Matelda, the Cabrelli family’s matriarch, has always been brusque and opinionated. Now, as she faces the end of her life, she is determined to share a long-held secret with her family about her own mother’s great love story: with her childhood friend, Silvio, and with dashing Scottish sea captain John Lawrie McVicars, the father Matelda never knew. . . .
In the halcyon past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until her beloved home becomes unsafe when Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. Her journey takes her from the rocky shores of Marseille to the mystical beauty of Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool—where Italian Scots are imprisoned without cause—as Domenica experiences love, loss, and grief while she longs for home. A hundred years later, her daughter, Matelda, and her granddaughter, Anina, face the same big questions about life and their family’s legacy, while Matelda contemplates what is worth fighting for. But Matelda is running out of time, and the two timelines intersect and weave together in unexpected and heartbreaking ways that lead the family to shocking revelations and, ultimately, redemption.
I pretty much agree with that assessment, although I'm not sure the revelations were "shocking." It took me a while to get into the book. There is a rhythm between Anina's perspective in the present and Domenica's in the past. It's not just one generation, but three. Dominica is Anina's great-grandmother. Once I figured out the characters and their relationships, I really enjoyed the story.
The Good Left Undone is a love story, a survival story, a war story, and a great story of family. If you are a fan of Trigiani, I would recommend this one. It isn't my favorite of hers (that still remains The Shoemaker's Wife), but I really enjoyed it.
eARC obtained from Edelweiss+
448 pages
Rating: 4.5/5
I have never read anything by this author, but have heard good things about her books.
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