Since she was a child, Meg has dreamed of taking a promised trip to Florence, Italy, and being able to finally step into the place captured in a picture at her grandmother’s house. But after her grandmother passes away and it falls to her less-than-reliable father to take her instead, Meg’s long-anticipated travel plans seem permanently on hold.
When her dad finally tells Meg to book the trip, she prays that the experience will heal the fissures left on her life by her parents’ divorce. But when Meg arrives in Florence, her father is nowhere to be found, leaving aspiring memoir-writer Sophia Borelli to introduce Meg to the rich beauty of the ancient city. Sofia claims to be one of the last surviving members of the Medici family and that a long-ago Medici princess, Nora Orsini, communicates with her from within the great masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.
When Sophia, Meg, and Nora’s stories intersect, their lives will be indelibly changed as they each answer the question: What if renaissance isn’t just a word? What if that’s what happens when you dare to believe that what is isn’t what has to be?
My Comments:
I absolutely loved this book! I loved the story, the characters, the writing, even the cover. Like Susan Meissner's other books, The Girl in the Glass unites the stories of a modern-day woman and a woman from history. In this case the woman from history was a woman from the Medici family who lived during the Italian Renaissance. The women from today are an American book editor and an Italian tour guide/author.
Meg's parents divorced when she was young and her mother moved her away from her beloved Grandmother, who happened to be from Florence, Italy. Her grandmother promised to one day take her to Florence, and when she dies before she can fulfill this promise, her father adopts the promise. Meg is now in her early thirties and keeps waiting for the trip. One day her father sends her tickets and off she goes to join him in Florence. When he doesn't show up and tells her he isn't going to, she goes to plan B and meets up with some authors she knows through work.
Sofia says she is the last of the Medicis and that she can hear Nora, who lived long ago, speak to her. Sofia has written a travelogue giving voice to Nora, and Meg is interested in publishing it. However, the more she learns about Sofia, the less sure she becomes. In short, things aren't as they seem, either in her life, or in the life of Nora, and interestingly they have paralles with Meg's life.
The chapters set today are preceded by short sections "written by Nora". The typeface is different so it is easy to keep the stories separate.
While the book is classified as Christian fiction, I'm not sure why. While there are a few references to God or faith, they aren't central to the book.
I'd like to thank the publisher for sending me a review copy as part of their Blogging for Books program. As anyone who has read the blog for any length of time knows, the opinions I post about books, even those given to me by publishers, are my own. In this case my own opinion is that this book deserves an A.
Oh wow really? An "A"? I was contemplating reading this but passed it up due to lack of time. I may put it on my wish list for the future.
ReplyDeleteI had read another book by her and didn't love it. Maybe I'll have to give this one a try. :O)
ReplyDeleteI won a copy of this book recently.. will have to get to it sooner rather than later
ReplyDeleteAny book you give an A goes automatically on my list. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you approve of my taste :)
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