Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna

From the publisher: When Prosecco‑loving Auntie Poldi retired to Sicily from Germany, she never dreamed her tranquil days would be interrupted by murder. But Sicily had other plans, and Poldi found herself honor‑bound to solve the disappearance of her beloved (and cute) handyman. Now she’s finally ready for some peace and quiet—interrupted by romantic encounters with handsome Chief Inspector Montana, of course—when the water supply to her neighborhood is cut off and a dear friend’s dog is poisoned, telltale signs that a certain familial organization is flexing its muscles. Poldi knows there will be no resolution without her help. She soon finds a body in a vineyard, tangles with the Mafia, and yet again makes herself unpopular in the pursuit of justice. But once wine and murder mix, how could she possibly stay away? 

The Auntie Poldi series appeals to me for a couple of reasons. First off, the story is narrated by her nephew, and as a childless aunt I’m always interested in stories about interesting aunts and their relationships with their nephews and nieces. Secondly, it is set in Italy, which I’ve visited twice and hope to visit again. I haven’t been to Sicily but I really want to go (and probably should have saved this book for that trip, but I couldn’t wait).

The author was born in Munich, Germany to Italian immigrants. It feels like he has done his research or has visited Italy often. I’m sure some of the stuff is stereotypical – there is a lot about the Mafia and organized crime – but I know firsthand some of the stuff is not. The sweetened espresso, the crazy driving. There are a lot of dogs in these books, including a scary pair of German shepherds named Hanz and Franz. The Italian love of dogs also seems very typical. A scene involving Poldi, her sisters, her brother-in-law, and the dog was amusingly madcap, as was a scene in which Poldi, her priest, and her sad Signora friend break into a house to search for a clue to a murder. I enjoyed the many references to the active volcano Mount Etna and its continual smoking.

The nephew is a good narrator but a terrible writer who comes to stay with Poldi and work on his terrible novel. (“Another week at my Auntie Poldi’s was over, and I was feeling proud of myself. That needs saying occasionally. I was in full flow. I was the adjective ace, the metaphor magician, the sorcerer of the subordinate clause, the expresser of emotions, the master of a host of startling but entirely plausible turns of events.” (p. 325 of the advance reader copy) His descriptions of his plot are just as bad and show the startling turns are anything but plausible.) Poldi tells him what happened as she investigates crimes, and he tells us, and they are both unreliable and entertaining.

Auntie Poldi reminds me a bit of the best of M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series, although Poldi is more interesting and the plots so far are more original and less formulaic. She is sixty years old and living her best life. Looking forward to a long-running series.

I read an advance reader copy of Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna. It is scheduled to be published in early March 2019 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library. The first book in the series, Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions, is available now.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Helen Simonson’s new novel The Summer Before the War pulled me right in at chapter 1. This book by the author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand opens in England in the summer before the Great War.

The narrative is lovely and lyrical but the plot is very slow moving. Very slow moving. If you are looking for lots of action, this book is not for you. It is very wordy with much narrative explanation. On the other hand, if you like character development, as I do, you might enjoy the book very much. I really felt I came to know not only the main characters (of which there are several) but many of the side characters as well.

Agatha and John are a middle-aged couple with no children. Agatha dotes on her two adult nephews, Hugh and Daniel, who are not brothers but cousins. Hugh is studying to be a doctor; Daniel is a poet. (“No woman can resist having her name rhymed with a flower in iambic pentameter,” he says at one point.  (p. 29 of the advance reader copy))

Agatha is a forward-thinking woman who understands that she can most effectively bring about change by working in small ways to alter village life. One such way is to convince the school board to hire a female Latin teacher for the village school. Beatrice, an independent woman who has recently lost both her widowed father and most of her independence, arrives in the summer to tutor three promising young Latin students before the school year officially begins.

The small details woven into the story seemed very true to life. The politics of the local women’s group certainly ran true as well. The author seems to have done her research about the location and time period. The novel reminded me in a good way of the early days of Brideshead Revisited.

I paused a numbers of times to admire a bit of writing I especially liked, such as this passage: “His eyes watched the curl of smoke from the tip of his cigarette paper as he scratched at the itchy wool of his school uniform. He felt the tightness of the hatband around his head, smelled the dry dirt and green cemetery waxiness of the yew. His neck grew hot and his teeth clenched.” (p. 251 of the ARC)

And this exchange between the cousins:

“Youth’s lost companion may be the measured friend of old age, I hope,” said Daniel. “I may write a poem on the subject.”

“Dear God, it sounds more like a cross-stitched pillow than a poem,” said Hugh. (p. 269 of the ARC)

As a single woman with no children but 10 nieces and nephews, I liked that one of the primary relationships was not that of a mother and her children but of an aunt and her nephews. The plot also deals very subtly with the reality of gay couples at a time when same sex love could not be acknowledged.

I cried on and off for the last 30 pages, hoping for certain outcomes but knowing others would be more reflective of real life and would therefore make it a better book. Is the subject matter covered here original? No, but Simonson has covered the topic in a compelling way.

I highly recommend The Summer Before the War for readers who like realistic historical fiction heavy on character development. If you are a fan of Major Pettigrew, you may or may not enjoy this book as well, depending on what drew you to Major Pettigrew. The Summer Before the War contains heartbreak and loss, but handled in a manner that feels truthful.

The Summer Before the War comes out on March 22. The Galesburg Public Library will have copies in large print and regular print.