Review: Exquisite
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 16, 2012
"Tuscan Dream" begins with Maria on her death bed, wanting to make a confession. She proceeds to recount the past sins she has committed to a Father. She goes back ten years into her memory, in 1983, soon after the Falklands War.Maria's story begins with her staying with her sister Kathleen in their ancestral house in the Italian city of Florence. Her sister Kathleen, who is a tour guide, happens to meet a new tourist one fine morning. That forms the beginning to a story that involves Kathleen, Maria, and David, the British tourist. The sisters believe the young man is an aspiring writer but what they do not know are the many mysteries that David's past holds. The book shows us the coming together of the three main characters, their interactions after and the development of the relationship between them. The contrast between Maria and her sister Kathleen is expressed very well too.The story teaches us about the human connection, friendship and love, human flaws and the desperation that one can be driven to by circumstances in life, the good and bad that is present in each one of us, and mystery and thrills - and let me tell you there are a lot of those in the book! Not to forget the city of Florence, which can itself be considered as one of the characters of the story.Narendra Simone, the author, has done a great job with describing the beautiful buildings, architecture, culture, and landscape of Florence. The images described so vividly and with such poetic language leave little work for the reader to do, as it becomes so easy to visualize all the things mentioned. The initial part of the book concentrates more on the city and its life and things that make up the city, and at a later part it is the mystery element that takes center stage.  The book is divided into several chapters and it was nice to go through each chapter anticipating the story while still reveling in the beauty of Florence.There are plenty of things to look forward to in this book for anybody deciding to pick it up, and I would just like to add that I'm really starting to like Narendra Simone's writing. This is his second book that I have read and am impressed by his work. I look forward to reading more from the author and "Tuscan Dream" is definitely a must-read. Cheers!