he misses his children. I think he suffers loneliness but also damaged pride. He seems very conscious of his own image and his effect on others. There is much evidence for his vanity. By page eight he thinks he could make a ‘conquest’ of Sophie. We learn much less about Sophie’s motivation; she is a mystery. I am still trying to work out some answers for this love puzzle.

Jean Marshall, Bushey, Hertfordshire

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