The House of Whispers set in Rome – Anna Mazzola

Submitted: 4th April 2023

A wonderful new read by Anna Mazzola. Set in a gothic house where there are strange goings on, this is a house you might not want to visit in real life. The novel is set in Rome just as the rise of fascism is rearing its ugly head.

A woman goes to teach piano at the home of a handsome widower. The house has secrets, she has secrets and so to do the family within….

Visit locations in The House of Whispers

Boarding Pass Information: Rome

Author guide: Anna Mazzola

Genre: historical fiction

Food and drink to accompany: Lemoncello and pasta

@thebooktrailer

#Bookreview

Visit locations in The House of Whispers

The House of Whispers is the book you need to read thanks to the talents of Anna Mazzola. She’s written some great books so far and this is simply wonderfully crafted, wonderfully described and heartbreakingly told.

The world is ablaze as Fascism starts to rear its ugly head. In Italy, people think Mussolini knows how to deal with Hitler. People who are not considered to be true Italians are cast out of society. Eva in the novel is not ‘pure’ Italian and so worries for her future.

It was scary to see how gradually things worsened and how the rot got to every bit of soceity because people just let it. What’s that saying that ‘ Evil succeeds when good men do nothing.” This could have been the strapline for the book. Sadly, it could also be said of much of present day society. This book might be set in 1940s Italy but it sadly is relevant today too.

The setting of a city transforming into a prison was a scary one to read. Brilliantly evoked and described though. The writing as ever is exquisite.

Visit locations in The House of Whispers

Eva is the main character who marries a widower and goes to live with him and his daughter. She met when she went to teach his daughter piano. Whilst in the house, she sees and hears things that seem strange to her. A vase smashes for no reason…and that’s just the start. As the world implodes outside, the house seems to reflect that with the strange goings on within. I thought this was nicely done and the atmosphere built up slowly and carefully.

I wanted to know more about the House of Whispers. The story was nicely tied up with a few threads of doubt hanging, but I wanted to know more. There’s some history to what the house was like and what might have been at play but I was hungry to know more spooky history. It didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the novel though as the story was wonderfully crafted to showcase the characters, their fate and the country at war. How if we ignore hate and injustice, it can come back to haunt in more ways than one.

The House of Whispers – even the title made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.