Why a Booktrail?
WW2: A tiny island can tell the story of a century
The House at the Edge of Night
What you need to know before your trail
On a tiny island off the coast of Italy, a place alive with stories, legends and sometimes miracles, live the Esposito family – spirited and chaotic, they have been running the bar, the House at the Edge of Night, for almost a century.
As the island withstands a century of turmoil, transformed in ways both big and small by war, tourism and recession, the House at the Edge of Night remains at the heart of the community. Especially for the women of the Esposito family, who thrive in running the place where unexpected friendships are forged, betrayals are discovered and great love affairs begin.
Travel Guide
Sicily and Florence
The island of Castelllamare
This is a fictional island but by the descriptions in the novel you’d be excused for thinking and feeling it was real. This is an enchanted island, one which is beset by history and superstition, one where a curse lingers over it, an earthquake brings it to its knees but a town which stands back up again and fights for its future.
In the author’s note, she mentions that this story is a mix of Silician Folk and Fairy stories of Giuseppe Pitre, Laura Gozenback and Italo Calvino. Florence’s founding hospital is fictionalised of course in the story but the story of postwar Sicily is largely true.
The House at the Edge of Night is where Amedeo will eventually live – it’s going to be converted back into a bar – and it will become a favourite meeting place for the community. Well if you ever want to know anything about an island then the local pub where all the locals gather is the best place!
Island life has its ups and down but is largely sunny so when the shadows of war come calling , and facism washes up on its shores, the mood and atmosphere change dramatically
Streetview Maps
A) Florence - Foundling hospital
D) The island of "Castelllamare"/ Sicily
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
An island with a curse….well I was hooked from the first line. This is a very clever mix of Sicilian folk tales and culture so to read this is like immersing yourself in Italian history, culture, language and superstition. ENough to feed all of your five senses and more
The island has a beguiling allure to it, people have left but does the island ever leave them? It’s an interesting thought and beautifully crafted in a story that waves and weaves its way into your heart. That couple on the cover? I felt a bit like that – as if I was in a slow dance and really getting to know these people and the island who was a major character in the story.
Alluring and bewitching – there’s so many layers to this novel – family saga, historical song, cultural imprints and a ghost of something which floats in and out of every page. Fairylike in nature, lyrical in writing, I am as in love with this book as that couple on the cover are with each other.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The House at the Edge of Night
Author/Guide: Catherine Banner Destination: Sicily, Florence Departure Time: WW2
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