Eternal by Lisa Scottoline

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline – Audio 

Book Blurb:

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline writes about Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kind-hearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta’s heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy’s Fascists with Hitler’s Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear–their families, their homes, and their connection to one another–is tested in ways they never could have imagined.
As anti-Semitism takes legal root and World War II erupts, the threesome realizes that Mussolini was only the beginning. The Nazis invade Rome, and with their occupation come new atrocities against the city’s Jews, culminating in a final, horrific betrayal. 

My Review: 4.5 stars

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Eternal is a historical fiction novel that blew me away with its rich detail of the Italian   Holocaust during Mussolini’s rule. I learned so much from this book and am so happy I pulled it out of my kindle TBR list. At just a few chapters in, the audio version became available, so this is one that I got to read and listen too. Oh, my senses were delighted and on overdrive!

Scottoline, best known for her legal thrillers, has always had the compulsion to write this story. She explains in her author’s note that after she took a class with author Phillip Roth on Literature of the Holocaust, she knew she’d one day create a story taking place in Italy that covered the Holocaust. My goodness, she outdid herself. The research was impeccable and the fictionalized, interwoven friendships between Elisabetta, Marco and Sandro were stellar. 

Rome was brought to life and the food, oh man, she had such delectable descriptions of the pasta and the sauces…I was salivating. She expertly showed how rapidly life can change, for the population of Rome and most horrifically for the Jews of Rome.

I’ve read hundreds of books regarding the Holocaust, yet few have shown the impact on Rome with such emotion, the madness of Mussolini and the blind trust so many had for the leader. This is a longer book, but I do believe many amazing discussions can come from it if chosen as a book club selection. 

Quotes I liked:

War was eternal, but so was peace. Death was eternal, but so was life. Darkness was eternal, but so was light. Hate was eternal, but above all, so was love.” 

“Her heart felt happy and full, and that was how she learned that love warms the heart when it is given, regardless of whether it is received.”